Yudo Matsuo Quartet: Songs in Motion

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Songs in Motion is a 2018 release from guitarist Yudo Matsuo that he recorded with a quartet featuring Junichiro Ohkuchi on piano, Yoshimasa Otsuka on bass, and Sota Kira on drums. While this album follows his previous debut release Bonanza (2012), there was a full six years in between, so the guitarist/composer surely had a lot to say. As a result, Songs in Motion is an album full of his stored-up musical ideas and performances, and that spirit is bursting forth as the quartet’s energy lets loose.

Yudo Matsuo: Bonanza

Fri, 07 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Bonanza, from 2012, is the debut release from guitarist Yudo Matsuo, whose kinetic quartet performs original songs with influences from electric jazz fusion to pop songwriters, a palette of sounds reflecting his varied artistic sides.

The core band is made up of guitar, trumpet, fretless electric bass, and drums, with guest keyboard on three tracks adding a warm bluesy sound for extra soul. While much of the music is built around a fusion jazz/rock mood which runs through the album, the dial also moves to include smooth jazz sounds, evocative jazz waltzes, and pop, including a rendition of “Blackbird” by The Beatles. One track, “Loplop”, comes closest to pure bop guitar with a fast swing beat and walking bass, where Matsuo plays quick jazzy lines in the style of guitarists such as Tal Farlow and Pat Martino.

松尾由堂 on Jazz of Japan | Brian McCrory

Yudo Matsuo Quartet: Songs in Motion

Yudo Matsuo: Bonanza