Elephant Vanishes, The

Reviewed: 2019-05-16
Genre: Jazz
FCCs: none
Review: With haunting, memorable melodies, the combination of writer Haruki Murakami's influence and bassist Tomita's compositions interpret seven short stories by the Japanese author that draw on themes of despair, loneliness, disconnection, and self-discovery. Tomita reimagines Murakami's literary themes, transforming them into rich musical landscapes.
If You Like: Ron Carter, McCoy Tyner, Sonny Rollins, Jan Garbarek, Miles Okazaki, Ben Monder
Track Review (favorites denoted by *):
**1/ Wind Up Bird And Tuesday’s Women (5:37) – guitar/piano starts> midtempo jam> bass solo> spirited sax solo> piano solo> uptempo jam> crescendo> electric guitar quick fade
*2/ Second Bakery Attack (4:35) – bass/piano starts> slow jam builds to midtempo> spacey guitar solo> midtempo jam> spacey sax solo> quick fade
3/ Barn Burning (5:44) – drums start> slow jam builds to midtempo> sax solo> midtempo jam> fade
4/ Part 1: The Fall Of The Roman Empire (0:43) – full band short midtempo jam> quick fade
*5/ Part 2: 1881 Indian Uprising (6:27) – piano starts> midtempo jam> piano solo> midtempo jam> 3 crescendos to end
6/ Part 3: Hitler’s Invasion Of Poland (4:13) – bass solo starts slow, builds to midtempo> quick stop
*7/ Part 4: The Realm Of Raging Winds (3:45) – drums start> uptempo jam> drum solo> uptempo jam swings to fast tempo> crescendo end
***8/ Dancing Dwarf (8:53) – guitar/sax start> slow jam> sax solo builds to uptempo> bass solo> uptempo jam> mellows to midtempo> slow fade
9/ T.V. People (6:37) – full band starts> midtempo jam> snaky guitar solo> piano solo> midtempo jam> fade
**10/ The Elephant Vanishes (5:32) – bass solo starts> midtempo jam slowly builds in volume & intensity, then mellows> slow fade