SHUN
ISHIKAWA – CLEANUP
A great
little record with an angular, soulful flow – and a sense of direction that's
way more confident than you'd guess from the mixed-up look on Shun Ishikawa's
face on the cover! Shun's a drummer, and he leads a group here that's full of
dynamic energy – excellent work on tenor and soprano from Ahikiro Yoshimoto,
alto sax from Akiha Nakashima, and guitar from May Inoue – three players who
can tangle around each other and create a sound that's greater than the sum of
its parts – then take off and soar when the piano and Rhodes of Aaron Choulai
and Yusei Takahasi give them the right sort of inspiration. Ishiwaka's drums
are often quite subtle – with a nice skipping sort of vibe at some of our
favorite moments – and titles include "A View From Dan Dan",
"The Way To Nikolaschka", "Siren", "Big Saaac",
"Into The Sea Urchin", and "Ano Ba". ~ Dusty Groove
FOX CAPTURE
PLAN – BUTTERFLY
One of the
most beautiful albums so far from Fox Capture Plan – a set that adds in a bit
of strings at times – which makes for an even more colorful variation on their
freewheeling piano sound! We've loved these guys right from the start for the
way they fold piano, bass, and drums around each other – creating this
cascading groove that seems to explode color and light at each new turn – all
with a style that's upbeat and moving, but also surprisingly lyrical too. Yet
this time around, the strings – which are light, really just a few additional
players – open up the first few tracks on the record, before the trio move out
on their own, and seem to continue the music with a whole new sense of
inspiration. Titles include "The Beginning Of", "With
Wind", "Inchoate", "Plug In Baby",
"Supersonic", "In The Darkness", "Christmas Comes To
Our Place", and "Butterfly Effect". ~ Dusty Groove
MIKI
YAMAOAKA / BENNY GOLSON – ONE DAY, FOREVER
A really
unique pairing of talents – Japanese singer Miki Yamaoka, and American tenor
legend Benny Golson – who also produced and arranged the set! Miki's got a
voice that's surprisingly deep and dusky at points, which makes here a great
match for Golson's tenor solos on the record – blown in this easygoing, soulful
style that matches the pace of the rhythms nicely – served up by the trio of
Soichi Moriki on piano, Buster Williams on bass, and Carl Allen on drums!
Yamaoka's definitely got a different vibe than some of the other female
Japanese jazz singers on the market – and titles include "One Day Forever",
"Feeling Good", "I Remember Clifford", "Whisper
Not", "Autumn In New York", "I Love You", and
"Fly Me To The Moon" – which just features Miki's vocals and Buster's
bass! ~ Dusty Groove
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