Shinobu Ishizaki

The 2021 album Live at Virtuoso by the quartet Fe was released by the jazz club Virtuoso in the nightlife district of Akasaka in Tokyo, Japan. Virtuoso is a great name for a music venue. Aside from the word being a term for master musicians, fans of jazz guitar will immediately recognize the reference to jazz guitarist Joe Pass’s landmark series of Virtuoso albums. Naturally, Virtuoso features jazz guitar and guitar bands on many nights. The jazz club also occasionally releases albums such as this one on its in-house recording label. ...

Yasumasa Kumagai’s debut album from 2008, I Need a Change, Too, establishes his J Jazz hip hop concept with force: From the shocking pink cover art and the unexpected electronic soulful beats of the brief opening track “I.N.T.R.O.”, the album takes thrilling twists and turns through jazz laced with groove, centered on a powerfully soulful and vibrant modern jazz piano trio. Fun and catchy but with a serious musical depth, the music covers both cool and bittersweet moods, at times evoking influences from Robert Glasper’s style of gospel-inspired hip-hop jazz. Kumagai’s songwriting skill and precision playing make for a high-quality J Jazz album, full of soul and passion rooted in authentic jazz with ultra-modern sharpness. ...