Motoi Kanamori: My Soul Meeting

Jazz of Japan #117 • Apr 24, 2020 • Brian McCrory

Jazz bassist Motoi Kanamori’s My Soul Meeting from 2018 is his album debut as leader, where his jazz group rips and swings through eight tracks of modern piano trio jazz. With a polished, fun touch, the group delivers mid- and up-tempo jazz with propulsive grooves, expressive auras, and well-timed hits. His piano trio is joined by alto and tenor sax on two tracks as well, amping up the energy with edginess and texture.

Kanamori, a steady and constant sideman for jazz musicians both inside and outside Japan, built his skill and connections by playing nightly at local clubs around Tokyo in a wide variety of situations. Besides being a first-call bassist for local musicians, he also joins international tours with artists such as Eric Alexander, Vincent Herring, and others. With everlasting good humor and grinning stories, his positivity infuses his expert playing, propelling groups solidly with his deep and melodic bass notes.

The well-arranged album flows with vim and vigor, music devoted to satisfying listener as well as performer with a fine balance of five originals and three covers: Rogers & Hart’s “Little Girl Blue”, Tizol & Ellington’s “Caravan”, and Jobim’s “Luiza”. Kanamori’s originals also swing and surge on numbers like the opener “No Fool No Fun”, the thrillingly dramatic “幕開け (Open Curtains!)” and the manic “Metro Maniac”, which features a quintet with the addition of an alto sax and tenor sax front line. Wrapping things up softly with the album closer “Luiza”, Kanamori takes the spotlight in piano-bass duo format, where he adorns the melody with bowed strings in a liltingly romantic performance.

My Soul Meeting by Motoi Kanamori

• Motoi Kanamori - bass
• Hiroyuki Takubo - piano
• Akira Yamada - drums
• Erena Terakubo - alto sax (tr. #6, 7)
• Akihiro Yoshimoto - tenor sax (tr. #6, 7)

Released in 2018 on Laplace Records as LPDCD-103.

Japanese names: Motoi Kanamori 金森もとい Hiroyuki Takubo 田窪寛之 Akira Yamada 山田玲 Erena Terakubo 寺久保エレナ Akihiro Yoshimoto 吉本章紘

Audio and Video

• Promotional video for this album