Live at Someday in Tokyo

Full performer name: Bobby Watson & Tailor Made With Tokyo Leaders Big Band.
Personnel: Bobby Watson (leader, alto saxophone); Seiji Tada, Atsushi Ikeda (alto saxophone); Kose Kikuchi (tenor saxophone, flute); Tatsuya Sato (tenor saxophone); Atsushi Tsuzurano (baritone saxophone); Shiro Sasaki, Mitsukuni Kohata, Keiji Matsushima, Yoshiro Okazaki (trumpet); Hideaki Nakaji, Haruki Sato, Masahiko Kitahara (trombone); Masaki Domoto (bass trombone, tuba); Masaaki Imaizumi (piano); Koichi Osamu (bass); Tappy Iwase, Yoshinobu Inagaki (drums).
Personnel: Tatsuya Sato (tenor saxophone); Keiji Matsushima, Shiro Sasaki (trumpet); Hideaki Nakaji (trombone).
Recording information: Someday Jazz Club, Tokyo, Japan (02/11/1999/02/13/1999).
The concept was to "recreate" Bobby Watson's American jazz conglomeration, the Tailor Made Big Band of the early 1990s, with a Japanese version. Recorded live at the Japanese club Someday with the Tokyo Leader's Big Band, the six compositions and arrangements by Watson are alive with vibrant explosion. The alto saxophonist is at the top of his form, and the band sounds totally inspired. Although it is impossible to know who is soloing (other than Watson), there are particularly strong efforts from an unidentified trumpeter and trombonist. The band swings hard, and the compositions are tightly arranged, permitting the soloists of the band to strut their stuff. There is unmitigated electricity where Watson interjects sections of collective improvisation. This is the sort of mainstream jazz date that encourages spontaneity and challenge, while never reverting to worn cliché. It is a model for big jazz bands at the turn of the century, and a fine introduction to the work of Watson, who has often been documented on the Red Records label from Italy. ~ Steven Loewy