Kosuke Ochiai on Jazz of Japan | Brian McCrory

Polyglot: Talk, Vol. 1

Fri, 02 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Polyglot is drummer Ko Omura, pianist Steve Barry, and bassist Kosuke Ochiai, an Australian-Japanese jazz trio project whose first album Talk, Vol. 1 was released in 2020. Each member contributes original music for the 58-minute album’s eight tracks, with five from the pianist, two from the drummer, and one from the bassist.

Similar to great jazz trios like those of Bill Evans and others, equal partnership is apparent as each member participates actively in the group sound to fill the space with cooperative creativity. While Barry’s piano is the leading voice for many of the theme statements, Omura’s drums and Ochiai’s bass follow and influence the twists, turns, and accents of the multi-cornered melody lines, resulting in a full and fascinating sound.

Mase Hiroko Quintet: First Contact

Fri, 05 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

“Hard bop jazz aimed towards the universe” might be a good way to introduce soprano saxophonist Hiroko Mase’s debut album First Contact from 2020. Together with her double-sax quintet, the album features ten of her original songs in a vibrant arrangement of energetic hard-swinging and mid-tempo songs brimming with atmospheric layers.

The opening song “First Contact” together with #4 “Spinning Petals” (a live version is included in a video below) and #9 “Have Fun”!” prop up the album’s core jazz tentpoles with straight-ahead frameworks reminiscent of the sound of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers and Cannonball Adderley’s bands: energetic rhythm sections that frame unleashed improvisation from double horn front-lines.