Scandinavian players Paal Nilssen-Love and Johan Berthling join Japanese jazz legend Akira Sakata in a session that attempts to breathe new life into the standard sax/drums/bass format. Taking their group name from the title of a free jazz soundtrack album by the Yosuke Yamashita Trio, Arashi attempts to summon up the original spirit that was let loose on that record. On the opening ‘Saitaro-bushi Arashi’ Sakata's expressive vocal exercises are the central point around which Nilssen-Love and Berthling respectfully revolve. For the title-track Sakata opens up with a steadily building gale of sax power. This acts as an invitation for his fellow players to follow his lead. They respond by crashing through with a furious energy that propels the track with the velocity of a bullet train. As the album progresses, though, Nilssen-Love and Berthling seem content to merely add the occasional sprig of percussive and rhythmic decoration to the proceedings and, apart from the aforementioned fiery title cut, they fail to make their presence fully felt. The feeling that this set was more about Sakata than Arashi is difficult to shrug off.