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Having feted a number of significant composers in the past - from Fats Waller, W.C. Handy and Duke Ellington to Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy - this recent collaboration of Takase's with DJ Illvibe reveals a culmination of the pianist's fascination and influence of a non-jazz composer this time around in Conlon Nancarrow, who arguably was best known for his works for player pianos that went well beyond human capacity and capabilities. "I have been working with DJ Illvibe for a long time and I think it relates to my inspiration of and approach to Nancarrow... (so) I thought I could compose in a similar way," explains Takase regarding this new project. Along with DJ Illvibe, the members of the band here are tenor/soprano saxophonist Daniel Erdmann, bassist Johannes Fink and drummer Dag Magnus Narvesen. And the selections they play herein are a result of her decades-long work as a composer. With this electro-acoustic instrumentation in mind, however, only a few of the tunes are actually notated. She admits, "the bigger part of it is definitely improvised. (...) I wanted to show several ways, - with different times and speeds - the dynamics simultaneously together, and through them to achieve overlapping and crossings. (..) The music shows my direction. I am very satisfied with the results... Our music is expression of freedom and a hymn to life."

Track Listing

Sales Points

• The Guardian 'Best albums of 2019 so far'

Press Quotes

At 71, jazz pianist Aki Takase is more sprightly and inventive than people half her age: Thema Prima bursts with energy, with blurts of sassy big band, screwball improv and classy balladeering.

     —The Guardian

ALBUM of the WEEK (#19, 2019.): What a lot the veteran Japanese pianist Aki Takase has packed in here: turntable culture somehow; rolling, boisterous sax-led themes; the anarchy of free form jazz; and the wild abandon of the player leader herself who if you can imagine Yoko Ono as a jazzer you would be only half-way there. The group, her Japanic, bristles with some fine players chiefly Daniel Erdmann on sax in one of his best sideman appearances I've heard and her tunes have an epic, spirited, grandeur to them able interpreted by the ingenious ensemble. Tremendous.

     —Stephen Graham , marlbank.net

Thema Prima's opening track 'Traffic Jam' bursts out of the speakers in a frantic dash of piano and drums. Daniel Erdmann weaves tight coils of sax in between the rushing bodies, while DJ Illvibe sets off a huge hoover-like tone. Aki Takase likens her ongoing collaboration with Illvibe to Conlon Nancarrow's work for player piano, where there is a focus on overlapping sounds. The title track modernises Nancarrow's concept of piano player building blocks. At first the sound sources are distinct, Illvibe answering Takase's robust piano figures with rhythmic scratches, but as it continues parts cross over and textures merge. 'Wüstenschiff' finds the ensemble responding to Illvibe's manipulation of Arabic jazz vinyl. Once the stately ensemble theme is established, Illvibe cuts in rap fragments; a surprisingly effective move.

     —Stewart Smith, The Wire

Given Takase's eclecticism, the striking musical juxtapositions of Thema Prima--chaotic yet fluid, seemingly random yet intricately choreographed--should come as no surprise. The whole process teems with the thrill of discovery, which has everything to do with the chemistry in Takase's new line-up. Turntablist/electronic musician Illvibe unleashes a deluge of sonic curveballs. His percussive accents augment Dag Magnus Narvesen's lithe drumming, while his broader vocabulary evokes a cornucopia of indeterminate, though suggestive, urban sounds. He also purveys more familiar hip-hop/turntable language, bringing a contemporary edge to Takase's colourful mosaic of swing, bebop, free-jazz and stride.

     —Ian Patterson, allaboutjazz.com

Aki Takase has made her own versions of the music by Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy, all in their her very personal way. And now she brings four, relatively young musicians, into her wonderful, musical world.

     —Jan Granlie, salt-peanuts.eu

This recording feels like she has staked a claim in an original and very individual approach to music-making - and she is fortunate to have gathered around her so many like-minded individuals to create a unique and very exciting recording.

     —Chris Baber, jazzviews.net

Deeply satisfying and engaging music.

     —Friedrich Kunzmann, allaboutjazz.com