Leo Takami: Felis Catus and Silence
Unseen Worlds
A recording of immense charm, Felis Catus and Silence beguiles with the harmonious sweetness of its seven pieces. On this fine follow-up to 2017's Tree of Life, Tokyo-based Leo Takami (b. 1970) blends elements of New Age, pop, ambient, classical, and jazz into sophisticated structures, the material at times possessing a calming, Windham Hill-like quality and at others a melodic jazz tone reminiscent of early Pat Metheny recordings. The latter is especially evident when Takami positions his guitar playing at the forefront of the album's arrangements as a soloing entity.
The forty-two-minute release opens with the title track, its gentle radiance offering an alluring entry-point. Alternating between unison guitar-and-percussion lines and passages featuring smooth guitar soloing, the nine-minute tune exudes a quasi-classical formality in its structure, jazz breeziness in its flow, and New Age splendour in its arrangement. The more one studies its complex structure and kaleidoscopic range of colour, the more one appreciates what Takami accomplishes in this remarkable production.
A typical album track is a multi-colourful production featuring strings, percussion, woodwinds, piano, synthesizers, and, of course, guitar, while Takami's writing is harmonious, melodic, and generally uplifting; consistent with that, his guitar playing is distortion-free and understated. In addition to the serene “Garden of Joy,” there's “Garden of Light,” where marimba accents establish a rather minimalism-like feel that's offset by steel drums and wordless New Age vocalizing. Meanwhile, one might expect “Children on Their Birthdays” to be boisterous; instead, in this delicate piano setting Takami emphasizes the melancholy parents experience when recalling the get-togethers their now adult offspring once enjoyed. Rich in guitar, synth textures, and gentle voices, “Quiet Waters” makes for a peaceful set-closer that's tailor-made for reflection.
As satisfying as all such pieces are, it's the penultimate “Unknown” that challenges the title track as the album's standout. In both its compositional character and guitar playing, “Unknown” suggests an extremely strong Metheny influence, in particular the period associated with releases such as Travels, Offramp, and As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls. The inclusion of a Lyle Mays-like piano episode only makes the connection all the harder to deny, and long-time Metheny fans will also hear an echo of “Last Train Home” in the pitter-patter of Takami's percussion. That Felis Catus and Silence at times recalls the music of one of contemporary jazz's premier figures is hardly a knock against it.February 2020