Tuesday, February 09, 2016

NEW RELEASES: SHUN ISHIKAWA – CLEANUP; FOX CAPTURE PLAN – BUTTERFLY; MIKI YAMAOAKA / BENNY GOLSON – ONE DAY, FOREVER

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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