Ken Okada Group’s “Nine Gates” unlocks a thrilling jazz journey across generations
“Nine Gates,” the latest from the Ken Okada Group featuring YOYOKA, races forward with shattering strong matches. In this spirited single, recorded in 2023, a lineup of talent spanning generations gathers to the same groove, led by then 13-year-old drumming phenom YOYOKA, whose meter and groove are decades beyond her years. “Nine Gates” presents itself with a kind of infectious energy that’s rooted in jazz tradition but audaciously exploratory. At its center is a melody that stays with you, not because it calls attention to itself but because everything sounds right. It’s the sort of song that feels like you know it even before you’ve heard it, but it is also impossible to grab hold of.
The melody leads the listener like a compass across the piece’s rich musical landscape, never drowning out the harmonization but always establishing its shine. YOYOKA’s drumming is astonishing. Her groove is solid but cheeky, exacting but full of personality. She sculpts the track’s impact with a maturity and confidence that repeatedly astonishes. Her presence adds a great deal of spirit to “Nine Gates,” a spirit that pulses with eagerness and dexterity. Tenor saxophonist Ben Torres and guitarist Hristo Vitchev are both experts in their instruments, and the depth and brilliance they bring to the track do not go unnoticed. Torres, a Grammy-winning artist, brings a sort of effortless emotional range to the saxophone, his smooth and expressive tone darting into and out of the song with elegance and forcefulness. Vitchev, who was named a Rising Star last year, imbues the song’s classic framework with a modernistic guitar representation.
His lines shine with sensitivity, texturing without overpopulating the sound. They create something that feels simultaneously labored over and spontaneous as an ensemble. “Nine Gates” is less about flaunting technical virtuosity, though there is plenty of that, and more about facilitating an environment in which artistry, mentorship, and musical dialogue thrive. It is against this lingering aftertaste of indescribable soul that Ken Okada Group drops this single to remind us of the timelessness of great jazz and the beauty of creative collaboration. “Nine Gates” throws them wide and ushers listeners of all ages to a sound that is alive, dynamic, and utterly unignorable.
