Wolf's Theme

This is one ideal that Seiichi Nakamura has arrived at. A saxophone that soars freely like a bird liberates the listener and leads to a new world. In the era of the Yosuke Yamashita Trio, he put everything into each note. In the early 1970s, he powerfully blew, weaving flashes and impulses into melodies. And in this work, Seiichi Nakamura undergoes a further transformation. As he says, "Everyone shares the space, and it feels like freely soaring like a bird. That is the ideal." The layering of sounds and the spaces between them richly expand the room, and within it Nakamura's saxophone runs boldly. Inspired by writer Kazumasa Hirai's "Wolf Guy" series, the expansive and refreshing "Wolf's Theme", "Harappa" where a relaxed groove and a nostalgic melody stand out, standards carefully and glossily spun such as "Body & Soul" and "I Can't Get Started", and "Viva Giappone" whose dynamism and openness feel good; here Nakamura's ideal is splendidly embodied. Featuring Toshiyuki Daikoku, Aki Takase, and Ryojiro Furusawa. Text by Yusuke Ogawa (UNIVERSOUNDS / DEEP JAZZ REALITY).

これは中村誠一が辿り着いたひとつの理想。鳥のように自由に飛翔するサックスが、聴く者を開放し、新たな世界へと導く。 一音一音に全身全霊を傾けていた山下洋輔トリオ時代。閃きや衝動を旋律に織り込んで力強くブロウした1970年代初頭。そして中村誠一は、本作でさらなる変貌を遂げる。自身で「みなで空間を共有し、鳥のように自由に飛翔する感じ。それが理想ですね」と語っているように、音の重なりや間が空間をふくよかに膨らませ、そのなかを中村のサックスが闊達に駆け抜ける。作家、平井和正の『ウルフガイ』シリーズにインスパイアされた、伸びやかで爽快な「Wolf's Theme」、ゆったりとしたグルーヴに郷愁に満ちた旋律が映える「Harappa」、スタンダードを丁寧かつ艶やかに紡いだ「Body & Soul」や「I Can't Get Started」、躍動感と開放感が気持ち良い「Viva Giappone」など、ここでは中村の理想が見事に具現化されている。大徳俊幸、高瀬アキ、古澤良治郎らが参加。text by 尾川雄介 (UNIVERSOUNDS / DEEP JAZZ REALITY)