Hitomi Nishiyama on Jazz of Japan | Brian McCrory

Daiki Yasukagawa / Hitomi Nishiyama / Maiko: The Tree of Life

Sat, 13 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Tree of Life is a 2019 jazz release from bassist Daiki Yasukagawa, pianist Hitomi Nishiyama, and violinist Maiko. These are three musicians who are each leaders of their own projects in Japan with many recordings, side projects, and frequent live schedules. Bassist Yasukagawa and pianist Nishiyama have worked as a duo before and released two albums together, but this album, with Maiko on violin, is the trio’s debut as “The Tree of Life”, a band name that they will continue to use on their followup albums Mahoroba (2021) and New Hope (2022).

Hitomi Nishiyama: Astrolabe

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Astrolabe is an imaginative 2012 album from pianist and composer Hitomi Nishiyama. Nishiyama created the songs and this album with two goals in mind: First, she wanted to compose a story-like suite, a long-form composition that reflected the influence of guitar-based music she listened to as a youth, especially rock and heavy metal. Second, she wanted to record and release an album in a duo format with guitarist Takayoshi Baba, who joins her on this album.

NHORHM: New Heritage of Real Heavy Metal

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

NHORHM is New Heritage of Real Heavy Metal. It’s not only a homage to the original NWOBHM abbreviation, but also an incredible initialism of the three musicians: N ishiyama H itomi (piano), O rihaya R yoji (bass), and H ashimoto M anabu (drums), with names in the last-name-first Japanese convention. (I include a brief diversion on “What is NWOBHM?” later, below…)

This debut album from NHORHM was released in 2015 and rereleased/remastered in 2024 when the first run was sold out, and both new listeners and fans who originally missed out were clamoring for copies. The album contains ten tracks, nine cover songs and one original by pianist Nishiyama. All arrangements are by Nishiyama, and this is not something to take lightly; the whole project hinges on the idea of a jazz piano trio covering heavy metal tunes, and the success of the endeavor relies a lot on bridging the gap between those distinct sounds, styles, and instrumentation, and on making the music appealing, listenable, and great, despite the obvious novelty aspect that may precede the experience. Yet, never fear, Nishiyama took the challenge seriously and put a lot of work into this project.

Hitomi Nishiyama Trio: I’m Missing You

Sun, 30 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Rewinding from the previous article on Hitomi Nishiyama’s Echo from 2024, and connecting the dots (re: Dot, 2023), relistening to Hitomi Nishiyama Trio’s I’m Missing You from 2004 provides a fascinating reflection.

I’m Missing You is the prolific composer’s first album, which quickly sold out as she was gaining recognition for her distinctive jazz piano compositional style, a novel approach that melded her Japanese classical musical training, studies in jazz piano, and her affection for European modern jazz. The original 2004 album contained eight songs, all composed by Nishiyama, and was re-released in 2007 with three bonus tracks from around the same period. It came to be regarded as her breakthrough first trio recording, released 20 years before her latest CD Echo, and with more than two dozen albums released in between.

Hitomi Nishiyama: Echo

Sun, 23 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Echo, from 2024, is pianist/composer Hitomi Nishiyama’s latest album and a response to her previous release Dot from 2023. The music on this album was made with the same group and during the same recording sessions and as such, there are many similarities in sound and direction. In aura and conceptually, however, the differences are effectively portrayed by the separate covers and designs: Where Dot shows a monochrome sketch-like grid of hand-drawn dots, Echo places the pianists’ subtly Mona Lisa smile into a vividly abstract gauze of lilac and cobalt swirls and hues.

Hitomi Nishiyama: Dot

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Dot is the 2023 album by pianist/composer Hitomi Nishiyama. Until this week’s release of Echo, Dot was her latest album; Echo is Dot ’s twin, recorded with the same members and during the same sessions.

Nishiyama has released many great albums since 2004, and yet it is tempting to call this significant Dot her masterpiece. As a prolific composer with consistent album releases over two decades, many peaks have been reached. Dot forges into some bold new territory, and successfully so.

Hitomi Nishiyama Trio: Calling

Sat, 27 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Among the close to thirty album releases from pianist and composer Hitomi Nishiyama’s catalog, Calling (2021) is the third album recorded with one of her regular trios. This particular trio with bassist Yasuhiko “Hachi” Sato and drummer Kazumi Ikenaga is also featured on Nishiyama’s Sympathy (2013) and Music in You (2011).

These three musicians have maintained close musical contact with occasional performances together since then, so this album is not only a long-awaited recording reunion but also a heartfelt response to various bittersweet events described in Nishiyama’s liner notes.

Kaoru Azuma / Hitomi Nishiyama: Faces

Fri, 29 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The album Faces from 2020 is the follow-up to vocalist Kaoru Azuma and pianist Hitomi Nishiyama’s first album Travels (2013). As with the earlier work, this album features mostly original compositions from the pianist that are delicately adorned with the light and airy voice of Azuma, who adds lyrics and instrument-like vocalizing to the music.

Along with Azuma and Nishiyama are the same members as before, guitarist Motohiko Ichino, saxophonist Ryosuke Hashizume, and bassist Toru Nishijima. On the tracks, the five musicians play in different combinations including a duo, trios, quartets, and the full quintet for subtle variations in sound, structure, and solo space.

Hitomi Nishiyama: Vibrant

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Vibrant is a 2020 solo piano recording from Hitomi Nishiyama, her second solo album after 2013’s Crossing and her 20th overall release. At the time of this recording, her heavy metal project NHORHM had recently finished, and on this album she chose to face the piano quietly and alone, playing nine of her original compositions.

Providing an interesting contrast to the title, the monochrome package design is plain and minimalistic, listing the tracks and credits without any artwork or photos. The disc itself, printed in calming pink, begins to turn up the vibrancy level as you get closer to the recorded music.

Daiki Yasukagawa Trio: Trios II

Mon, 10 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

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.

NHORHM: New Heritage of Real Heavy Metal -Extra Edition-

Tue, 07 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

An unlikely fusion of heavy metal and modern jazz strikes all the right chords on NHORHM’s fourth album New Heritage Of Real Heavy Metal -Extra Edition-, released in 2019 in Japan.

While jazz musicians have traditionally interpreted popular music and Broadway musicals for inspiration, NHORHM harvests heavy metal for a surprisingly fitting and rich source of material.

Pianist Hitomi Nishiyama expertly rearranges heavy metal songs for piano jazz trio arrangements, imbuing the music with her characteristic elegance, darkness, intelligence, and fun. The intricate harmonic lines that Nishiyama excels at playing fit well with the dense heaviness of her carefully curated metal choices, complemented marvelously by the dexterous energy of Ryoji Orihara’s fretless bass and the rhythmically clever dynamics of Manabu Hashimoto. Far from benign cocktail jazz, the resulting music has a smart sharpness inspired by the volume and roughness of the metal spirit. While not distorted or aggressive, it is both light and heavy, and definitely rocks in its own way.

Hitomi Nishiyama Trio: Sympathy

Thu, 20 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000

The sympathetic joy of listening to three accomplished musicians improvising and creating beautiful music together is aroused on Sympathy from the Hitomi Nishiyama Trio from 2013. This kind of sympathy, that of being made happy by the joy of others, builds on the listener’s own enjoyment in listening to the art created here.

The Hitomi Nishiyama Trio creates music that is exquisite and graceful, delicate and refined, where the music flows and builds and whirls in a stylish modern jazz style, with piano chords and melody lines moving over the deep bass and crystalline cymbals like wind passing through and around leaves on boughs, swaying and producing tranquil sounds of nature.

Hitomi Nishiyama Trio “Parallax”: Live

Fri, 06 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

This 2016 album simply entitled Live from Hitomi Nishiyama’s Parallax piano trio marks 10 years since her label debut Cubium in 2006. With various projects and albums released under her name, this is the third release for her Parallax group, an edgier, groovier, and rhythmically-energized jazz piano trio.

Recorded live over two nights at the Creole jazz bar in Kobe, the eight songs feature her original compositions plus a rearranged “My Favorite Things”, with a new pulse and layers added to the popular standard.

Hitomi Nishiyama Trio: Music in You

Fri, 09 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Hitomi Nishiyama’s 2011 album Music in You features an established trio that shares a cohesive sensibility, creating beautiful textural moods with European-flavored jazz influences. As befits a group of skilled jazz musicians, the players breathe as one while creating textures of sound, restrained yet deep with emotion.

Like the gracefully knotted thread art on the album cover, Nishiyama’s music also seems to be composed of delicate lines, intricately flowing and interweaving to create a weightless construction of deep substance.

Hitomi Nishiyama Trio: Many Seasons

Sun, 11 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

With a clean, clear pianist’s touch melding jazz with classical and a subtle rock sensibility, Hitomi Nishiyama’s 2007 album Many Seasons is reminiscent of great European jazz melodists (Giovanni Mirabassi comes to mind), with lyrical passages twisting through rich harmony and odd meters. Aside from the high technical prowess, the beautifully-written songs overflow with delicate emotion, with pangs of nostalgia and sweetness in abundance.

This album was recorded in Stockholm with two Swedish musicians, befitting the graceful melding of European and Japanese musical minds on display.