United by a stellar theme of the universe, the Tokyo jazz quartet Blue Dot explores stars and galaxies on their debut album Halo from 2016.

Through ten songs tuned to the mysteries of space and time, the music is solidly modern and positively charged. Tokyo-based drummer Makoto Takeshi leads a quartet consisting of sax, piano, bass, and drums, with original songs supplied by all members of the group.

The energetic opener, “Sturm und Drang” (by pianist Tamashi Goto) is a sharp-edge sprint through modern jazz, while “Bird” (by bassist Goro Takano) is a creative and mesmerizing tune, soft and deep, inspired by dreams of flying.

With strong appeal to the universe theme, Rikitake’s “Andromeda” is a gentle, peaceful ode to the wonders of space, while “Echo of Stars” (Tamashi Goto) is a darker, ECM-style mysteriously brooding adventure.

In a memorable closer, the vocalist Maki Fujimura is featured on the last tune “Moon”, a sweet song with Japanese lyrics.

Other songs feature jazz combined with pretty waltz-time ballads, poppy soft-rock, quirky uptempo funk, and snappy Latin beats, all infused with a sense of open-eyed wonder and appreciation for nature and life on this blue dot of a planet.

Halo by Blue Dot

• Makoto Rikitake - drums
• Tamashi Goto - piano
• Masanori Sugimoto - tenor sax
• Goro Katano - electric bass
• Maki Fujimura - vocals (track #10)

Released in 2016 on Blue Dot as Halo.

Japanese names: 力武誠 Rikitake Makoto 後藤魂 Goto Tamashi 杉本匡教 Sugimoto Masanori 片野吾朗 Katano Goro 藤村麻紀 Fujimura Maki

Audio and Video

• Promotional video for Blue Dot:

• Excerpt from track #1: “Sturm Und Drang”

Jazz of Japan #70 • Mar 6, 2019 • Brian McCrory