Akihiro Yoshimoto

The jazz album Blending Tone is the 2012 debut release from the Tokyo-based Akihiro Yoshimoto Quartet. Saxophone player and leader Yoshimoto recorded this with a tightly bound group of musicians including Aaron Choulai on piano, Takuya Sakazaki on bass, and Shun Ishiwaka on drums, working together to blend their tones while staying on top of Yoshimoto’s music. The CD version of this album includes ten tracks running at 54 minutes of mostly original music from Yoshimoto. The popular jazz standard “Body and Soul” is the sole cover tune, played as duo of piano and sax as a gentle closing. ...

Oxymoron is a live recording from saxophone player Akihiro Yoshimoto and bassist Takashi Sugawa. The duo recorded a live performance in 2016 at the jazz club Apollo in Tokyo, Japan, and released that recording as this album in 2017. Through the album’s eleven tracks and thirty-six minutes, Yoshimoto and Sugawa play free jazz and experimental music that pushes beyond the boundaries of standard jazz. The pair avoids the more easily identifiable trademarks of conventional music and songwriting to chase the free-flowing exchange of spontaneous ideas and sounds with few limits imposed. ...

Humadope 2 from trumpeter Keisuke Nakamura features his quintet playing modern jazz originals with unsupressible energy. With a slightly different lineup as on his debut album Humadope (2014), the human/mad/dope sound is the same: fresh and boiling, jazzy and nonstop. No doubt Nakamura’s vision extends through the material, from the steampunk-ish cover to the song titles that describe a fantastical, searching aesthetic. And, of course, this influence carries through to the music, artfully composed with originality and serving as a beautiful post-bop platform for each musician’s improvisation. ...

Trombonist Nanami Haruta’s debut release II from 2022 is another great example of new jazz albums from new players that keep flowing to the hands and ears of eager fans. Haruta, a young player who has been making an impact in the Japanese jazz scene, has been frequently featured as both leader and guest member at various live shows. In addition to this debut, she has also participated in other recent recordings such as 64 Charlesgate (2022) and For My Lady (2023). ...

Saxophonist Akihiro Yoshimoto’s 62 Charlesgate is a 2022 album where he showcases both his original music and a group of young musicians from the Japanese jazz scene. The quartet is made up of saxophone, trombone, bass, and drums, with no chordal instrument like piano or guitar filling up the comping harmonies. The resulting music, composed for two horns to play melodies in union, harmony, counterpointing, or trading phrases, has a well-suited sound for Yoshimoto’s organized yet free and open concept on this album. ...

Jazz bassist Motoi Kanamori’s My Soul Meeting from 2018 is his album debut as leader, where his jazz group rips and swings through eight tracks of modern piano trio jazz. With a polished, fun touch, the group delivers mid- and up-tempo jazz with propulsive grooves, expressive auras, and well-timed hits. His piano trio is joined by alto and tenor sax on two tracks as well, amping up the energy with edginess and texture. ...

Moving Color is the second album from saxophonist Akihiro Yoshimoto and his quartet. With eight original songs drawn from his palette, he blends serious musical exploration and improvisation with elements of modernity, jazz tradition, and a bit of humor. Strength in composition and group cohesion is clear: the quartet plays confidently, as if they are disclosing a secret bit by bit, modestly exhibiting their skills yet playing with brimming energy and a locked-together sense of where they are going. ...