Riku Takahashi

This I Have Heard is a 2025 release from pianist Otohito Fuse, a second album as a leader quick on the heels of his Isolated from 2024. Joining him on this release are his regular trio members, Riku Takahashi on bass and Kaito Nakamura on drums. It’s a continuation and evolution of the trio sound created on their previous release, with an increased maturity and depth added to the new music. This music is patient and deep, and while there are intense tempos with free-flowing jazz improvisation and burning solos, the musicians do not hurry to get there, as if there is an abundance of confidence in building beautiful moments that will come together when the time is right. ...

Invisible Diary, released in March 2025, is the latest release from drummer Kaito Nakamura. On this sixty-three minute, nine-track album, Nakamura plays with his regular quartet of Riko Sasaki on saxophone, Otohito Fuse on piano, and Riku Takahashi on bass, and adds guitarist Ippei Kato on six songs. The trio of pianist Fuse, bassist Takahashi, and drummer Nakamura also played on Fuse’s album debut Isolated from last year. This album is a follow-up to Nakamura’s first album Blaque Dawn from 2022. In contrast to his debut record, Invisible Diary is entirely self-produced by Nakamura and released on his own label, a move that allowed him the freedom to imagine and direct the project entirely as he saw fit. Although Nakamura does not give away too many details, the songs on this release are meant to tell one conceptual story, and the listener is invited to form their own interpretations. The songs are all original compositions by drummer Nakamura. ...

Isolated is a 2024 album from the Otohito Fuse Trio, a piano-bass-drums jazz group of popular and in-demand young Japanese jazz players. Led by pianist Otohito Fuse, the eight-track CD runs for sixty-five minutes from a brilliantly modern jazz piano trio. As mentioned in the album notes, Fuse’s sound somewhat follows in the path of several heroes he thanks: Bill Evans, Lyle Mays, Keith Jarrett, and Yuya Wakai, respected influences popular with many fans and jazz musicians. ...