Yokai!
Songs of the Japanese Supernatural
“…through Tomita's picturesque and vivid compositions, the result is a mature cerebral and vibrant brainchild which exudes respect and devotion to its muse." Next Bop
“Yorimitsu Tries to capture Hakamadare by Destroying his Magic (Kijutsu o yabutte Yorimitsu Hakamadare o karamen to su)”
by Utagawa Yoshitsuya (1858)
Yokai! is a unique jazz project by bassist Fumi Tomita with songs inspired by Japanese Yokai beings and other supernatural spirits. Yokai are derived from Japanese folklore and have been drawn throughout Japanese history. They come in human, animal, or even inanimate forms, sometimes at the same time! Images of Yokai are often fantastic, bizarre, mysterious, grotesque, sometimes haunting or humorous, and overall, simply wonderful. They prove to be a natural basis for jazz improvisation which are not necessarily grotesque or bizarre but sometimes fantastic and mysterious. The songs from Yokai! are inspired by of such supernatural beings.
Taiira Kiyomori Seeing Skulls in the Snowy Garden” from the series "New Selection of Six Ghosts (Shin'yoo rokkaisen)"
by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
“The music does not ask us to believe in monsters. It asks something more interesting: that for a few minutes we accept the possibility that the world is stranger, deeper and less completely understood than what our eyes tell us. That is already a considerable achievement. And sometimes it is exactly what a good record should do. It should not give us every answer. It should leave us with just enough unanswered questions that, when the final note disappears, we find ourselves wanting to put the record back on the turntable."
Thierry Clemensat, Paris Moverntable.