Featuring: Sabu Toyozumi
Kurt Gottschalk - New York City Jazz Record
The Toyozumi/Sunny Murray duo Sun’s Blessings (recorded in 1999) comes off something like a four-handed solo. The players aren’t hard-panned left/right, making the recording both literally and figuratively out-of-sight. They tumble and roll with momentum and finesse, as if expanding under pressure. My ear-read of the first half dozen minutes is that Murray plays a fine if unsurprising solo and, at some length, Toyozumi comes in with a low tom roll. This sets up a division of personality, Toyozumi actively accentuating, not restrained, but offering supportive commentary on the pronouncements of the master, 15 years his senior. As on the Mengelberg meeting, the dynamic comes together after an extended opener. After the 50-minute “Mischievous Saga”, the 15 minutes of “Brave Warriors” establishes a groove. They pound away at it quite convincingly.
