Masahide Tokunaga is a Tokyo-based alto sax player/improviser who carries out extremely distinctive performances comprised mainly of long tones. On the Hitorri label he has released the improvised performance CDs "Alto Saxophone 2" (2015) and "Bwoouunn: Fleeting Excitement" (2017), as well as "while your master is sleeping" (2020), on which he performs a composition by Taku Sugimoto. With the exception of that composition recording, "Masahide Tokunaga" is Tokunaga’s first solo album in five years.
The first and third tracks of this three-track album are improvised alto sax solos by Tokunaga. The long (39-minute) second track, “Observer,” is a trio performance by Tokunaga (alto sax), Tomoki Tai (viola da gamba) and Fumi Endo (upright piano). “Observer” is a text score composition that Tokunaga wrote in 2022 at the request of the Chinese musician Zhu Wenbo. While the original was written as a solo piece for Zhu Wenbo, the work on this CD is a trio version with new revisions added by Tokunaga.
All three tracks are live recordings of performances held at Ftarri, Tokyo, on February 14, 2022 (1 and 2) and December 20, 2021 (3). This monumental album documents Tokunaga’s further evolution as an improviser while showcasing his recent explorations in the field of composition.
東京在住の徳永将豪は、ロング・トーンを主体に構成した極めて個性的な演奏をおこなうアルト・サックス奏者 / 即興演奏家。Hitorri レーベルから、即興演奏を収めた『Alto Saxophone 2』(2015年) と『Bwoouunn: Fleeting Excitement』(2017年) のCD2枚、さらに杉本拓の作曲作品を演奏したCD『while your master is sleeping』(2020年) をリリースしている。本CDは、杉本作曲作品を演奏した異色作を除くと5年ぶりのソロ名義アルバムとなる。
Tomoki Tai: viola da gamba (2)
Fumi Endo: upright piano (2)
Track 2 composed by Masahide Tokunaga in 2022
Recorded live at Ftarri, Tokyo, February 14, 2022 (1, 2) and December 20, 2021 (3)
Recorded and mastered by Ftarri
Drawing by Koko Ishikawa
Design by Takahiro Kawaguchi
supported by 18 fans who also own “Masahide Tokunaga”
Masahide Tokunaga is one of the most interesting contemporary saxophonists, it's hard to find a comparison. The sub-tonal sound he gets from the instrument is perhaps closer to the character of feedback, and the work with space and silence is exceptional. A meditation on the language of reductionism. jiristepan
Brash experimental electronic compositions from this Tulsa-based musician heavy on serrated sheets of sound that hiss and scald. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 27, 2023