SHUNZO OHNO

LIVE AT JOE’S PUB

Pulsebeats Records

Shunzo Ohno, trumpet/composer.

Joe’s Pub is a legendary New York City establishment.  Shunzo Ohno and his ensemble performed there for three concert evenings.  This album is the result of those concerts.

Beginning in 1974, when Shunzo Ohno became a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Ohno has been in search of expanding his abilities to improvise and to compose.  The trumpet master continues his search of transmitting hope and beauty through his music, while unveiling his range as a player, composer and orchestrator. You will hear and appreciate his wonderful orchestration on this recording.

The opening composition, “Going Home,” has Ohno borrowing a melody inspired by Antonin Leopold Dvořák from the Largo Theme in Dvořák’s “Symphony No. 9 in E minor.”  Shunzo Ohno (like so many others) was greatly inspired by Dvořák’s Op. 95, a piece he wrote while living in America in 1893.  It has been described as a tune blending Czech folk music with American spirituals, and Native American melodies.

“Going Home” begins with a lovely string ensemble.  Suddenly, Ohno’s blustering trumpet appears, incorporating a fusion feel. The electric bass is dominant as he locks arms with one of two drummers on this project: Thierry Arpino or Jerome Jennings. I wish the artist had listed the songs, inside the album jacket, where these various musicians appeared.

Quite suddenly, the arrangement changes mood and tempo, becoming quite orchestral. This first tune comes on the lips of Ohno’s album and seems to set the precedence for every song yet to follow. The fusion melts away, becoming a sweet ballad.

Track #2 is titled “Vision.” It’s arranged as a smooth jazz production, featuring a wildly creative solo by one of two pianists: it’s either Clifford Carter or Noah Rott.  Both musicians play piano and keyboards on this production.

The Ohno ensemble interacts beautifully with the acclaimed string quartet, the ‘Lotus Chamber Music Collective’ led by Ohno’s talented daughter, Sasha Ono. Her father’s trumpet booms through an echo chamber on this arrangement, while the drums sound like the heartbeat of a running man.  The piano slaps a staccato groove into place, while the orchestrated string section adds depth and shine to this arrangement.

In the past, after playing with such legendary figures as Larry Coryell, Gil Evans, Roy Haynes and Machito (to name only a few), Shunzo Ohno experienced a life-changing cancer diagnosis that demanded removal of 125 muscle structures and lymph nodes around his mouth and neck.  Naturally, this was devastating for a trumpet player who uses those neck and mouth muscles faithfully to play his instrument.  Despite those health challenges and operations, Shunzo Ohno returned to his love, his passion, his dedication to the horn and his music.

This album is not only beautiful and inspiring, it is a testimony to what a person can do in the face of challenges beyond human control. Shunzo Ohno’s compositions flicker and shine like stars on the horizon. His trumpet offers tonal beauty and jazzy texture to every tune. The orchestration is impressive and his original compositions exhibit Ohno’s great love for arranging, while combining classical music with jazz in unique and memorable ways.

SHUNZO OHNO BAND: Shunzo Ohno, trumpet; Clifford Carter & Noan Rott, piano/ keyboards; Thierry Arpino & Jerome Jennings, drums; Quintin Zoto & Francis Jacob, guitar; Leo Traversa, Yoshi Waki & Jeremiah Edwards, bass; Sasha Ono, cello; Emily Garrison, Katherine Kyuhyeon Lim, & You Jin Park, violin; Rachel Lanskey, Molly Goldman & Jay Julio, viola.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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