Gato Libre - Nomad (2006)

Despite track titles like "In Krakow, In November" and "In Glasgow, In May," Nomad is not a live album but a studio session. Recorded in March 2006 by the same lineup responsible for Strange Village, Nomad establishes Gato Libre as a performing unit, instead of just an ephemeral project put together to record a handful of tunes by Natsuki Tamura. The trumpeter continues to explore his melodious side: all ten pieces focus on simple melodies, stripped down accompaniment, and a "global village" atmosphere embodied by the track titles. With some effort, one could probably find French influences in "In Paris, In February" or Spanish overtones in "In Madrid, In August" (and there surely is an Eastern Europe vibe in "In Budapest, In April"), and so on, but Nomad is not a collection of musical postcards. Any folklore heard here is Tamura's very own. His unique songwriting prevails throughout, no matter what country -- or season -- is hinted at. Overall, this second outing is calmer and friendlier than Strange Village, which still had a couple of bouncy tunes and a certain edge. That edge is gone now, and fans of Satoko Fujii (heard exclusively on accordion again) and Tamura's avant-garde jazz may be puzzled by this release. On the other hand, there is no denying the delicate beauty of this cycle and the understated virtuosity of the musicians involved, especially Tamura's graceful trumpet melodies and Kazuhiko Tsumura's exquisite acoustic guitar accompaniment.