Raphael Sebbag
The club jazz veteran looks beyond borders with two new albums

Courtesy of Air

Two DJ collectives have been essential to Japan’s club jazz scene over the last decade. One of them, Kyoto Jazz Massive, consists of two brothers, Shuya and Yoshi Okino, featured recently in these pages. The other is United Future Organization (UFO), formed in 1990 by Tokyo DJs Tadashi Yabe and Toshio Matsuura, along with French expatriate Raphael Sebbag.

Despite the departure of Matsuura (on friendly terms) a few years ago, UFO remains a lynchpin of the Tokyo club scene through its roving Jazzin’ events, which have served to deliver the acid jazz scene to Japanese clubbers for more than a decade. UFO’s reputation has also taken them around the world, where they remain sought after for their hip Tokyo take on jazz, Latin, Brazilian, house and anything else they should happen across at the time.

Beginning with 12-inch “I Love My Baby (My Baby Loves Jazz)” in 1991, the group has also released a string of albums, of both the original and mix-compilation variety, including 2000’s definitive Bon Voyage. Now, Sebbag steps out with a mix-comp series of his own, simultaneously releasing Beyond Borders Vol.1 and 2 on influential Japanese indie imprint Toy’s Factory.

Truly going beyond borders, the two CDs are a testament to Sebbag’s sweeping tastes, with tracks ranging from those by eccentric American “word jazz” artist Ken Nordine to young Israeli bassist Avishai Cohen, and from British-Asian composer Nitin Sawhney to originals by Sebbag himself. The sound is multi-culti, but it’s mixed in a way that gives it cohesiveness—and the sense of being on the dance floor at one of UFO’s Jazzin’ events.

Joining Sebbag for the release party are UFO members past (Matsuura) and present (Yabe), as well as special guest DJ Ian O’Brian. An English DJ/producer with an extensive catalog dating back a decade as well as heaps of work for Japanese artists and television programs, O’Brian combines a reverence for the percussiveness of Detroit techno with a love of jazz and experimentalism. Jazzin’@Air, Feb 23. See clubbing listings for details.

Jazzin’@Air, Feb 23. See clubbing listings for details.

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