Hyperentasis by A. Sakata, G. Di Domenico, G. Damianidis, P. Damianidis, A. Škorić, P. Nilssen-Love, T. Yamamoto

Hyperentasis is a double LP celebrating the unique connection between legendary saxophonist Akira Sakata and the city of Thessaloniki. Home to Defkaz Records and the birthplace of the Damianidis brothers, Thessaloniki has welcomed Sakata countless times. This release captures two of his landmark performances as a bandleader in the city.

The first LP features the group Entasis with Giovanni Di Domenico (upright piano), Giotis Damianidis (electric guitar), Petros Damianidis (double bass), and Aleksandar Škorić (drums). Recorded at Duende Upstairs on March 27, 2023, it's a psychedelic free jazz journey where Sakata's melodic saxophone lines and Di Domenico's distinctive piano patterns weave seamlessly with the atmospheric guitar of Damianidis and a strong bass–drums foundation.

The second LP documents the 2025 tour honoring Akira Sakata's 80th birthday. Recorded at Club Omilos on January 29, 2025, and presented by Duende Jazz Club, Sakata 80 brings together two powerhouse drummers—Norwegian Paal Nilssen-Love and Japanese Tatsuhisa Yamamoto—alongside the Damianidis brothers, forming an electrifying quintet around the unstoppable Sakata. The music shifts between intense, tightly-packed climaxes and unpredictable, organic explorations, with the drummers' energy ranging from massive power to subtle percussive nuance, pushing the performance toward its ultimate destination: "Hyperentasis."

These two LPs are inseparable pieces of the same musical puzzle: the first sets the stage for the second, with the entire journey from Entasis to Hyperentasis spanning 90 minutes of pure, immersive free jazz.

''The first album features the quintet Entasis (tension in Greek) with Italian pianist Giovanni Di Domenico (on upright piano), the Damianidis brothers, and Serbian Aleksandar Škorić. This quintet (with Greek drummer Stephanos Chytiris) recorded the double album Live in Europe 2022 (Trost, 2023), featuring two pieces recorded at Duende Jazz Upstairs in Thessaloniki in April 2022. Škorić joined for its performance in Brussels. The first album of Hyperentasis was recorded at the same location in March 2023. It features the Entasis quintet in a mostly atmospheric, collective free jazz mood, following Sakata’s introspective melodic themes and charismatic vocals on the traditional, bluesy «I Atsumori No Saigo II Kaigara-Bushi». Giotis Damianidis’ effects-laden electric guitar cements the psychedelic spirit of this performance.
The second album was recorded almost two years later, with a different quintet – the Damianidis brothers from Entasis, Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love (who plays with Sakata in the Arashi trio), and Japanese drummer Tatsuhisa Yamamoto (who recorded before with Sakata and Di Domenico), Sakata performed in Thessaloniki’s Club Omilos in January 2025, in a tour celebrating his 80th birthday. The powerhouse drummers keep this performance in an ecstatic, fiery, and electrifying mode, eager for risk-taking and unpredictable, organic explorations, with Sakata in an explosive, soulful top form. This quintet has a massive, hyperentasis sound and dynamics that seek cathartic climaxes. Within its three extended free improvisations, it also explores its lyrical side and subtle percussive nuances. Sakata plays bells and vocals, mirroring the subtle percussive work of Nilssen-Love and Yamamoto at the beginning of the third piece.
A great way to celebrate a great musician and free improviser.''

Eyal Hareuveni

Delays in shipments to America (U.S) Be aware!

something there
where
out there
out where
outside
what
the head what else
something there somewhere outside
the head

Samuel Beckett

art by Aki Karano

defkaz.com