Certain tensions in the jazz world were clearly evident at the 10th annual Yokohama Jazz Promenade on May 25th and 26th. The performers split into two camps: those focusing on instrumental virtuosity and those avoiding the staple four-beat ching-chick-a-ching-chick-a-ching rhythm. The plasticity of rhythm become the common thread of the weekend -- and jazz was pulled in all different directions.
Dutch drummer Han Bennink gave the most spectacular display. Arriving alone on stage in shorts, bandanna and socks, he proceeded to give a demonstration of the "drummability" of just about everything. He used his feet, elbows, hands (open and fisted) and knees to play the stage, the floor, a trash can, a towel, his thighs and the stairs leading up to the high, back seats. Just when I said to myself, "He'll be playing his teeth next," he did just that. Teeth are surprisingly loud, it turns out, resounding throughout the packed hall with only the amplifying help of the body's resonance chamber.
Other groups also ripped up the four-beat. The speed-freak, Middle Eastern sound of Cicala-Mvta was dizzyingly fun. Their eclectic combination of clarinet, electric violin, sax, cello, electric guitar, tuba and two full drum sets fused into sonic density, but there was still room for duck calls, electric samples, feedback loops and the occasional vocal (the violinist sang his apology for showing up late). Their swirling melodies and throbbing rhythms sounded more like the soundtrack to a whirling dervish festival than any New World jazz form.