Zao - In Tokyo

Zao, French prog-jazz legends from Seventies, reformed in 2004 with original core members Yochk'o Seffer (sax) and Francois "Faton" Cahen (keyboards) along with Gerard Prevost (bass) who was a member of Zao from 1975-77, drummer Francois Causse, who had played with Faton and Seffer before and last, but not least, the new female vocalist Cynthia Saint-Ville. Her addition to the fold will doubtless attract Zeuhl enthusiasts, as her voice is pretty similar to Mauricia Platon, but softer and more sensual, while equally powerful. In Tokyo is a live album recorded during the Japan tour in 2004 and it adds a violinist Akihisa Tsuboy to round out the classic Zao sound which, while more acoustic sounding thanks to Faton largely playing grand piano and only occasionally comping on Fender Rhodes, nonetheless stays true to the classic tone colors of Zao. Versions of pieces like "Isis", "Shardaz", "Zohar" as well as material from Kawana benefit a lot from the addition of female vocals. The only disappointing piece is "Ronach" which doesn't have the same verve and fluid edginess that the original version had (not to mention, Causse sounds a bit stiff here compared to the militantly exuberant hammering of Jean-My Truong on the original version). It was probably a bit too complex piece for the band to pull off. Elsewhere, they deliver. Guest violinist Tsuboy dishes out fiery electric violin solos, at times reminiscent of Lockwood, even though he tends to be obscured during the written sections by sax and voice. Nonetheless, Zao in its current configuration sounds like a tight live act, a bit jazzier than the seventies editions, but nonetheless very enjoyable. Recommended live album for fans of jazzier end of Zeuhl.