Japan-born/N.Y.C.-based trumpeter
Takuya Kuroda's Blue Note Records debut, 2014's
Rising Son, is a funky, soul and hip-hop-infused affair featuring production from acclaimed jazz vocalist
José James. Longtime collaborators,
Kuroda and
James met while students at Manhattan's New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, and
Kuroda later toured with
James and wrote the horn arrangements for his 2012 album,
No Beginning No End. Technically,
Rising Son is
Kuroda's fourth album after three previous independent releases that found him working through a more swinging, post-bop jazz sound, with the occasional funk-inflected diversion. On
Rising Son,
Kuroda delves deep into a '70s fusion, funk, and Afro-beat-influenced sound that is at once contemporary and vintage in approach. In many ways, the sound of
Rising Son has a lot in common with
James' own soul-jazz style, and his guest spot on
Roy Ayers' "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" is certainly a highlight of the album. However, while there is palpable synergistic energy at play between
James and
Kuroda, it's
Kuroda's assured, dynamic trumpet playing that grabs the spotlight on
Rising Son. Backing
Kuroda here is his working ensemble featuring trombonist Corey King, Rhodes keyboardist
Kris Bowers, bassist
Solomon Dorsey, and drummer
Nate Smith. Together,
Kuroda and his band play a clipped, muscular funk-jazz that shows the influence of artists like African-legend
Hugh Masekela and trumpeter
Roy Hargrove. Tracks like the Latin-tinged "Mala" and the frenetic "Afro Blues" (which showcases a guest appearance by famed West African guitarist
Lionel Loueke) are hypnotic, pulsing, and joyous. Many of the songs on
Rising Son have a modern, dance-ready sheen to them, with
James pushing the drums to the front of the mix and cradling
Kuroda and King's horns in a rounded, almost phaser-like mike sound. While some hip-hop-influenced jazz can seem rhythmically static, sacrificing improvisation for beats, the tracks on
Rising Son never get too smooth.
James leaves just enough organic grit in the mix to remind you that that this is live, improvisational music, not that you'd forget with
Kuroda bursting through many of these cuts with a puckered intensity. And while this is unquestionably a jazz album, nothing on
Rising Son feels like an intellectual harmonic exercise, as so many recordings by post-collegiate jazz artists sometimes do. Whether further illuminating the soul of
Roy Ayers, or slipping ever deeper into the romantic slow jam of his own "Sometime Somewhere Somehow,"
Kuroda reveals himself to be a gifted melodicist with an abiding trust in groove, not to mention trumpet chops and charisma to spare. Ultimately,
Rising Son isn't just
Kuroda's major-label debut, it's a major artistic statement. ~ Matt Collar