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 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. ...
Owari to Hajimari (The End and the Beginning) is a new album from the duo of vocalist Nobie and guitarist Takayoshi Baba. Released in 2023, this disc features forty minutes of music written and adopted from the duo’s repertoire and experience playing jazz, pop, and Brazilian music together. The two have released their own leader albums and recordings with other groups, but this is the first album to be released under their co-named band partnership and builds on their vast experience playing together in various settings. ...
Fever is the 2014 debut release from Trigraph, a band that takes an eclectic approach to their music, focusing on jazz and pop while incorporating various genres and instruments into their music. The core group is the talented trio of musicians Sanae Ishikawa on vocals, Takayoshi Baba on guitar, and Reikan Kobayashi on shakuhachi and other instruments. Two additional musicians fill out the group for this recording, electric fretless bassist Ryoji Orihara, and drummer Yasushi Fukumori. ...
Pianist Hideaki Hori and guitarist Takayoshi Baba create beautiful music together on Resonance, their first studio recording as the unit “Duo Tremolo”. On eleven tracks made up of four standards and seven original compositions, the pair play through easy-going swing, bop, and jazz/rock tracks with hues of Jarrett, Corea, and Metheney glowing within. The graceful players combine the dimensions of Hori’s precise, finessed notes and Baba’s snazzy, bluesy lines at relaxed mid-tempo jaunts, rapid and fluid modern pieces, Latin grooves, and gentle ballads. The music is joyful and emotive, and the two converse with a comfortable flow built solidly on their years performing in various settings. The duo clearly enjoys playing together and it comes through in their playful, professional music. ...
On Bénin Rio Tokyo, Japanese vocalist Nobie takes us on a musical journey spanning West Africa, Brazil, and Tokyo with sparkling duo collaborations. This music is catchy and deep, with layers of voice and guitar infused with a spirit of love, respect, and masterful finesse. With an ideal selection of musical partners and songs, Nobie’s rhythmically thrilling and lush voice cascades through the music like water over rocks, beautifully soft and dynamic. ...
Enterprising singer Sanae Ishikawa presents us with her passionate voice on Grown-up Christmas Gift from 2018, a mini-album celebrating classic and modern Christmas songs in a jazz and pop setting. As part of her successful Seasonal Japanese Songbook Project crowdfunding, the popular singer released this album along with her full-length album 冬-Winter- to great anticipation, just in time for the Christmas season that year. 春-Spring- (2019) and 夏-Summer- (2020) have also been released in this jazzy J-pop series, with a hope of seeing 秋-Autumn- in the not-too-distant future. ...