Dressed in a red sequin evening dress and sporting a feather boa, Gray looked even more exceptional, and we’re not even including that impressive Afro. Wielding a raspy instrument, she strutted the stage to wild applause, interacting with the soloists and Murray himself, who, despite the fact that he was the boss and a formidable tenor saxophonist in his own right, deferred to her sudden impulses, which are many and frequent.

Why didn’t somebody think of this before? Gray’s charisma, combined with Murray’s big band nature, made for one of the most spontaneous shows I’ve seen, here or elsewhere. -Phil

Everyone was dressed in indigo, in the exact same pattern, except for Kouyate himself, who wore a traditional cloak over the costume. He immediately differentiated himself from the group, though there were as many as five ngoni players performing at any given time, Bassekou was in charge. His wife is the chief vocalist and main visual clue for the ensemble. The songs would ebb and flow, and Bassekou informed each by a wild, rambunctious solo. He’s been compared to Jimi Hendrix, which may sound lazy, but like Hendrix Bassekou redefined his instrument. The music is saucy, but not too aggressive. The crowd immediately absorbed the beat and the melodic patterns.

At the end of the set he brought out a guitarist and they performed his biggest hit, “Ne Me Fatigue Pas,” which ended up as a swirling mass of improvisational rigor. The audience never stood a chance. -Phil

I was extremely fortunate to get an interview with Mr. Astatke after the show. You can read it here.

Heading over to the Orange Court with a few minutes to spare before Jazzanova and Paul Randolph take to the stage, I am pleasantly surprised that a steady stream of fans is headed the same way.

Introduced by their tour manager, Jazzanova Live comes out first and starts the show with “Belle et Fou.” Then Paul Randolph in bright white and shades strolls out fashionably late, and plays bass to boot on “Look What You’re Doin’ To Me.”

Lyrics like “We all breathe in the same sun, we all sleep under the same stars at night” are more than appropriate for Fuji Rock campers this afternoon. And it is evident that this set will be heavy on tracks from their 2012 album the Funkhaus Studio Sessions. That said, there still remain plenty instances of jazz, R&B, disco, electro, and other cool genre redefining musical inclusions besides funk.

Next comes the funky “Let Me Show Ya,” and as often happens, you have to wonder if this crew is somehow harnessing the timeless voodoo magic of Motown. Paul does hail from Detroit, so the idea is not that far fetched.

Whatever the secret, it is completely contagious, and the Jazzanova unit is so incredibly tight. Perhaps that is because producers Stefan Leisering & Axel Reinemer with 15 years experience flank the live show playing congas and working the MacBook beats hold it all together.

At this point the rain is starting to come down, a good time to hear Paul sing “Dry your eyes don’t fret, you know better than that.” Between songs, “We aren’t going to let a little rain spoil our fun are we?” And regarding Fuji Rockers’ fashionable rain gear, “Good to see all these colors!”

The tenderness of Mr. Randolph on “No Use” (originally recorded before he joined the group with a female vocal hook) is to die for, almost too sweet like the most decadent chocolate cake. But he isn’t the only one with a chance to shine. Next comes the horn duet, sax and trombone, who crescendo ever so smooth and get a bit of electronic support from the laptop genius, though just enough, and then seamlessly blended, a sonic smoothie that tastes incredible.

The hit “I Human” gets rave response from a now sufficiently soaked crowd (though still sloshing around in the mud pools, mind you, nobody is leaving this set, that is for sure). Paul, who has been shuffling all over the stage gets a second wind, too, and disco fist pumps center stage, then busts out some other fancy footwork. It is such a good song, and to hear it live even better than the recorded version, with minimal pre-fab beats and live drums, the whole nine yards from all nine members gave me the shivers. If you haven’t yet, you WILL be hearing “I Human” in clubs and beyond for some time to come, bet me on that.

Unfortunately for the details of the show, at this point my notepad was soaked and my pen stopped writing, so I just had to put it in my pocket and freak out with everybody else up front. Just trust it was increasingly awesome.

Paul did get intimate at one point sitting down with legs playfully dangling in front of the stage, flirting with the fans and cameras, a huge smile on his face.

As if the show could get any better, and like it was scripted, the last song whose hook goes “Here Comes the Sun,” and with Paul giving his all whistle blowing, the horn section up front, and everybody cheering, the sky in fact started to brighten up, and while it kept sprinkling a bit, the sun did in fact show its face thereafter for the rest of the afternoon. Jazzanova’s set with Paul Randolph put the sun back up in the sky and in our hearts.

The fellows all took a well-earned bow at the end of the show. Sophisticated gentleman who brought some excellent music to the mountains, it was an honor to witness Jazzanova’s talent and hear their polished sound, a culmination of years of focus and hard work. Hope they make it back to Fuji Rock in the near future, and with a performance like that, next time it might even be for a headliner slot.

From 3 members playing some slow progressive jazz, they suddenly increased to 6, including a guy on a xylophone. I am now the biggest fan of the xylophone. It’s an overlooked instrument usually saved for children’s musical performances or school announcements, but it has so much potential.

As the perfect Sunday afternoon funk chillout session continued, MC Gebo joined in for a change of pace, just rapping along to the sound of drums as the other members took a break and looked on. What followed was another set of smooth transitions—from basic beats then gradually to deeper jazz/funk instrumental, followed by the appearance of stunning vocalist Ten, donning a yellow and white shift, and singing like a Japanese version of Diana Ross.

They were superb. With vocals, without vocals. With the MC, without the MC. Only three members, with all six. No matter what they did, it was wonderful.

The final last two songs were the absolute kickers though, as Ten’s vocal magic touched an original rendition of Brand New Heavies’ “You are the Universe”, and the best version of “Relight My Fire” I have heard to date.

Without a doubt, the best way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon, EVER.

But now I hear you thinking, how do you really know he was the skinniest drummer under the traditional Senegalese getup he was wearing? After all, those outfits are perfect accessories for hiding even the slightest gain in weight. Well, I’m glad you asked and the answer is actually quite simple: he stripped down to virtually nothing at all. In a madcap series of maneuvers, he removed a seemingly infinite number of items of clothing, stopping only to break into a ferocious dance every now and again before asking us with his eyes if we’d like him to remove some more.

While on the subject of fashion, the vocalist’s dress probably holds the title of the most colorful at this year’s fest, although this is written in full knowledge that Bjork has yet to take the stage. Three hours and counting…

And the music? Well, where to begin. Mixing three traditional Senegalese drum kits with a regular drum kit is always gonna raise a few eyebrows at Fuji Rock, let alone the decibel levels. The sound was intense even with a proper set of earplugs stuffed into my ears. In fact, at one point I wasn’t even sure I was still wearing them.

All-consuming and explosive are perhaps the first words that immediately spring to mind when trying to summarize their performance in a few words. And the crowd got right in behind them, cheering raucously whenever one of them ended a particularly wrist-jarring solo that combined simple finger touches with the sharp slap of a traditional drumstick.

Although the weather gods decided to be a little unkind to Mark Ernestus and his crew, the Orange Court was certainly blessed to hear the drumming on display. With Fuji Rock a little light on heavy dub/roots acts this year, this performance was enough to send shivers along the spine of bass lovers everywhere. Just check out Julen Esteban-Pretel’s amazing photos if you doubt me in any way…

At one point, the guys made a corny joke, “Yeah, we’re playing at Orange Court! Orange you glad I didn’t say banana.” That was in fact a little over the heads of 99% of the audience which they realized, though laughing to your own inside joke on stage in fact sets you apart from the fans of your music as opposed to bringing you all together since the crowd wonders what just happened, and they totally missed it.

So, comments like that were not that funny and a little unfortunate; fortunately they jumped right into the next jam and it was forgotten, dancing in the mud.

I think Very Be Careful was also used to playing shorter sets, as the stage manager came out and told them there was 30 minutes in their set, even though they said “One more!” after the last 5 songs, and they seemed surprised.

Perhaps American humor and sarcasm goes over well in LA, but touring internationally should reflect a bit more respect for the locals. Doumo arigatou gozaimasu is a good start at meeting halfway, so the fans were glad to hear that.

And the music itself was absolutely infectious, and fit in with the fans at Orange Court.

Another minor critique is the fashion of the five piece cumbia machine. After all, since Japanese festival-goers are so stylish, even in their rain gear, I think the artists who give a little thought to coordinating outfits, or at least sport something eye-catching with a little spice or jazz, fitting of their musical genre perhaps, gives the audience reason to pull out their digital cameras.

I think the time when Very Be Careful took a photo of the audience, everyone loved it, and it is just that kind of considerate interaction with your fans that takes a show to the next level.