Drummer Hiro Kimura’s debut album from 2022 is Trees, a 61-minute modern jazz album recorded with two of his regular rhythm sections. The album was recorded over two days in the studio, the first with Naoko Tanaka on piano and Yuji Ito on bass, and the second with Mamoru Ishida on piano and Keisuke Furuki on bass. Joining Kimura’s rhythm sections are the front-line members consisting of three horn players who alternate and unite on different tracks. Alto and soprano saxes are played by Akiha Nishiyama and Kohei Ando, and trumpet by Mao Sone, who also switches to piano and Fender Rhodes for two songs. ...

Piano Pieces Collection II is pianist Seiji Endo’s follow-up to his 2021 release Piano Pieces Collection. Continuing in the same mood and mode, Endo plays solo piano music of his own hand, compositions that are infused with his motivation to move and support listeners through his music. Although the two recordings are separated by a few years, it wouldn’t be too far off to consider this sequel the second half of a double-album record. ...

“I’m going to be in Tokyo for a few days and want to catch some live jazz… where should I go? Let me know the best places for live jazz…” Figure 1: A cocktail at Yoyogi Naru jazz bar in Tokyo “Sure! Here are the Top 10 best jazz clubs, bars, and venues for live music around Tokyo, with links to homepages, maps, and articles.” If only it were that simple… ...

Piano Pieces Collection is a 2021 album from pianist and composer Seiji Endo. For this album, Endo plays 19 solo piano pieces, a similar concept to some previous albums such as his Genji Monogatari Volume 1 (2018), which evoked the drama of that classic early Japanese literature through depth and shading. On Piano Pieces Collection, Endo’s message is simpler and direct, uplifting and motivational. At first glance, another comparison could be made to the great Chick Corea’s Children’s Songs album. Each album has 19 to 20 tracks, all short solo piano pieces. Also, both albums showcase the respective pianist’s sketches of minimal, memorable, melodic music. Beauty through simplicity. Corea’s compositions might edge towards more complex and rhythmically stimulating music, and similarly, Endo’s pieces also carry his own personality. His compositions are delicate, graceful, and subtle. More miniature than minimal, Endo aims to create moods of gentle understanding and welcoming calmness. ...

Like pianist Yuka Yanagihara’s previous album Inner Views from 2019, her songs on this year’s release Beloved Ones are also focused on both external vistas and inner reflections. It is as if the inner-outer boundary is balanced, permeable, and transferring the trio’s music and inspiration from in to out and back again, fluidly. From the previous album to this one, the imagery shifts from close (raindrops on a window) to far, with natural scenery in theme for both. A second link to her previous album is found in a track on the Beloved Ones, “Rainy Song #3 In Winter”. This song continues the story started in the opening two tracks on Inner Views, “Rainy Song 1: At Midnight” and “Rainy Song 2: In the Forest”. Comparing the two album covers and the pieces’ progression, the rain has stopped and the eye’s focus has extended further into the world, onto meadows, trees, and mountains. ...

Naru is a classic Tokyo jazz bar that opened in 1969 and has been operating for more than 50 years in the Ochanomizu district. Also going by Ochanomizu Naru or Ocha Naru, this is the sister location to the original Yoyogi Naru location established in 1966. With its renowned history, reputation, and level of excellence, Naru is a mainstay, a magnet for jazz in Japan’s capital city. Figure 1: Ro Hasegawa (sax) Quartet with Mayuko Katakura (piano), Go Shimada (bass), and Sumito Oi (drums) at Naru in November 2010 ...

Rougequeue is a 2015 mini-album from pianist Fumie Chiba that features five of her original songs, three with jazz combos (septet, sextet, and trio), and two solo piano tracks. The uncommon word used for the album title is a French word for redstart, a small, colorful bird with a reddish-orange tail. Once the title is parsed and read as roozh-kew, it becomes easier to see and hear, but it maintains its aura of mystery and beauty. Even the word’s letters themselves seem to align, dip, and extend with a certain intentional pattern. The bird image and concepts are also easily applied to the five compositions contained under that title, music that is wonderfully vivid and that can take flight. ...

The jazz bar Someday in the Shinjuku Sanchome (now in Asakusa) nightlife area offers a big stage, a wide-open seating area, and an audiophile’s setup with special custom speakers hanging from the ceiling. You get the sense that the planning for Someday has all been thought out and carefully arranged to provide a satisfying and authentic live jazz experience in an American-style spacious jazz bar setting among the typically cozier Tokyo options. In the same spirit, the kitchen at Someday provides a variety of reasonably-priced snacks and dishes featured in the English-friendly menus, including some specialty rice and meat plates that are pleasant discoveries at this type of jazz bar. ...

Saxophonist and composer Ryosuke Hashizume has released six albums with the Ryosuke Hashizume Group over nearly two decades. These albums feature Hashizume’s uniquely original compositions played by his long-running group. This group has mainly been a quintet (of sax, guitar, piano, bass, and drums) with many of the same members present throughout the years. In particular, guitarist Motohiko Ichino and fretless electric bassist Ryoji Orihara have been a constant and large part of the sound of the group. They are brilliant electric partners to Hashizume’s breathy and sawtoothed acoustic sax sound (Hashizume also dips into electricity a bit when playing his sax as cycles and drones looped through a device, occasionally). ...