平岡遊一郎 on Jazz of Japan | Brian McCrory

Rio Osawa: Rio

Sun, 03 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Rio is the first album from vocalist Rio Osawa, released in 2021 as a six song, 24 minute album of some favorite Brazilian and jazz bossa nova tunes.

With an organically rooted acoustic sound true to the honored form, vocalist Osawa is joined by guitar on all six tracks, with additional wind instruments (sax, flute, harmonica), hand percussion, and occasional backup voices from the band adding call and response dialogue and accents to the music. The songs selected for this album are from four names recognizable as leading songwriters and producers of Brazilian music: Antonio Carlos Jobim, Roberto Menescal, Milton Nasciemento, and Caetano Veloso. Rio includes two songs each by Jobim and Menescal, and one each by Nasciemento and Veloso.

Yuri Hirota: Magical Moonlight

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Yuri Hirota’s album Magical Moonlight was released in 2017 as a petite jazz gallery of some of her favorite songs and original compositions songs. These are played by pianist Hirota with her group,“Quartet Tsukino no Sampo” (月夜の散歩), which roughly translates to The Walk on a Moonlight Night Quartet.

Although this is a slightly older album, Hirota announced recently that this album and her earlier release Flea Circus (2015) were now available on streaming platforms, making this a good time to refresh this short article about the album.

Layla Tomomi Sakai: Stolen Moments

Sat, 03 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Singer Layla Tomomi Sakai’s Stolen Moments is a 27-minute album from 2019, a follow-up to her two previous releases from 2016 and 2018 with a consistently pleasing and familiar core sound. That sound of Sakai, introduced on her debut album Whisper Not, is based on her intimate vocal/guitar/trumpet trio with Yuichiro Hiraoka on guitar and Ryuichi Takase on trumpet. Her second album The Island expanded the trio with more accompanying players, a pattern which continues here on Stolen Moments as her guest musicians create forms from duos to sextets on the different songs.

Layla Tomomi Sakai: Whisper Not

Mon, 08 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Whisper Not is vocalist Layla Tomomi Sakai’s debut release from 2016. Performing here with an intimate guitar and trumpet combo, the striking singer chooses comfortable jazz standards such as “Black Coffee”, “I Can’t Get Started”, and “There Will Never Be Another You” to introduce new listeners to her smooth, husky voice and relaxing style. Six songs are included, and tempos settle at midtempo swing, bluesy groove, or slow sultry ballads, with energy peaking on the quick and exciting “Devil May Care”.

Layla Tomomi Sakai: The Island

Tue, 23 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Easy and breezy, as if dozing in a hammock between palm trees, Layla Tomomi Sakai’s The Island stirs up visions of vacationing and relaxing in sultry lands as music floats softly by.

Sakai’s deep voice embraces the listener, dancing lightly through bossa novas and Latin-tinged music. The music is comforting, the musicians performing pieces that come and go in an uncomplicated manner, lulling the listener into a state of reassuring comfort. Sakai uses her voice gently yet confidently, producing an effect of sweet directness with an affectionate touch.