田中菜緒子

Drummer Hiro Kimura’s debut album from 2022 is Trees, a 61-minute modern jazz album recorded with two of his regular rhythm sections. The album was recorded over two days in the studio, the first with Naoko Tanaka on piano and Yuji Ito on bass, and the second with Mamoru Ishida on piano and Keisuke Furuki on bass. Joining Kimura’s rhythm sections are the front-line members consisting of three horn players who alternate and unite on different tracks. Alto and soprano saxes are played by Akiha Nishiyama and Kohei Ando, and trumpet by Mao Sone, who also switches to piano and Fender Rhodes for two songs. ...

Appreciation is pianist and composer Naoko Tanaka’s 2022 jazz release, her latest in a series of exciting new albums from young Japanese musicians. Several of her previous leader albums (Home, I Fall In Love Too Easily, Memories) featured her piano trio as a trio, which Appreciation also does. But this release also brings in the expert sounds of horn players Yoshiro Okazaki (trumpet), Takayuki Sato (alto sax), and Mabumi Yamaguchi (tenor sax) for three songs. In the rhythm section with the sparkling star are her regular trio members Koji Yasuda on bass and Masanori Ando on drums. ...

The full title of this 2023 album sets the stage: “/Folds - Live at 100Ban Hall/ by the Hiro Kimura Quintet featuring Kazuhiko Takeda”. Folds is a live recording of Kimura’s quintet playing in Kobe in 2022. Drummer Kimura leads the group featuring special guest Kazuhiko Takeda, whose melodic, soulful jazz guitar is exquisitely framed by the relatively younger musicians. Regardless of age, the unit displays talent, harmonious energy, and reverence for the music they create together. ...

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. ...

Memories of T is a 2017 recording from the group TCQ which brings together Japanese and Taiwanese musicians for a cross-cultural jazz collaboration. This quartet features Taiwanese alto sax player Shawna Yang and three musicians from Japan: Naoko Tanaka on piano, Daiki Yasukagawa on bass, and Takeshi Sakamoto on drums. Eight original tracks make up the playlist, two apiece from each member, with a convivial atmosphere running throughout. The music is straightforward and pleasant with swing and bossa grooves underpinning their polished modern jazz sound. ...

A satisfyingly neat outing, Naoko Tanaka Trio’s Memories (2015) leaves a fresh impression of modern Japanese jazz trios. The playing on this album is both playful and precise, with considered arrangements and decorations sprinkled through the welcoming music. Light touches and coordinated rhythmic hits play a role, hinting at styles employed by greats such as the Ahmad Jamal Trio. Attention is paid to the structure of each song, and as with any good jazz record, those structures are filled out with each soloist’s improvisations, bouncing solos off the harmonic movements and the rhythmic frames. ...

Similar in concept to Ray Brown’s Some Of My Best Friends Are… album series in which the legendary bassist plays with assorted partners in jazz, bassist Daiki Yasukagawa’s release Trios II from 2015 features the bassist performing with four different trios assembled from multiple pianists and drummers. A followup to Yasukagawa’s Trios (2010), Trios II brings even more musicians into the recording studio and offers up a new album with the various trios performing 11 songs. ...