The twinkling chords which open Ami Fukui’s debut album Urban Clutter from 2010 shine like a crystalline spotlight, signaling the immediately satisfying sounds and clean, uncomplicated feel-good grooves of the music to come. This first album from the jazz pianist lays down the groundwork for Fukui to showcase her compositional skills for jazz piano trio, which she will explore further on her follow-up albums Amizm (2013) and New Journey (2016). ...
Vocalist Ruriko Kawamura released Blossoms in 2016, her second album following her 2011 debut record Loo Loo. The album is a relaxed tour through 11 varied tracks, all arranged by pianist Seiji Endo who backs up the vocalist throughout the disc. Six songs feature Kawamura singing as a duo with the pianist, and more color is added with violinist Noriko Satomi joining on three tracks and guitarist Akira Sekine joining on two others. ...
Fever is the 2014 debut release from Trigraph, a band that takes an eclectic approach to their music, focusing on jazz and pop while incorporating various genres and instruments into their music. The core group is the talented trio of musicians Sanae Ishikawa on vocals, Takayoshi Baba on guitar, and Reikan Kobayashi on shakuhachi and other instruments. Two additional musicians fill out the group for this recording, electric fretless bassist Ryoji Orihara, and drummer Yasushi Fukumori. ...
Mistral is a soulful live jazz album from sax and piano duo Toshihiko Inoue and Masaki Hayashi, recorded in 2008 and released in 2013. Although the extended title Mistral: Duo at Mister Kelly’s may seem to reference the historically famous Mister Kelly’s in Chicago and live albums from Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, and others, this Japanese jazz album was recorded at Mister Kelly’s jazz bar in Osaka, an independent venue named in honor of the famous American nightclub. ...
As jazz fans know, Brazilian music and bossa nova tunes are frequently present on jazz albums, playlists, and jazz bars, and Japan’s live scene is no exception. Naturally, Japanese jazz musicians and groups who specialize in Latin genres can also be found in Japan. One such group is Meu Coração (“my heart” in Portuguese), the creation of Emiko Voice and Taro Sukegawa. The pair delivers impeccable and sweet Brazilian music through perfectly matched voice and guitar. Their 2009 debut album Hall Tone features one hour of Brazilian music through bossa nova, samba, choro, and the like. The simple combination of acoustic guitar and voice brings into relief the strength of the music and atmosphere, and the Portuguese lyrics deliver hints of love songs and bittersweet tales. ...
Protean is the first release from jazz pianist Naoko Tanaka, who self-produced and released this album in 2009 under the name Protean along with bassist Naoyuki Seto and drummer Dan Yoshikawa. With six songs over 35 minutes, the album features all originals, four by the pianist and one each from the bassist and drummer. Album highlights such as tracks #3 “Kirin no Sougen” and #5 “Negotiater” showcase the trio’s stimulating, uptempo jazz-rock, summoning slightly Ahmad Jamal’s later period music with dense figures arranged over churning, funky grooves. The trio also offers slow jazz-pop ballads (“Never Say My Mind”) and modern jazz sketches (“Ocean”, “The Last Train”) to extend the atmosphere. ...
Childhood’s Dream is a 10-song, hour-long studio recording from pianist Shigeo Fukuda and guitarist Toshiki Nunokawa. Both leading veteran players, the musicians are also in-demand sidemen and instructors, well-known in Japan’s live scene from the 1980s through to the current day. Clean, swinging piano playing together with warm, organic guitar tones balance perfectly over the mostly original material with three jazz standards, “How Deep Is the Ocean”, “The Peacocks”, and “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams”. While the cover songs offer the most swinging and familiar jazz themes, the pair’s original numbers complete the package with shades of rock, blues, and folk interpreted through a Japanese jazz lens. ...
On Duet from 2001, bassist Shinichi Kato and pianist Masahiko Sato put forth a misty and stimulating collection of duets. The pair establishes a relaxed rapport based on masterful foundations using 11 original songs for roomy jazz improvisation. While opening slowly in a melancholic mood, the music blooms gradually, drifting around in abstract colors through the first four tracks before settling into more solid ground through the rest of the album. ...
From vibraphonist Fumiko Yamazaki, the aptly titled Here Goes! is an enthusiastic introduction to her music with her jazz quartet on her 2011 debut release. With seven tracks at a running time of 48 minutes, the songs fall into a few distinct styles: poppy and upbeat (#1 “Here Goes!” and #6 “Genkidama”), energetic and jazzy (#5’s “Theme from Lupin the Third”), and beautifully bittersweet and evocative, highlighting the pure ringing beauty of the metal bars of the vibraphone hit in rapid succession by soft mallets. ...