Neo Arch is a collective of musicians from Santa Barbara, CA, exploring new possibilities for ancient Japanese instruments only used in Gagaku ceremonial music (the sh mouth organ, the gaku-biwa lute, and the uchimono percussion set). The group consists of Fabio Rambelli (sh, uchimono, and saxophone); Rory Lindsay (gaku-biwa and effects) with Lish Lindsey (ryteki); Nobuo Nishimura (trumpet and effects); Andrea Raos (lyrics, voice, and electric bass); Takashi Seo (contrabass and percussion); and Ryan Song (cello). They use the tuning, some melodic segments, and the modes of classical Gagaku, which often date back to almost a millennium, but with a contemporary sensibility, much improvisation. The results are a mix of free jazz and contemporary classical music. (They also mentioned progressive rock on their one-sheet, but I can assure you there is none of that on 'Pearls,' unless referring to the more oblique sections of King Crimson's 'Larks Tongues in Aspic'.)

The results are certainly unexpected. The first thing I noticed is just how dominant the bass playing is. It does have the effect of hyping up the jazz element. The second thing I noticed is just how overwhelming the drone of a sh can be. Now I have to say I'm no student of Gagaku ceremonial music, but I have heard some, and it's really a thing unto itself, making more sense when coupled with the dance element of the ceremony. 'Pearls' isn't sounding anything like that. Of the 9 tracks on the album, the titular opening sets the stage for what's to come with sh drone and gaku-biwa improvisation, but does not get jazzy until "Amber Variations" with solo basswork and a little percussion for over a minute before the gaku-biwa comes in. It's about 3 minutes before the fuller ensemble comes in and (temporarily) take the piece in the Gagaku ceremonial direction. Still, this is avant garde music to be regarded as such. The cello sat the end adds an even stranger dimension. I couldn't get much excited by "The Fire Inside" until the trumpet showed up mimicking a flock of geese at first, then sounding more Jon Hassell-like down the line. In the latter part of the track it gets really wild. "Wild Honey" offers moody saxes over the incessant harmonics of the sh drone and I think it goes on just a bit too long.

There's an atmospheric drone from an instrument (or instruments?) I can't identify in "Where the Sylphs Play" and this is the most Japanese sounding of all the tracks on 'Pearl' I've heard so far. It could be due to the addition of the ryteki on this piece. Still, that sh dominates the piece in places, and I'm not loving it. "Hyenas" is a solo gaku-biwa piece, and the best thing about it is that there is no sh on this one. I didn't care for "Cani" at all as the piece is largely Italian spoken word with some musical backing consisting of sh drone and slowly strummed gaku-biwa. The cello is front and center on "The Stuff of Dreams" and you know how melancholy a cello's influence can be. That's certainly the case here, but it does work well with the sh and gaku-biwa. Ending with "Pearls II" the album wraps up nicely with something that sounds looped at the end but is ultimately fitting. I think this is a noble effort to meld traditional Japanese instruments with free jazz and avant garde musical forms. The results give rise to almost a new kind of music but there are caveats. A little sh goes a long way, so easing up on that could be beneficial. I'd like to hear more of a solid meld with jazz, and maybe some melodicism to tie it together. I realize the bulk of this album was improvised, but even in improvisation tone and themes are often agreed at the outset. Not bad for a debut but I would like to hear what comes next for Neo Arch.