Attila Zoller / Masahiko Sato - A Path Through Haze

Atilla Zoller was touring Japan with fellow guitar greats Kenny Burrell and Jim Hall when he first played with pianist Masahiko Sato. Zoller exclaimed, “From the first sound on we were completely together, as if we had known each other for years.” Besides his fame as a player, Sato is known for his arranging and composing, having worked on the albums of such stars as Nancy Wilson and Art Farmer. 

Although often labeled “free jazz”, this album is everything but. Meet is a hard-driving up-tempo quartet adventure. On Sazo Zoller and Sato play off each other in an improvised dance for two. The Appalachian folk song Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair is transformed into a pulsating modernistic piece featuring Sato’s trio. Close Up gets personal with Zoller and Sato again exploring in duo. Together Not Alone is exactly what it says, with the two improvising off the changes of the standard Alone Together. The title piece is the quartet’s majestic modal excursion into the light. With masterful improvisations and an integral familiarity that borders on the extrasensory, this is a musical path well worth taking.