This summer's Roots Music Festival at Blue Note Tokyo moves far beyond simple basics to a full flowering of diverse branches of the musical tree. The seven performers, coming from different countries, styles and backgrounds, share an improvisational spirit, but otherwise are notable for their unique musical visions. Their styles range from acoustic to computerized and from melody-rich to rhythm-heavy, but all of the performers base their music on diverse, exotic blends. They've globalized their sounds, yet remained distinct.
You might not be able to make it to every show, but just hearing a couple of different performers within a week will introduce you to intriguing contrasts, overlaps and intersections. The Latin grooves of Bronx-based DJ Louie Vega are immersed in tight Cuban rhythms, yet are unlike the Afro-Cuban rhythms of Chile-born Omar Sosa. Both men steep their sound in polyrhythmic complexity, but Vega takes his tracks to the club, while Sosa orchestrates a jazz soundscape. The flexibility of Cuban rhythm allows it to stretch far and wide, encompassing also the vision of Kip Hanrahan, producer and director of an ever-shifting band of the best New York-based Latin jazz musicians.
Similarly, traces of blues and African rhythm echo faintly inside Brazilian singer-guitarist Joyce's MPB, but she polishes her influences with lyricism and acoustic sophistication. Though she adds a few electric touches on her recordings from time to time, her live sets rely on guitar and voice.