Tomoko Omura: Branches Vol. 1
Outside In Music

Feature a violinist in an ensemble and my response is positively Pavlovian with excitement. Jerry Goodman in the original Mahavishnu Orchestra established the association, which was subsequently reinforced through exposure to Eddie Jobson (Roxy Music), Geoff Richardson (Caravan), David Cross (King Crimson), and Jean-Luc Ponty (Frank Zappa, Mahavishnu Orchestra v. 2). Recent times have seen Meg Okura, Dominic Ingham, and Tomoko Omura affirming the violinist's viability as a lead instrument in a jazz context, the latter's Branches Vol. 1 the latest release to do so.

The Shizuoka, Japan-born Omura relocated in 2004 to Boston, MA to study at Berklee, after which a 2010 move to New York brought new performance opportunities with the likes of Fabian Almazan, Jake Leckie, Camila Meza, and, wouldn't you know, The Mahavishnu Project. Prior to releasing her fourth album, Omura issued her self-released debut Visions in 2008 and followed it with Roots (2015) and Post Bop Gypsies (2017), such collections instrumental in Omura being named a “Rising Star” by Downbeat critics from 2015-19.

In contrast to Post Bop Gypsies, where Omura tackled the jazz trio tradition with guitarist Alex Goodman and bassist George DeLancey, Branches Vol. 1 has more in common with Roots, which saw her reimagine ten classic Japanese folk songs in a quintet format. Omura and pianist Glenn Zaleski are the sole holdovers from that session, with guitarist Jeff Miles, bassist Pablo Menares, and drummer Jay Sawyer rounding out the players on the new release. Also differentiating the project is the fact that the new one couples four originals with two covers.

Opening the set, Karl Suessdorf's “Moonlight In Vermont” receives an imaginative overhaul that revitalizes the 1944 standard, especially when Omura realigns its rhythms to a Haiku-like five-seven-five form. She begins the piece with bright pizzicato patterns the others build on until the elements cohere into a statement of the familiar melody, the five-string violinist's precise intonation giving sumptuous voice to the lyrical theme and the others complementing her with thrust. A powerful solo statement by Zaleski is up first, after which the leader adds an ascendant exploration of her own before the theme's re-emergence. Small ensemble playing at its most empathetic, the performance sees Omura's quintet digging into the tune with gusto, its rendering inspired and resonant.

Omura draws inspiration from Japanese folktales for her compositions, the first of which, “Three Magic Charms,” exudes a strong folk quality in its theme, which acts as an organizing centre for the others. Influenced by the folktale “Kachi Kachi Yama,”“Revenge of The Rabbit” adds a bit of Mahavishnu flavour to the release in featuring rapid-fire unison statements by the violinist and guitarist and a generally aggressive attack. That connection noted, the performance never locates itself completely within a fusion milieu though branding it jazz-rock wouldn't be too far off-base. For “Return to the Moon,” Omura looks for inspiration to the folktale “Princess Kaguya” and fashions a blues-ballad-styled meditation that translates the princess's yearning for her true home, the moon, into musical form. With Zaleski opting for electro piano and trading solos with singing violin lines by the leader, a buoyant cover of Kosaku Yamada's “Konomichi” brings the recording to an uplifting close.

August 2020