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Jazz legend Sadao Watanabe seeks redemption with live album
Sadao Watanabe speaks on his latest live album, "Re-Bop the Night".
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Japanese saxophonist Sadao Watanabe performs at the North Sea Jazz Festival - Cape Town on April 10, 2004. (AFP/Anna Zieminski)
S
adao Watanabe’s latest live album, Re-Bop the Night on the Victor label, is intended to make up for the dissatisfaction he felt about his playing on the 2017 studio album Re-Bop, Japan’s foremost jazz saxophonist said.
“[Re-Bop] included some innovative stuff — the rhythm structure of the title track, for example,” Watanabe said. Yet he was unhappy with his performance.
“Playing in a recording booth with headphones on made me feel uneasy like never before. As a result, the exchanges with the other performers were a bit off,” he said. “When Re-Bop was released, I decided on the live recording dates as a way to redeem myself.”
The 12 songs on the live album, which includes “I Thought of You” and “What’s Now”, were carefully selected from three concerts during his tour in May and from a performance at Blue Note Tokyo in July. Together with accomplished players from the United States, such as pianist Russell Ferrante who leads the Yellowjackets, Watanabe delivered richly textured performances with moments of thrilling improvised interplay and expressive solos.
“I used acoustic instrumentation with authentic be-bop as the foundation,” Watanabe said. “I included tracks from the fusion era as well as a bossa nova number. I think the album’s got a varied structure with a diverse selection of songs.”
So, what’s his verdict on the performances?
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“It really convinced me that I am more open when I play live,” he said. “[The title song] ‘Re-Bop’ is a fast-paced and technically difficult piece, but I was happy with how it went. So I guess this makes up for last year’s album.”
The internationally acclaimed musician ignited a bossa nova boom in the 1960s and led the fusion wave in the 1970s.
At the age of 85, he is as productive as ever — in addition to the live album, this year he also released a collection of ballads titled Love Songs and continues to perform live. In September he led a big band at the Tokyo Jazz Festival and in early October played in three cities alongside Brazilian musicians.
In December, his annual Christmas concerts are taking place in six cities — the sold-out Tokyo stop on Dec. 15 at Orchard Hall in Shibuya Ward will feature a 20-piece string orchestra.
“I want to let the audience enjoy lush, romantic sounds fitting for Christmas,” he said.
