Sumire Kuribayashi: Orbital Resonance

Jazz of Japan #349 • Feb 6, 2026 • Brian McCrory

The new album Orbital Resonance from Sumire Kuribayashi, released in September 2025, is the latest creative output from the popular Japanese jazz pianist and composer. This graceful album contains eight original songs performed by the trio of Sumire Kuribayashi on piano, Motohiko Ichino on guitar, and Kyrie Anderson on drums, with guest trumpeter Niran Dasika making it a quartet on three songs.

For this release, two prominent jazz players from Australia join Kuribayashi and Ichino, yet Kuribayashi is no stranger to international connections. In addition to her frequent concerts in Japan, she’s performed with many non-Japanese musicians for overseas tours and recording sessions, including this album’s guest trumpeter Niran Dasika, who has recorded several of his past albums with Kuribayashi.

Naturally, Kuribayashi’s sense of cross-boundary collaborations in jazz extends to this album as well. Although the musicians span continents, and the title grants images of far-away orbiting bodies resonating grandly, their music here is firmly grounded with a warm hum. It conveys introspection, as if to encourage and reward inward meditation. The atmospheric music, at-times dark and intimate, sets the right mood for pulling true emotions out of the musicians, not to mention the listeners. Even the cover art seems to invite an infinite inward/outward gaze, as four planes narrow to a point bounded by distant clouds where a solitary bird explores the limits.

This jazz trio consists of piano, guitar, and drums (and quartet with trumpet for three songs), so this is a somewhat unconventional jazz combo format in terms of classic combo setups.

The so-named bass-less trio format has no low notes produced by an upright bass player. While, technically, the piano range covers the same low notes as an upright bass, the effect is audibly different. The large double bass instrument is not just visually imposing, but naturally creates its own distinctive thumps, slides, hits, and pulls, and all manner of dynamics that a player’s direct fingers on the strings can pull off, in addition to the occasional bowing and the unique personality and style of the individual playing the instrument.

Some say bass-less trios can open up the sound of the group, in so far as the harmonies can be more ambiguous with a floating feeling in the absence of expansive low bass notes that lock the musical roots in and set the pulse of time. Having no bassist can also influence the rest of the group as they adjust their playing to compensate or experiment with different styles of playing in the sonic space.

On Orbital Resonance, the musicians may be more conscious of their roles and their unique tones playing without a bass net. They interact closely and there is a heightened effect of their unified texture of interlaced sounds. The piano’s tender delicacy and steady riffs, the warmly organic guitar tone, and the drums’ kaleidoscopic shimmering, combine to produce a sound that is mellow but alive. This vibrancy is increased when evocatively whispered trumpet is added, and when those whispers grow to more intense effusion.

An emotional hue colors the album, with colors ranging from ethereal and gentle (#1 “Deep Breath”), soothing as a balm (#2 “Family”), moodily exciting and dramatic (#4 “Tanabata Song”, #6 “Road”, #7 “Green Sprout”), and mournful (#3 “Bittersweet”). There are also bright and positive moments (#5 “Yell”, #8 “Onaji Fune ni Noru” (riding on the same boat)) where hope rises and swells to orbit above the clouds, promising better days ahead.

This late 2025 release and the followup tour dates for Sumire Kuribayashi’s Orbital Resonance also marked a special anniversary for the pianist, as it has been a full decade since her debut album Toys (2014) came out. This CD was released in September 2025, and an LP release of Orbital Resonance is planned to be released in May 2026. More information on this album can be found at Orbital Resonance album/streaming links and the Sumire Kuribayashi Online Shop.

Orbital Resonance by Sumire Kuribayashi

• Sumire Kuribayashi - piano
• Motohiko Ichino - guitar
• Kyrie Anderson - drums
• Niran Dasika - trumpet (#4, 5, 7)

Released in 2025 on Somethin’ Cool as SCOL-1078.

Japanese names: 栗林すみれ Kuribayashi Sumire 市野元彦 Ichino Motohiko キリー・アンダーソン Anderson Kyrie ニラン・ダシカ Dasika Niran

Related Albums

• Sumire Kuribayashi Trio: Toys (2014)
• Hideaki Kanazawa & Sumire Kuribayashi: Nijuso (2017)
• Sumireiko: Decision (2020)
• Sumire Kuribayashi / Kazuma Fujimoto / Takashi Sugawa: Tides of Blue (2025)
• Melodies: Melodies (2025)

Audio and Video

• Promotional video for Orbital Resonance:

• “Tanabata Song” from Orbital Resonance:

• Interview with Sumire Kuribayashi on the RoseLove’s Love Power Podcast about Orbital Resonance, with album excerpts and discussion: (This interview is in Japanese but an auto-dubbing voice-over may automatically start. Change this in YouTube Audio Track settings to hear the music more clearly.)