工藤精

Free is the third album from the Michiyo Matsushita Trio. With the members active in their individual recording and playing schedules in Japan and internationally, they have continued to play together regularly as the Michiyo Matsushita Trio. Still, it had been 13 years since their previous 2011 release Prayer for Peace (and half that since Matsushita’s 2018 solo album Sally Gardens), so fans of the trio were pleasantly surprised to hear of this new offering coming out last year. As with the previous trio albums, old friends and long-running members Show Kudo on bass and Ryo Saito on drums join pianist Michiyo “Michiyon” Matsushita. ...

Pianist Mamoru Ishida’s second album is titled /Ishida Mamoru 4 feat. Mike Rivett /and was released in 2011. With nine tracks over fifty-two minutes, the album presents a mix of covers, standards, and original compositions. The warm ballad “These Foolish Things” invites listeners in comfortably with a nostalgic calm, introducing a graceful jazz combo that respects traditional forms and songs loved by jazz fans. The music as a whole expresses this vintage, sincere jazz feeling generated by the players’ sensitivity as well as through the recording methods and equipment used. While this can seem to be something of a jazz throwback album (meant in a good way, a sound that can be set comfortably alongside favored music of the past greats), there are also several aspects of modern, assertive jazz making appearances as well… not to mention the Japanese and international context also layered in, described well in the excellent and extensive liner notes. ...

Ami Fukui’s third album New Journey grabs the listener’s attention with colorful, immersive songs, 11 well-crafted originals played with exciting energy and vigor. Much of the music builds on strong rhythms and bassline hooks (credit given to Kudo and Fukumori, whose brightness and expert rhythms fit the music perfectly), over which catchy melodies soar. Throughout the album, surprises and discoveries often surface – bonus interludes, doubled-up lines, coordinated syncopation, even some voice and handclaps - compositional embellishments that demonstrate Fukui’s dedication to careful songwriting which pleases the listener. The result: lush music that grooves with fun, pure and simple. ...

Sumitty & the Funfair is a 2015 release from drummer Sumito Oi and his band of merry music makers, assembling here to produce an original work of creatively poppy jazz. Not circus clown tomfoolery, but, rather, light and glittery music played with a cheerful buoyancy and sensitivity by improvisational jazz musicians. The theme is musical fun, wide-smiled mirth carried by a sweet nostalgia for amusement park ambiance. As a drummer’s quartet, rhythm moderates the music delightfully, propulsive but never overpowering. Flutes with electric and acoustic instruments add evocative flavors, leading us through the fair and summoning musical images like childhood memories. ...