Erisa Ogawa (ERiSA) is a flutist, voice percussionist, and composer whose second album, /Where Have U Been? (/2019) is a jewel box of jazz and pop, mixed together into a smooth and stimulating album.

Colorful like sprinkles on donuts, the vibrancy extends from the cover design and illustrations (also by Ogawa) down through to her music. Her flute playing is jazzy, quick, and skillful, obviously the result of years of dedication and study of jazz and flute, but can also be petal-soft with a charming, tremulous vibrato that tugs the at heartstrings for an extra emotional charge.

While Ogawa is currently based in and performs in Japan, her educational path and the influences on her musical life up to now are wide-ranging. She started playing jazz in high school in Salt Springs Canada and continued with higher education at the University of Kansas, Boston’s Berklee School of Music, and the live scene in New York City. Her early experience resulted not only in important motivation and knowledge but also several awards, and eventually led to her debut Sky is the Limit: A Letter to Salt Springs (2016) and this 2019 album.

Where Have U Been? groups the young flutist together with thirteen musicians arranged into about eight different structures on the various tracks. Her core group is a jazz flute quartet with piano, electric bass, and drums, starting strong with #1 “Blue Smoke”, a stylishly cool beat with a smooth yet heavy pulse.

Continuing through the tracks, various members and instruments sub in and out for a dynamic feel as the album progresses. Some changes are subtle, others are more dramatic, like switching from electric bass to acoustic double bass and baby bass to adding violin, cello, percussion, guitar, trombone, and Fender Rhodes.

The two tracks with strings are cheerful and upbeat (violin and percussion on #3 “Maria Cervantes”) and heavenly lush with a beautiful arrangement (#4 “Completed Light”). Similar to #3, #6 “Sinceridage” is also a Latin rhythm taken at a comfortably cute pace and featuring guitar, and #8 “Is it going to be sunny?” is another fresh and sweet swing jazz break. #9 “Rain” revisits the Glasper-esque smooth and hummable groove with the classic Fender Rhodes keyboard sound enhancing the vibe.

Also quite noticeable and dramatic here is one of Ogawa’s specialties, spotlit on one track and perhaps leaving the listener wanting more. Her impressive solo “voice percussion flute” skills (ボイパフルート, boipa flute) are featured on the challenging and well-known jazz classic #5 “Isotope” by Joe Henderson. Here, the flutist beatboxes drum sounds with voice, lips, and breath as she simultaneously plays the tune’s melody through her flute.

Ogawa’s sunny personality rises from the music through to the design and musical titles, with motivational messages sprinkled through the layout (“Love yourself and do your best”, “Life is a party and you are invited!!”, “愛 (love)”, “so flute!”) and also felt in the song titles of Ogawa’s original compositions (“Blue Smoke”, “Road Trip”, “Completed Light”, “Sinceridage”, “Is it going to be sunny?”, “Rain”, “Winter Moon”) which have a tangibly natural and easy-going spirit.

Following the plethora of musician switches, the final track #10 “Winter Moon” finds the flute quartet returning for a simply lovely track of slow magic, essences of mystical and wistful hope that leaves a mark in the perfect place, a graceful exit from a sparkling and fun jazz flute album.

Obi Notes

The second album from ERiSA, a rising star in the jazz flute world and winner of the Grand Prize in the third Chigusa Awards!

Colorful pop-jazz that captures everything from her first debut up through now!

Where Have U Been? by Erisa Ogawa

• Erisa Ogawa - flute
• Sota Seta - piano
• Yusuke Morita - electric bass
• Ryo Shibata - drums
• Sayaka (Violin) - violin (#3, 4)
• Ayumi Hashimoto - cello (#4)
• Issei Yoshiba - percussion (#3)
• Tetsuo Koizumi - baby bass (#3)
• Jo Endo - wood bass (#2, 6, 8)
• Nao Teraya - guitar (#6)
• Masaru Okuyama - piano (#3)
• Keita Harigai - trombone (#8)
• Takeru Yamazaki - Rhodes & piano (#9)

Released in 2019 on Uplift Jazz Record as UJRC-19014.

Japanese names: 小川恵理紗 Ogawa Erisa 瀬田創太 Seta Sota 森田悠介 Morita Yusuke 柴田亮 Shibata Ryo 橋本歩 Hashimoto Ayumi 吉羽 一星 Yoshiba Issei 小泉哲夫 Koizumi Tetsuo 遠藤 定 Endo Jo 寺屋ナオ Teraya Nao 奥山勝 Okuyama Masaru 張替啓太 Harigai Keita ヤマザキタケル Yamazaki Takeru

Audio and Video

• Promotional video with audio excerpts and scenes from the recording and photo shoot:

• Erisa Ogawa’s voice-percussion-flute style at Apollo Amateur Night Japan 2019:

• Erisa Ogawa’s video channel
• Erisa Ogawa’s website videos (older)
• Excerpt from track #7: “Punk”

Jazz of Japan #243 • May 31, 2024 • Brian McCrory