Goshu Ondo Suite

by Eri Yamamoto, Eri Yamamoto Trio, Choral Chameleon

Overview

There have been countless jazz masses and gospel-jazz recordings, with some iconic and influential recordings among them including Mary Lou Williams' Black Christ of the Andes (1963), Donald Byrd's A New Perspective from 1964, Duke Ellington's 1965 Sacred Music Concert, and Dave Brubeck's Truth Is Fallen from 1972, to name a few. Add to this prestigious legacy Eri Yamamoto's Goshu Ondo Suite, her first work for chorus and jazz trio recorded by her longtime group with the 50-voice Choral Chameleon directed by Vince Peterson. Yamamoto came to choral composition by accident. Vacuuming her apartment one day, she was humming the first two lines of "Goshu Ondo" in time to the machine's rhythm. It is a traditional circle dance tune from Shiga near Kyoto, where she spent summers as a child. The light went on. She decided on the spot to write a choral piece based on the song. She spent three months composing longhand in a notebook, then sent a demo to Peterson. Before hearing it, he agreed to undertake it: He trusted Yamamoto's instincts based on her trio recordings. It took another three months to develop the work for performance. The unique lyrical qualities she possesses as a composer serve her well here. She reimagines the centuries-old Japanese song through her own story as a child singing and dancing to it on the shores of Lake Biwa, and as a professional musician in New York City, all refracted through the twin creative lenses of modern jazz and choral music. Recorded during its November 2018 premier and issued by AUM Fidelity, the first movement introduces the choir a cappella before Yamamoto's elliptical playing -- with assistance from bassist David Ambrosio and drummer Ikuo Takeuchi -- adds dimension, the trio illuminates the singers whose use of a celebratory chant is sung in staggered rounds to a processional tempo. In the second movement, swinging post-bop frames the singers who syncopate with the trio. In "Part Four," interlocking cadences between choir and trio -- amid booming tom-toms, kick drums, and a ceremonial snare all pulsed by both the piano and bassline -- become entwined harmonic and rhythmic expressions. In the fifth part, the trio follows Yamamoto's hard-swinging lyrical investigations down a rabbit hole. Choral Chameleon comes in to get them at the four-minute mark and the tune explodes with transcendent joy. The seventh movement, rife with funky grooves, finds Yamamoto digging deep into soulful blues in a taut exchange with the choir. Closing section "Echo of Echo" is an airy, instrumental folk-like ballad that traces through nursery rhymes and gospel music. It features agile bass work from Ambrosio and stellar brush work from Takeuchi. In its entirety, Goshu Ondo Suite is brilliant music-making and equates with the now-classic works cited above. This work's musical quality balances inspiration, harmonic sophistication, and emotional and spiritual depth. Further, Yamamoto offers listeners an openness and receptivity while showcasing a complete unwillingness to engage in compositional artifice for its own sake. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	11/15/2019
Label:	AUM FIDELITY
UPC:	0642623311226

Tracks

1. Goshu Ondo Suite, Pt. 1
2. Goshu Ondo Suite, Pt. 2
3. Goshu Ondo Suite, Pt. 3
4. Goshu Ondo Suite, Pt. 4
5. Goshu Ondo Suite, Pt. 5
6. Goshu Ondo Suite, Pt. 6
7. Goshu Ondo Suite, Pt. 7
8. Echo Echo

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Eri Yamamoto Trio   Primary Artist
Eri Yamamoto   Primary Artist,Piano
Choral Chameleon   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Richard Berg   Bass (Vocal)
Dave Ambrosio   Bass
Ikuo Takeuchi   Drums
Kate Delaney   Soprano (Vocal)
Liz Hanna   Soprano (Vocal)
Samuel Chan   Bass (Vocal)
Stephanie Tuck   Soprano (Vocal)
Soyoun Lim   Soprano (Vocal)
Michael Squitieri   Tenor (Vocal)
Justice Maltese   Soprano (Vocal)
Ilona Wilcox   Soprano (Vocal)
Joe Bellino   Bass (Vocal)
Kate Kostelc   Alto (Vocals)
Sarah Fels   Alto (Vocals)
Tegan Miller   Soprano (Vocal)
Kevin O'Hora   Bass (Vocal)
Sydney Hess   Soprano (Vocal)
Amanda Aldinger   Alto (Vocals)
Boreta Singleton   Alto (Vocals)
Brooke Slemmer   Alto (Vocals)
Elise Caves   Alto (Vocals)
Emily Crowe   Soloist,Alto (Vocals)
Matthew Ibanez   Tenor (Vocal)
Matthew Robbins   Soloist,Tenor (Vocal)
Carlos Diaz Salazar   Tenor (Vocal)
John Prince   Bass (Vocal)
Donna Lee   Alto (Vocals)
Erika Lloyd   Soprano (Vocal)
Matt Scaptura   Bass (Vocal)
Joshua Joseph   Bass (Vocal)
Nicole Belmont   Soprano (Vocal)
Molly Rabuffo   Soprano (Vocal)
Michelle Coladonato   Soprano (Vocal)
Parade Stone   Soprano (Vocal)
Ryan Buchanan   Bass (Vocal)
Alex Canovas   Tenor (Vocal)
Alyssa Venora   Soprano (Vocal)
Annie Beliveau   Soprano (Vocal)
Catherine Digennaro   Soprano (Vocal)
Jared Graveley   Soloist,Bass (Vocal)
Joan Bredthauer   Soprano (Vocal)
David Bredthauer   Bass (Vocal)
Matthew Finkel   Tenor (Vocal)
Jessica Wong   Alto (Vocals)
Fabrizio Doria   Tenor (Vocal)
Kelly Baxter Golding   Alto (Vocals)
Mia Farinelli   Soloist,Soprano (Vocal)
Michael Allocca   Bass (Vocal)
Kathryn Squitieri   Soprano (Vocal)

Technical Credits

Eri Yamamoto   Composer,Lyricist,Producer,Cover Art,Adaptation,Liner Notes,Group Member
Dave Darlington   Mixing,Mastering
Steven Joerg   Associate Producer
Dave Ambrosio   Group Member
Ikuo Takeuchi   Group Member
Vince Peterson   Liner Notes,Artistic Director
Daniel Pelavin   Cover Art
Heather Thaler   Assistant Engineer
John Elfrank-Dana   Assistant Engineer
Ryuji Namioka   Composer,Lyricist
Randy Thaler   Engineer