Akiyoshi Shimizu

Live at The Moment is a new album from pianist Takako Yamada’s jazz trio. The music was recorded during a live performance at The Moment in 2024 and released later that year. The Moment is a relatively new Tokyo jazz club, a polished recording studio-styled spot designed to produce and capture high-quality live audio, as was done with this album (jazz improv in the moment is a winning concept). Here, this sixty-one-minute set includes seven tracks, six jazz standards and one original song from the pianist. ...

Vocalist Naoko Akimoto’s debut release No One Else is a seven-song introduction to the popular singer, a presentation of standard jazz and Japanese pop arranged with care and performed by top musicians from Tokyo. The arrangements are nice, particularly on the opening track “Moondance” which opens with a deep bass, piano, and vibes setting up a grove for Akimoto to lead the listener through the atmospheric drama of the tune. The decorated arrangements include vocal harmonies with trumpet, flute, and other instruments adding beautiful layers to the music. ...