Chihiro Yamanaka’s second release When October Goes was released in 2002, a natural followup to her impressive debut Living Without Friday released the prior year. This second album features the pianist playing with new recording members Larry Grenadier on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums, members of the Brad Mehldau Trio who would continue to record and tour to great acclaim like Yamanaka herself. The ten tracks on When October Goes include three original songs, with the balance of the music being jazz standards and rearranged songs. ...

Live Fuse is a 2007 live album from Fuse, a modern jazz quartet headed by Toshihiko Inoue on sax, with Nobumasa Tanaka on piano, Benisuki Sakai on bass, and Tsunoken on drums. This two-disc album was recorded live in 2005 and captures provocative dynamic changes and soul-touching music swinging from tender pianissimo to fortissimo over vigorous drum beats and rhythm section riffs. The ornamental twists and organic jams aim to thrill the audience and avoid falling into ruts. While Inoue provides all the compositions, the members reinterpret and occupy the music live, mixing together and shaping the music in performance in a fusion of influence, a tightrope walk of unpredictability. ...

The piano and cello duo Arco released their second album Birth in 2019, two years after their debut Asymmetry, showing grace and refinement in a matured and eternally sunny outlook. Opening with overdubbed cello playing a classical Bach theme, the duo kicks into their otherwise all-original songs featuring their airy style vibrating with positivity and passion. The duo is practiced at producing heady pop with classical influences and a definite pulse. Kishi and Sano’s originals are satisfyingly balanced, with moods shifting like wind through the trees with endearing waltzes, fiery Latin movements, and beautifully poignant and sweet melodies. Although the duo focuses on piano and cello arrangements, some minimal additions of percussion clappers and melodion keyboard add spice to enhance the pure music experience. ...

Jazz bassist Motoi Kanamori’s My Soul Meeting from 2018 is his album debut as leader, where his jazz group rips and swings through eight tracks of modern piano trio jazz. With a polished, fun touch, the group delivers mid- and up-tempo jazz with propulsive grooves, expressive auras, and well-timed hits. His piano trio is joined by alto and tenor sax on two tracks as well, amping up the energy with edginess and texture. ...

Agora is the 2011 debut release from vocalist Yuka Ueda who specializes in Brazilian samba and bossa nova music, singing primarily in Portuguese at jazz bars throughout Japan. The striking singer assembles some of her favorite partners for this effort, including guitarist Shinji Hashimoto, pianist Junichiro Ohkuchi, and bassist Daisuke Toi. This jazz family of musicians also joins Yuka Ueda (sometimes written as Yu~ka, Yũka, or Yuuka Ueda) frequently at her beloved neighborhood jazz bar Gate One in Tokyo. ...

Among the modern J-Jazz piano trio mainstays in the collection, Harumi Nomoto Trio’s Belinda is a favorite album to return to for catchy cool original vibes with laid-back warmth. With both loose jams and well-crafted jazz compositions, the album ebbs and flows with mid-tempo grooves and contemporary swinging. As the moods flow, pianist Harumi Nomoto alternates on acoustic piano and the warm tones of Fender Rhodes electric piano, enhancing the songs with jazz grooves fusing elements of jazz, light funk, swing, blue ballads, and gospel. While favorites like “‘7up”, “Crescent”, and the cozy gospel waltz “My Sweet Brown” deliver chic and polished jazz arrangements, the songs are also interspersed with short jams “M.M.C.M.” in two versions, and closes in unrestrained style on two tracks, with Nomoto first roaming freely on solo piano, followed by the trio free-associating and capturing the moment in symbiotic creativity. ...

Jazz quartet Bungalow issued an imaginative and flavorful debut album with Metropolitan Oasis in 2011. Striking and singular, the songs reward repeat listens by offering creative jazz compositions with stimulating blueprints. The songs ebb and flow with energy, grooves, and clever rhythms, where folk and ethnic influences converge with modern jazz, bop, classical, and free elements, pushing boundaries to reach new vistas. Masahiro Yamamoto, an original member of Bungalow featured on their first two albums, plays alto sax with a warm, textured tone which bends and flutters with visceral energy while the band lays out arcane jazz sounds not confined to the genre. Whether on the free opener “Metropolitan Oasis”, the slinky rocker “Underpass”, the mysterious drama of “Human Lost”, or the elaborate pieces “Bastristurgisism” and “O.P.P.M.”, the album cleverly navigates and develops their art of sound with lovely constructions and comfortable escapism. ...

The living music from vocal a cappella groups can be inspiring and soothing in turbulent times, with voices layered in harmony and synchronized timing for direct connections with each other and the audience. The five-piece group Baby Brothers from Tokyo released their debut Bb in 2007 with their well-arranged jazz, R&B, and hymn-like traditionals. With only their voices and no other instruments, the quality of vocal organic vibrations can powerfully connect with reassuring joy through a skillful, very human communal experience. ...

Jazz pianist Shunichi Yanagi releases a shimmering modern jazz recording with his Tokyo trio on his 2012 debut Bubble Fish. The ten original songs from the pianist incorporate rock edginess and hip coolness into piano jazz with attitude. Modern jazz trios like E.S.T. or The Bad Plus may have been influences to the trio’s kaleidoscopic sound, pushing traditional jazz boundaries with youthful freshness. On Bubble Fish, the jazz trio uses full chords and vital grooves on their compositions, bubbling with rock and pop styles infused with jazz improvisation. Yanagi’s angular patterns run up and down the piano keys with an almost electric guitar mindset. Yet, the pianist also shows a light tenderness where soft melodies rise lightly to the surface with positive energy, particularly on album highlights such as the “Shibuya Crossing” and “Prayer”, which closes the album with calming peace. ...