Nao Takeuchi Four
Sometime
February 27, 2026
Nao Takeuchi竹内 直 - saxes
Hatsune Hirakura平倉 初音- piano
Shunya Wakai若井 俊也 - bass
Masahiko Osaka大坂 昌彦- drums
One thing about Takeuchi’s groups is that they come off the starting block ready to play. Some groups take time to get warmed up, but not this one. They were ready, and so was the full crowd at Sometime.
“You and the Night and Music” was taken at an unusually fast clip, with interesting shifts through the chord changes. Kirakura delivered an especially strong, full solo and kept the keyboard rumbling under all the other solos. Takeuchi is always primed for great soloing in whatever combo he’s in, but he was especially vibrant from the start, and stayed that way on every solo.
Whether playing a Keith Jarrett number like “Country” or a standard like “In Other Words,” midtempo or fast, the quartet found great variation in the tunes. They used the harmonies as suggestions, but moved in and out over the boundaries with ease. Straightahead one moment and free from all constraint the next, they managed to satisfy the adventurous in the audience as well as the slightly more traditional. The club was filled with both kinds of fans, it seemed, each clapping for what they heard.
Wayne Shorter’s “Witch Hunt” was another example of that blended complexity (which isn’t easy to achieve). Played in a 7/4 time signature, it sounded easy in their hands, with Osaka taking a particularly interesting solo near the end.
The long solos brought in free jazz touches, just enough to push the song boundaries and rough up the sound a bit. Overall, the members created long, well-composed solos that floated beautifully.
Cole Porter’s “I Concentrate on You” bounced along with great energy. “Seraphinite,” an original by Takeuchi, sounded like a long-lost standard that had been shined up. It was a lovely tune, and maybe because it was an original, Takeuchi took a long, fully conceived solo at the beginning that flowed naturally and inventively.
“A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening” was the perfect tune to sum up the set, but there was more to come with “Fun!”, a fast tempo number that featured long solos and pleasing resolutions, especially Osaka’s drum finale.
The only thing left was to play an encore, demanded by the crowd, and Thelonius Monk was a wise choice. The eccentric rhythms and counterpoint flowed like a second summing up of the musical energy the quartet created and delivered to the enthusiastic crowd. This is a group that felt like it should be recording together soon!
