January/February 2000

Nettai Tropical Jazz Big Band II
September
Tropijazz

By Sid Gribetz

The Nettai band is an 18-piece powerhouse, composed of young Japanese musicians playing tropical music under the direction of Latin jazz vet Carlos Kanno. The band should be a world music marketer's dream, but it is more than that.

On this, their second album, the band plays with the necessary rhythmic fire as well as the dynamic potency of a swinging big band. They also have a pop sensibility, with standards, originals in the genre, and the plebeian crime jazz of "Mission: Impossible". This band conveys a sense of great fun and joy, even if it's lacking in sensitivity or sophistication.