おU CDレビュー


ProGGnosis（アメリカのサイト）
This is an avantgarde album, that can show you what "the slight interpretation of what a chamber/40s jazz/fusion music" can do to the listener. Starting with this i would like to recommend this album to people who like weird dissonant "melodies" flowing into the album to jazzy-bluesy ideas.

The CD's first tunes are more into chamber oriented style which bring to mind Univers Zero sessions but with a little more of a rock edge to them. The deeper we go in the listening we hear the band grow in dynamic range with the exciting drums flashing odd tempos and saxes which suggest jazzbands playing soundtracks. All of this is really amazing; this mixing of other influences can be appreciated because it works like a puzzle - where all the pieces fit to make a beautiful whole. I was really amazed by this album because it's the music i seek and rarely find to such quality.

Deep, dense, sometimes ironic and with a few vocal interludes just to give that "touch". Those vocals are awesome, delicate and sharp at the same time - reminding me japaneese anime cartoons with a typical japaneese folk interpretation.

O-U is a growing album - 'growing' in dynamic - the more listening into the CD, and 'growing' in interest the more you replay it. This release might also be considered classical oriented since for the the first tunes it leans strongly in that as it builds to a perfect mix of genres done with extreme result!!

The Sound quality is excellent.

Fans of Julverne, Klimperei, and Volapuk certainly will be interested though they reflect only on the chamber oriented element of this genre only. O-U does more, breaking the lines and finding different places to musically describe.

Raggazzi（ドイツのサイト）
O-U sind eine typisch japanische Band. Sie greifen auf einen musikalischen Stil zurück und bringen so viel Energie, Kunst und Inspiration ein, wie die Vorbilder zu schaffen nie in der Lage waren. Kazuto Shimizu (key, cl, xyl), Yuriko Mukoujima (vi, v, Lars Holmers SOLA), Hitoshi Watanabe (b, mandocello), Reichi (dr, v), Tsuneo Imahori (g, Ex-Tipographica), Hiroyasu Yaguchi (sax), Osamu Matsumoto (tromb), Tatsuo Kondo (key, harm) und Masami Shinoda (sax) greifen nicht nur auf die Inspiration von Frank Zappa, Canterbury Jazzrock und R.I.O., sondern natürlich viel mehr auf die eigene Inspiration zurück und spielen in den 10 sehr unterschiedlichen Stücken einen reichhaltigen und verblüffend abstrakten Jazzrock sehr eigener Art. Die Kompositionen klingen europäisch und jazztypisch, die Einspielung ist virtuos, extravagant und erfreulich überraschend. Die meisten Jazzrocker aus Japan erfreuen die Freaks immer wieder mit hart rockenden und avantgardistisch schrägen Werken, in denen der Nachhall gar noch heftig ist. O-U nehmen sich hier eher zurück. Die tief im Jazz wurzelnden Songstrukturen werden auf rockmusikalische Art gespielt, instrumental wie tonal. Da ergibt sich eine seltsame, beeindruckende und doch nachvollziehbare Ästhetik aus ansteckender Spielfreude und filigraner, herber Virtuosität. Als hätten O-U eine Art, den Jazzrock zu interpretieren, entdeckt, auf die irgendjemand schon längst hätte kommen müssen. Harmonisch wacklige Motive ranken aus ungewöhnlicher Instrumentierung, langsame Dur-Akkorde und schnelle Moll-Akkorde wechseln und schon ist solch ein Song "falsch herum" geschaffen. So gibt es denn auch nichts nachteiliges zu bemerken, wenn ich mal die weibliche Stimme in "Habanerege" wegdenke, die da für ein paar Sekunden schrecklich geistert. Die abstrakte, schwer schräge und doch angenehme, weil längst nicht ultraheftige Art der Songs ist sympathisch und trotz der schweren Struktur höreinfach. Als würde sich ein unförmiges Wesen tippelnd durch die Innenstadt von New York bewegen und alles Volk denkt, es wird eine Alien-Komödie gespielt. O-U beweisen mit Hirn viel Humor und Ironie auf ihrem selbstbetitelten Debüt, noch viel mehr aber machen sie Eindruck mit der Interpretation ernster Avantgarde-Stücke wie "Konzert op 24" (Anton v. Webern), das leider viel zu kurz eine geradezu geniale Musiksprache findet. Davon hören wir hoffentlich bald mehr.

VM

Backgournd Magazine 82号(オランダのプログレ雑誌)
OUch is the first reaction I had when I played this disc. O-U is a Japanese avant-garde outfit with a variety of instruments under their belt.
The core of the band is made up of four musicians who - next to that standard keys, bass and drums - also use clarinet, xylophone and mandocello (?). The bulk of the material was recorded live at Manda-La in 1995 with a guitarist, sax and trombone player added, the remainder has two other musicians participating on additional keys and sax. So you will probably have figured that this is quite challenging music. Band leader was one-time Shingetsu guitarist Kazuto Shimizu who takes his influences (Zappa, Canterbury and RIO) a step further, here creating a unique blend of jazz-rock, avant-garde and chamber music. Unfortunately the (female) voice is also added as an instrument at points, and we all like our Japanese squeals, don't we… Now to give a picture of the contents of this album is quite challenging, and I never got all the way through it. This just is not my cup of sake. But for those who have a strong stomach and dig the more challenging stuff, this is for sure a welcome addition.
No rating! (Maurice)

Axiom of Choice（オランダのプログレサイト）

Summary

The (live) recordings on this come from the period 1988-1995. I have no idea however when the cd itself was released. It reached me through the offices of Poseidon Records. As you can see the band has a broad palette of instruments to offer.

The music

Blivits is piece that slowly gets underway. Opening with occasional instrumental interjections from various places, it builds a kind of modern classical feel. Later melody comes into play with the violin taking a meandering lead. The horn section dissonates, however, the drums sound contrary. This is rather like an off-beat funeral march of a kind with the violin giving a Ponty like feel. The low-key guitar playing is in the vein of Steve Howe. But the feel is not one of Yes, because of the many horn and violin playing.

In view of the title, Walts #4, we should be expecting a waltz here. The style is subdued, more funeral like than on the previous track, with slowly alternating clarinet and sax. Not much melody here, mostly a vague meandering of a number of wind instruments. Gymnesia is more lyrical, again with the wind instruments being the foremost. Then the music takes a turn for the folky, at first I thought we might be entering Zappa territory, but that is not to be. Merry stuff, in a careful sort of way. Strangely, I often get the impression of Tom Waits during these tracks, without the vocals of course. But there is that slowness and darkness to it all.

Shuyojo is again a slow piece, dragging itself along, a bit like New Orleans jazz with all its energy drained. A weary kind of music, very much in the vein of some of the ECM material. This album could have fit well on that label. Later the music becomes more forceful with loud piano runs and it also becomes more attractive in that way. Very nice.

Epostrophy/Variation is a piece by Von Webern and Thelonious Monk. Plenty of piano and drums, paving the way for the rest to follow. There is something of Magma in here. Habanerege is a dancing piece with melodic violin, in Ponty style. A bit mellow compared to the other discordant pieces. The song has vocals, high female vocals in Japanese. I am not that fond them, but there is not a lot of it. Towards the end the organ sets in for some soloing.

Johnson Blues is one in which the piano dominates plainly. Indeed, a bluesy track, one with a different colour of sound. It is audible that this is a different recording session, the instruments sound closer up. The wind section is quite rowdy here and the harmonica should not be discounted either. Konzert op 24 is one that is hard to get into, plenty of discordance and awkward rhtyhm signatures. Again a piece written by on Von Webern.

Bugmeat is easy go lucky jazz. A bit of a joke really. Somebody is even singalong with it, but she does not really have her voice under control. Minerals - Tasmania is the longest one and closes the album. It opens with gamelan like meanderings and lots of percussives going. We have arrived back at the first session, is my impression based on the line-up. The violin is again very much present, giving the music is lively feel. This song comes quite close to jazzrock and is more melodic than O-U generally is.

Conclusion

Sitting snugly in the corner of modern jazz and modern classical music, this broadly instrumented band gives you an hour of plenty of dissonance and avant-garde with a little melody interjected now and then. The approach is more an intellectual one, than one in which things like energy and the like play a role. Names such as Zappa, Magma, Ponty and some of the Cuneiform acts crop up (especially the less rocky ones). It is however, not something I would play often.

© Jurriaan Hage

http://www.cs.uu.nl/people/jur/progrock.html


ROTTERS'PAPER 51
清水一登keyが自作曲を演奏するインスト中心のユニットとしては、芳垣ds、鬼怒gとのトリオ（ライヴによっては向島vlnを加えたカルテット）「オパビニア」が存在しているが、かつてはより大編成の「おＵ」がその位置にあった。豪華編成の注目バンドでありながら、活動期間中のライヴは少なく、私が目撃できたのは現段階では最後のライヴとなっている1995年3月のステージのみだった。本作は10曲中6曲がそのラストライヴから、1曲が1994年、残る3曲が1988年のライヴとなっている。1994-95年のメンバーは、向島ゆり子vln、渡辺等b、れいちds/vo、今堀恒雄g、矢口博康sax、松本治trbの7人編成。1988年は今堀・矢口・松本が不参加で、近藤達郎key、篠田昌己saxが参加した6人編成となっている。実は1995年3月のライヴは後半に小林靖宏（アコーディオン）が加わっていたのだが、本作ではその部分は未収録だ。清水一登は1990年にスタジオソロ作「Yet Somehow」を発表しているが、メンバー／収録曲共本作とはかなり重複する。カンタベリー・ジャズ・ロックを基軸に、オフ・ノート系に共通するとぼけた通俗性を加味した味わいは唯一無二のものであり、バンド編成での勢いもソロ作にない魅力。音質も94/95年に関してはかなり良好だ。ただし、結構な難曲を大編成で、しかもほぼ1年に1度のライヴ演奏というサイクルで活動していたバンドの、良くも悪くも正直なライヴの記録である。いかにメンバーがテクニシャン揃いとは言え完璧な演奏／アンサンブルが全編で行われているわけではないことは止むを得ず、スタジオ録音の機会がなかったことは今更ながら惜しまれる。[2003/02/08]
http://www.sakura-catv.ne.jp/~tomi/

MovimentProg（イタリアのサイト）
Voto medio:(8)

Recensito da Donato Zoppo

Musica totale dal Giappone: eccellente

Presentato dalla Poseidon Records come il pi bel jazz rock album degli anni 90, lomonimo disco degli O-U sicuramente uno dei migliori dischi giapponesi che ci sia capitato di ascoltare, sebbene di giapponese esso abbia davvero ben poco.

O-U un ampio ensemble di musicisti guidato dallistrionico tastierista/fiatista Kazuto Shimizu, gi con gli Shingetzu e poi con i pi blasonati Tipographica, dalle cui fila proviene anche il chitarrista Tsuneo Imahori. Con loro un nutrito stuolo di ospiti, tra cui Yuriko Mukoujima, gi con il gruppo di Lars Hollmer.

O-U davvero un ottimo album, prodotto dall'americana Pawn House e distribuito da Poseidon, composto da brani provenienti da diverse sessioni live. I primi sei infatti risalgono al 1995. Subito siamo colpiti dai timbri della sezione fiati che ben si impastano con violini, chitarre e piano. Basta ascoltare Blivits: una big band allucinata. E il ricordo corre ai vari nomi dellavant-jazz come Don Cherry, Anthony Braxton e Sun Ra.

E una musica totale che rimanda spesso alle esperienze scandinave di Isildurs Bane e Haikara. E il caso delleccezionale Minerals-Tasmania, forse il miglior brano: jazz, rock, blues, musica da camera e folk, Canterbury, Zappa e Gershwin, tutto fuso in chiave eccentrica ed eseguito con notevole disinvoltura. Le tenui tinte fiatistiche di Waltz n. 44, il tema bandistico di Gymnesia, lipnotico e notturno jazz di Shuyoio: un sound spesso lieve e morbido, quasi a richiamare la poetica davisiana di Birth of the cool; i brani sono sottoposti ad uno sviluppo progressivo, che arriva a lidi prossimi al RIO. Habanerege un eccitante avant-rock, con unincantevole voce femminile: tutto candida gli O-U al rango di opus Avantra del sol Levante. Non solo: la vena teatrale, i contatti con lo swing e il be-bop, i suoni spesso mediterranei, avvicinano il gruppo persino agli Avion Travel.

E il sincretismo di stili e generi diversi (dal jazz alla musica contemporanea) a rappresentare lelemento distintivo del gruppo. Lunione tra suoni americani ed europei fa riflettere se pensiamo che lintera band giapponese. Interessanti in questottica due rifacimenti. Il primo Epistrophy/Variation, una sorta di miscela tra i rispettivi classici di Thelonius Monk e Anton Webern; il secondo Konzert op 24, ancora di Webern. Ma il contatto tra jazz e dodecafonia non deve stupire: basti pensare che un grande jazzista come Dave Brubeck fu allievo di Arnold Schoenberg.

Gli altri brani risalgono al 1988 e propongono uninvidiabile fusione tra blues e jazz rock (vedi lottima Johnson blues), con concisione e brevit quasi weberniane, evidentemente attribuibili allinfluenza che il sommo musicista austriaco ha sul gruppo di Kazuto Shimizu.

O-U un lavoro davvero eccellente, tra i migliori giunti dallestremo Oriente alla nostra attenzione.

http://www.movimentiprog.net/

Progressor（ウズベキスタンのプログレサイト）

Prolusion. Unfortunately, I don't possess any info on the creation of the Japanese band (rather, little orchestra) O-U, but the fact that this album is untitled may indicate that this is either O-U's debut or their only album in general (which would be a pity).

Synopsis. I have and always had a very respectful attitude towards Progressive 'exporting' from the Land of the Rising Sun, and there are too few of the weak Japanese Prog albums on my memory to have any doubts that the coefficient of efficiency concerned the quantity of releasing progressive music production is in this country is higher than anywhere in the world (OK, on Earth). O-U presents a highly original, complex, and polymorphous music full of eclectic and very intriguing arrangements with constantly developing interplay between the parts of all of the instruments listed above with piano, violin, and wind instruments being mostly at the helm of them. It's not that easy to describe the contents of this unique album, but I'll try as best as I can. Blivits, Gymnesia, Epistrophy Variation, and Mineral Tasmania (1, 3, 5, & 11) consist for the most part of intensive arrangements and are the representatives of the album's predominant stylistics, which is a complex conglomerate of RIO, Classical Music, Avant-garde, and Jazz and, perhaps, Avant-garde Academic Music and Jazz Classical Music, too. Filled with unusual, highly complex stop-to-play movements, eclecticism, and atonalities, as well as instantly comprehensible harmonies of symphonic textures, these four are my favorites on the album, though almost all of the other compositions I also regard as masterpieces. Quite a melodic (if it's possible) RIO based on classic symphonic and jazzy structures, amazingly intermixed with each other, is presented on Shuyojo and Johnson Blues (4 & 7). These two are on the whole quite comparable with Habanerege and Bugmeat (6 & 9), but the latter pieces contain the less number of Jazz-related stuff and are the only tracks on the album that feature female vocalizes. Waltz No-4 (2) is not a waltz - unless it's some unearthly waltz. Musically, it is as far from the waltz we know as earthly mankind from a complete morality. Consisting of slow and more or less harmonious, yet, highly eclectic interplay between passages of violin and solos of clarinet and saxophone (no other instruments here), it's somewhat of an Avant-garde RIO with elements of Classical Music. The contents of Konzert Opus-24 also don't correspond to the conception laid in the title of the track, and all the parts of the involved instruments (piano, violin, clarinet, bass, some drums) are chaotic rather than even chaotically eclectic. This pure Avant-garde is the least favorite track of mine on this brilliant album, and I don't see any contradictions in what I've said here.

Conclusion. "O-U" will be a dainty dish for all the profound and open-minded Prog-heads in general and all the omnivorous representatives of lovers of RIO, Jazz, Classical Music, and Avant-garde in particular. Thus, the number of people who will feel happy with this in many ways eternal music should be large, which, though, is very relative. Everything is very relative on a planet where, for most people, Prog is associated with the continuous tuning of musical instruments.

VM: October 23, 2003


Colossus誌22号(フィンランドのプログレ雑誌)

HARMONIE誌42号(フランスのプログレ雑誌)

Traverses誌13号(フランスのズール系雑誌)

Tarkus誌24号(ノルウエーのプログレ雑誌)

Progressiverock Newsletter nr.42(ドイツのプログレ雑誌)
Und noch mal in den fernen Osten. O-U sind ein teils neunkopfiges Ensemble, die moderne Klassik mit Jazz und R.I.O. Einflussen zu zeitgenossischer Musik verbinden und in heimischen Gefilden bereits fur einiges Aufsehen sorgten. So wurde auf ihrem titellosen Album (Pawn House Records) elektrisches Instrumentarium mit klassischen Streichinstrumenten, sowie Xylophon, Saxophon und Posaune gepaart, um daraus durchaus noch nachvollziehbare, trage vor sich hinschleppende, sperrige Instrumentalmusik entsehen zu lassen. Insgesamt, trotz Einflusse von Zappa bis Canterbury, aber mehr fur den Kopf, als fur den Bauch.

Ragazzi(ドイツのプログレサイト)
O-U sind eine typisch japanische Band. Sie greifen auf einen musikalischen Stil zuruck und bringen so viel Energie, Kunst und Inspiration ein, wie die Vorbilder zu schaffen nie in der Lage waren. Kazuto Shimizu (key, cl, xyl), Yuriko Mukoujima (vi, v, Lars Holmers SOLA), Hitoshi Watanabe (b, mandocello), Reichi (dr, v), Tsuneo Imahori (g, Ex-Tipographica), Hiroyasu Yaguchi (sax), Osamu Matsumoto (tromb), Tatsuo Kondo (key, harm) und Masami Shinoda (sax) greifen nicht nur auf die Inspiration von Frank Zappa, Canterbury Jazzrock und R.I.O., sondern naturlich viel mehr auf die eigene Inspiration zuruck und spielen in den 10 sehr unterschiedlichen Stucken einen reichhaltigen und verbluffend abstrakten Jazzrock sehr eigener Art. Die Kompositionen klingen europaisch und jazztypisch, die Einspielung ist virtuos, extravagant und erfreulich uberraschend. Die meisten Jazzrocker aus Japan erfreuen die Freaks immer wieder mit hart rockenden und avantgardistisch schragen Werken, in denen der Nachhall gar noch heftig ist. O-U nehmen sich hier eher zuruck. Die tief im Jazz wurzelnden Songstrukturen werden auf rockmusikalische Art gespielt, instrumental wie tonal. Da ergibt sich eine seltsame, beeindruckende und doch nachvollziehbare Asthetik aus ansteckender Spielfreude und filigraner, herber Virtuositat. Als hatten O-U eine Art, den Jazzrock zu interpretieren, entdeckt, auf die irgendjemand schon langst hatte kommen mussen. Harmonisch wacklige Motive ranken aus ungewohnlicher Instrumentierung, langsame Dur-Akkorde und schnelle Moll-Akkorde wechseln und schon ist solch ein Song "falsch herum" geschaffen. So gibt es denn auch nichts nachteiliges zu bemerken, wenn ich mal die weibliche Stimme in "Habanerege" wegdenke, die da fur ein paar Sekunden schrecklich geistert.
Die abstrakte, schwer schrage und doch angenehme, weil langst nicht ultraheftige Art der Songs ist sympathisch und trotz der schweren Struktur horeinfach. Als wurde sich ein unformiges Wesen tippelnd durch die Innenstadt von New York bewegen und alles Volk denkt, es wird eine Alien-Komodie gespielt. O-U beweisen mit Hirn viel Humor und Ironie auf ihrem selbstbetitelten Debut, noch viel mehr aber machen sie Eindruck mit der Interpretation ernster Avantgarde-Stucke wie "Konzert op 24" (Anton v. Webern), das leider viel zu kurz eine geradezu geniale Musiksprache findet. Davon horen wir hoffentlich bald mehr.
VM

Muse vol.42 (タワーレコード発行)
根強いファンの為の1枚。清水一登率いるバンド「おゆう」と読む。88、94、95年のライブ音源より。カンタベリー色強くどこか懐かしさと変拍子が入り乱れる。そして今 堀恒雄や亡き篠田昌巳も参加な! T・モンクの《EPISTOROPHY》やソロアルバムに収録されていた《ばばねれげ》がきけるのもうれしい。　　(渋谷店　西田陽子)

フールズメイト　2003年6月号
............トロンボーンや生の管弦楽器をふんだんに使ったサウンドは、スウィング感を軸にゆっくりとしたアンサンブルの中に変則性を織り込んだ室内学風だが、もちろんプログレ派にも絶好の濃密プレイも。(轟)

ストレンジデイズ　2003年4月号
夢想的な浮遊感と研ぎ澄まされたリズムによって心地よく感性をゆさぶられる....　(松井巧)

ミュージックマガジン　2003年3月号
もの悲しくて力強くて、グレイト!　(行方和彦)

CDジャーナル　2003年4月号
キリングタイム、新月などのキーボーディスト、清水一登がリーダーを勤め、87年から95年まで活動したバンドの再発。音はカンタベリーやレコメンの影響を随所に感じさせるジャズロック。その複雑で緻密な文法は、現在のヴィンセント・アトミクス などに受け継がれている。(宗)

同誌コラム「松山晋也のよろしく哀愁!」
僕が日本のキーボード奏者では一番好きな清水一登が80年代からやっていたスーパー ユニット(今堀恒雄、れいち他) おUが、88年と94〜95年のライブ音源をまとめた作品をやっとリリース。カンタベリー系に連なる屈折したアンサンブルの高度もさることながら、清水の場合はクラリネットやシロフォン演奏も含め、まったくオリジナルな間合いと歌心をもっており、ああこの人は本物の貴族なんだなといつも実感させられる。ゴクつぶしというか極道者というか。こういう豊かさを僕に感じさせてくれるのは、日本では秋田昌美と彼くらいだ。


http://www.cdjournal.com/

World Disque Express vol. 87
元キリング・タイム、現アレポス、SOLA、オパビニアと活躍中のキーボード奏者、清水一登が率いる、知る人ぞ知るチェンバー・ジャズ・ロック・バンド、おU（おゆう）の音源がついに発表されました。れいち（ds/vo）、向島ゆり子（vln）、渡辺等（bass）を共通メンバーにした94/95年マンダラ2（w/今堀恒雄、松本治、矢口博康）、及び88年インクスティック（近藤達郎、篠田昌巳）のライブ発掘音源を収録。清水のソロ作「Yet Somehow.......」（当店入荷中、お早めに）にも入っていた代表作 "Habanerege" はじめ、なごみつつも複雑怪奇な骨折変拍子を盛り込んだ楽曲は、正に奇才・清水の本領発揮。音質は多少ばらつきがありますが、いずれも大充実の内容。カンタベリー〜Zappa系リスナーも必聴級 !!

http://www.marquee.co.jp