Akane Matsumoto on Jazz of Japan | Brian McCrory

Wataru Hamasaki & Akane Matsumoto: Listen to My Blues

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Listen to My Blues is a 2025 jazz release from saxophonist Wataru Hamasaki and pianist Akane Matsumoto. The two musicians are known for performing together many times at live events and recording sessions, including as co-leaders of their Big Catch Quartet, a classy orthodox jazz unit with a soulful, big jazz sound. Additionally, each musician is popular individually as a leader of their own groups, like with Hamasaki’s Encounter quartet, Matsumoto’s jazz piano trios, and as members of many other bands and combinations.

Akane Matsumoto & Ayumi Koketsu: Trust

Sat, 12 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Trust is a 2024 release from the duo of pianist Akane Matsumoto and saxophonist Ayumi Koketsu. These two musicians are leaders of their own combos, members of other groups, and also friends and working bandmates for many years running. The pair have gathered a lot of performance experience from live shows and tours taken together and have developed a deep connection between their musical instincts. Surprisingly, Trust is the first album they’ve recorded together. This serendipitously timed release also commemorates twelve years of their working together, a number that is meaningful in Japan for its significance in cyclic durations and milestones, symbolizing the closing of loops and the start of new stages. Perhaps it can be said that trust grows over time, and it’s wise not to rush it.

Akane Matsumoto: Oh, Lady Be Good

Fri, 20 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Oh, Lady Be Good is a piano trio album from Tokyo-based jazz pianist Akane Matsumoto. She’s been releasing trio recordings since 2008, along with albums playing with quartets and quintets, although her recent albums have featured her in small ensembles rather than her regular combos. In fact, since this record (recorded and released in 2019), her latest releases have focused on solo and duo formations, such as her piano album Little Girl Blue (2022), her duo with trombone on For My Lady (2023, with Nanami Haruta), and her latest piano and saxophone duo release Trust (2024, with Ayumi Koketsu). All of which is to say that this album, Oh, Lady Be Good, is her most recent jazz piano trio release.

Akane Matsumoto: Little Girl Blue

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Akane Matsumoto’s solo piano album Little Girl Blue from 2022 is full of good moods and good vibes, definitely different from any downcast implications that the album title may imply. A comfortable 42 minutes of traditional jazz standards from the 1930s-60s, this is feel-good music, happy jazz with a heartfelt beat, and even the most melancholy song, “Too Late Now”, is more likely to evoke a wistful smile than sorrowful tears.

Akane Matsumoto & Nanami Haruta: For My Lady

Fri, 21 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

For My Lady is a relaxing package of jazz standards performed by a sensitive trombone and piano duo. Akane Matsumoto, known for her impressive bebop and swing skills, joins up with young newcomer Nanami Haruta on trombone, and both players select favorites from the jazz standard library for this album, each song accompanied by comments in the liner notes translated below.

With a laid-back and reigned-in sound, the album is easy to listen to, suitable for relaxation or a comfortable backdrop to day or night. The music fills the room with a calm background texture, with most songs played at slow tempos or as freely-interpreted ballads. The dark-tinged wistful sound of Haruta’s trombone supported by Matsumoto’s wide piano dynamics creates a melancholy feeling with undercurrents of swing, unobtrusive, quietly persuasive, and suggestive of mellow musical stories being told.

Akane Matsumoto: Memories of You

Thu, 12 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

As the sentimental mood hints at in the cover photo and album title, Akane Matsumoto’s 2015 release Memories of You shows a softer side with ballads and heartfelt tunes, set together with her well-renowned fluid bebop and happy jazz style.

Rather than being filled to the brim with high-tempo chases, Matsumoto takes us on a more subdued and delicate journey on this album. While her trademark agility and speed are not completely excluded, the overall mood of the album evokes a slower, more thoughtful elegance.

Akane Matsumoto: Playing New York

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000

New York-style jazz with a fresh Japanese take is the focus on 2010’s Playing New York, where popular Japanese pianist Akane Matsumoto leads a trio with veteran NYC musicians Nat Reeves (bass) and Joe Farnsworth (drums).

With ten songs ranging from speedy bebop to romantic ballads, well-known tunes from jazz influences are covered, such as Oscar Peterson’s “Wheat Land”, Bud Powell’s “Celia”, and Duke Ellington’s “Sunset and the Mockingbird”, a sensitive and lingering close to the album. Matsumoto also presents three original tunes: “Playing”, a whirlwind Phineas Newborn Jr-style quick bop, “Twilight”, a soft, tender ballad in three, and “My Dear”, a comfortable and heart-warming bossa nova tune.

Wataru Hamasaki Meets Akane Matsumoto Trio: Big Catch

Mon, 13 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

“Swing & Blues” is the name of the game with /Big Catch/’s jazz quartet album from 2013. Undoubtedly, the concept of a jazz sax giant meeting a piano trio is a tried and true formula on classic jazz albums (“Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson” and “Coleman Hawkins with the Red Garland Trio” come to mind), and this quartet upholds the tradition properly with a big sound and spirit, singing and swinging, bluesy and fun all-around good-feeling jazz.

Keisuke Nakamura: Humadope

Mon, 12 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Trumpeter Keisuke Nakamura leads a group of contemporary jazz musicians called Humadope, a post-bop Jazz Messengers-styled quintet with a trumpet-sax front line and piano-bass-drums rhythm section. The name itself (a mix of human/mad/dope) suggests a dangerous edge on blisteringly fast tunes as the skilled soloists riotously burn through the changes. Yet, the group handily balances this attitude with a warm sensitivity played on soulful ballads and cooler numbers.

This album consists of well-written original compositions with a few covers thrown in (Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones). Overall, this is an excellent debut with a variety of moods, tempos, and exciting solos showcasing some premium J Jazz from the current crop of musicians.

Akane Matsumoto: Night & Day

Tue, 30 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Fun and buoyant bebop jazz in the style of Oscar Peterson and Phineas Newborn Junior, this is a happy jazz record from a thoroughly swinging trio led by pianist Akane Matsumoto. Professional arrangements performed by highly skilled musicians result in a solid album ranging from amazing quick-tempo tunes to slower, romantic brush-stroke ballads. Matsumoto’s fourth album as a leader, Night & Day features the accomplished pianist with her “New York Trio,” her second release with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Gene Jackson since Memories of You (2015).