Nao Teraya on Jazz of Japan | Brian McCrory

Fumie Chiba: Rougequeue

Fri, 15 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Rougequeue is a 2015 mini-album from pianist Fumie Chiba that features five of her original songs, three with jazz combos (septet, sextet, and trio), and two solo piano tracks. The uncommon word used for the album title is a French word for redstart, a small, colorful bird with a reddish-orange tail. Once the title is parsed and read as roozh-kew, it becomes easier to see and hear, but it maintains its aura of mystery and beauty. Even the word’s letters themselves seem to align, dip, and extend with a certain intentional pattern. The bird image and concepts are also easily applied to the five compositions contained under that title, music that is wonderfully vivid and that can take flight.

Erisa Ogawa: Where Have U Been?

Fri, 31 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Erisa Ogawa (ERiSA) is a flutist, voice percussionist, and composer whose second album, /Where Have U Been? (/2019) is a jewel box of jazz and pop, mixed together into a smooth and stimulating album.

Colorful like sprinkles on donuts, the vibrancy extends from the cover design and illustrations (also by Ogawa) down through to her music. Her flute playing is jazzy, quick, and skillful, obviously the result of years of dedication and study of jazz and flute, but can also be petal-soft with a charming, tremulous vibrato that tugs the at heartstrings for an extra emotional charge.

FNK: Canvas

Fri, 15 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

FNK is a group featuring pianist Fumie Chiba, guitarist Nao Teraya, and drummer Kaoru Suzuki, who released their first album Canvas in 2022. A jazz trio made up of piano, guitar, and drums is somewhat unconventional, without a standalone bass instrument playing a steady undercurrent of tonal and rhythmic grounding. But prolific modern composer Fumie Chiba supplied this trio with new songs and arrangements written specifically for this format, emphasizing their expansive sound and balanced dynamics.

Akiko Suda: Flowers On The Hill

Thu, 01 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Flowers On The Hill is a beautiful album of tender and impeccably delivered music from the vocalist Akiko Suda. The album features lovely original compositions together with jazz, bossa nova, and pop standards performed artistically with creative arrangements.

The talented musicians play sensitively and at times sound like a Brad Mehldau-inspired modern jazz piano trio, creating a lush background for Suda’s masterful voice.

The album starts strongly with four catchy and elaborate originals penned by Suda and pianist Yuichi Narita, then moves into jazz and pop territory. Novel versions of “Waters of March”, “Doralice”, Chick Corea’s “Crystal Silence”, and the jazz standards “How About You” and “What a Wonderful World” fill out the middle of the tracklist. The album closes sweetly with two pop songs, Paul McCartney’s “Blackbird” and Randy Newman’s “I Think It’s Going To Rain Today”, a pairing perfectly matched with the band’s modern, affectionate mood.