Roughly Random by Akira Sakata / Rie Nakajima

Akira Sakata is a treasure of Japan’s free jazz/improvised music world. Rie Nakajima is a London-based sound artist with an international career in Europe and beyond. Sakata and Nakajima have performed together in Japan and other countries since the mid-2010s. When Nakajima came to Japan for a time in 2023, the two appeared at Ftarri, Tokyo, on December 4, performing two duo sets. Sakata, on alto sax and clarinet, forgoes ferocious sound-making and plays with calm elegance throughout, occasionally interrupting his performance on winds and producing reverberations with a bell or a singing bowl. (On track 2, he also included the restrained and masterful speaking for which he is known.) Nakajima created a variety of sounds from many small objects placed on the floor and hung from stands. She also produced sound by playing a self-made wind instrument. This CD documents both sets of the nearly-80-minute concert in their entirety.

日本フリージャズ / 即興音楽界の至宝、坂田明と、英国ロンドン在住で欧州をはじめ国際的に活躍するサウンド・アーティストの中島吏英は、2010年代半ばより国内外で共演を続けている。中島吏英が一時帰国中の2023年12月4日、ふたりは東京 Ftarri に出演し、デュオ演奏を2セット披露。坂田はアルト・サックスとクラリネットを使用。熱いブロウは封印し、終始抑制を効かせ淡々と厳かに吹奏。時折吹奏を止めて、鈴やシンギング・ボウルを空間に響かせる（2曲目ではお馴染み、いぶし銀の語りも）。中島は床に置いたりスタンドから吊るしたりした、いくつもの小物からモーターで種々の音を生む。さらに自作の楽器を吹いて音を出す。本CDには、全体で80分近いコンサート2セットをすべて収録。