Hikari Ichihara Group: Unity
Unity is the sixth album from trumpeter Hikari Ichihara and the second album from the Hikari Ichihara Group band name, following their excellent debut release Move On from 2010. Unity, released in 2011, features nine original songs and a playtime of fifty-six minutes.
The music on this album is straight-ahead jazz built on the familiar format of trumpet-sax-piano-bass-drums hard-bop quintets. The playing style has a modern jazz feel with a mix of swing beats and straight-eights that is rooted in an energetic, soulful style, the kind that fans of Jazz Messengers and similar classic Blue Note era albums will find immediately appealing.
Adding to the attraction is the group’s new material composed by the members of this band. This is solid contemporary jazz, modern with a base of expressive hard bop, exciting ad-libbing, and fun arrangements. Many songs are straightforward soloing showcases that swing with fun and energy, but there are also slower pieces and ballads where Ichihara’s mellow trumpet and flugelhorn lines especially shine. Despite having her name in the group, Ichihara is an equal partner, and above all, she is gracious about sharing the spotlight. Much of the time, she does not take the first solo slot, and even skips her turn on some tunes to let her partners take the lead, or uses her turn for trading interactions with saxophone or drums.
Ichihara’s six excellent compositions cover a great range from swinging good-feeling fun (#1 “Coati”, #2 “Dorje’s Life”, #6 “Brain Weather”, #9 “The Laughing Stock”) to delicately moody (#7 “SCHEMA”) and sinister (#4 “Doom”). Adding to the palette is a composition each from pianist Hideaki Hori (the beautifully atmospheric #3 “Oslo”), saxophonist Ryosuke Asai (the soaring #8 “Toki”), and bassist Kunpei Nakabaya, whose two-part suite #5 “Sink - Flow” is an evocative highlight on the album. The selection of these songs shows Ichihara’s range and her taste in shaping the mood and attitude of the project, all strengthened by the group’s well-put-together ensemble sound that was very attuned and responsive after touring together and honing their musical craft.
Liner Notes
(Translated from Hikari Ichihara’s original Japanese liner notes.)
1 Coati
Coati is another name for the animal called a “civet”. One night, there was a loud rumbling noise coming from the attic of the house where I live. I wondered if this was the “raccoon dog” civet that I’ve heard a lot about on talk shows recently, so I immediately called an extermination company to get a quote, which was a whopping 100,000 yen. Oh great, someone’s living in my house without permission and won’t leave unless I pay 100,000 yen… I was pretty dejected. I complained about this on the popular Twitter platform, and someone suggested the brilliant idea of writing a song called “Civet” in order to earn 10,000 yen in royalties. That’s why I wrote this song. Of course, “Civet” was too straightforward, so I chose a different title. In the end, the problem was revealed to be rats, and the bill was 40,000 yen… so that’s three more songs for me to write. For now, please check out “Coati”.
2 Dorje’s Life
I’m someone who pretty much reads one book every two days. I particularly like Kotaru Isaka and have read all of his published work. I tried to create a song to express how I view the world of Kotaru Isaka. Dorje is the name of a fantastic character that appears in the book Ahiru to Kamo no Koinrokka (The Foreign Duck, the Native Duck, and God in the Coin Locker).
3 Oslo
This is a number by a composer that I love, Hideaki Hori. It was written on February 2, 2010, the day before a duo gig that we had scheduled, and he seems to have had the sound of my flugelhorn in mind. I poured my heart and soul into this beautiful melody for the recording. I hope it can summon the scenery of Norway.
4 Doom
In these times, it feels as if our country Japan is facing difficulties in many areas. I strive to keep an awareness that our country is a responsibility of our generation, as we must try to make it better. I wrote this song from these feelings. Although this song was written before the great earthquake disaster, I would like to take this opportunity to honor the souls who perished in the calamity and to pray for a speedy recovery.
5 Sink - Flow
This is a number by bassist Kunpei Nakabayashi. It follows a suite form as two songs in one piece. Nakabayashi is a man of few words and does not explain much about his songs. It’s an honor for me to be able to include this very detailed and emotional piece of music on my album.
6 Brain Weather
Brain → 脳 (nou) Weather → 天気 (tenki)
It’s easy-going and carefree (能天気 noutenki). I attempted to write a song about my personality. Ahh, I hit upon a great title.
7 SCHEMA
Schema (organization of long-term memory): A module of information stored in long-term memory. It’s a term in clinical psychology that can be understood to represent fixed beliefs or assumptions. When I’m composing music, I often find myself wondering if I should write the hook or chorus in a certain way to increase the excitement. This is a 10-bar ballad that I wrote after clearing away those preconceptions.
8 Toki
This is a number by saxophonist Ryosuke Asai. This group performed this song once in Niigata, when Asai, a lover of large wild birds, was very excited because the Japanese crested ibis (朱鷺 toki) was released on that day. He said to the people then, “I promise to write a song called Toki by the time I return to Niigata”, and he has wonderfully fulfilled that promise. None of the band members has ever seen a crested ibis in flight, but we imagine it in our own way as we perform this song. It’s a masterpiece with a rich sense of scenery.
9 The Laughing Stock
Although the meaning is “an object of ridicule”, I played this song with all my heart and hope that you enjoy this album all the way to the end.
Thanks to your support, we were able to release our second album under the name “Hikari Ichihara Group”, recorded after many tours together. I want to thank the amazing members who stuck by me, the clumsy Hikari Ichihara, and I am deeply appreciative of the many live houses and owners who graciously invited us to perform, and to all the audiences who warmly gave applause. I want to thank all the staff at Pony Canyon who allow us to share our music, engineer Saka-san who records our music so realistically, designer Kitagawa-san who makes the album even better, and photographer Yoneya-san. And above all, I would love to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who listens to this album. I wish the best for you, today, and tomorrow, and with Unity by your side, nothing would make me happier.
Ichihara Hikari
Unity by Hikari Ichihara Group
Hikari Ichihara - trumpet, flugelhorn
Ryosuke Asai - alto saxophone
Hideaki Hori - piano
Kunpei Nakabayashi - bass
Masanori Ando - drums
Released in 2011 on After Beat / Pony Canyon as PCCY-30187
Japanese names: Hikari Ichihara 市原ひかり (Ichihara Hikari) Ryosuke Asai 浅井良将 (Asai Ryosuke) Hideaki Hori 堀秀彰 (Hori Hideaki) Kunpei Nakabayashi 中林薫平 (Nakabayashi Kunpei) Masanori Ando 安藤正則 (Ando Masanori)
Related Albums
Hikari Ichihara: Sara Smile (2006)
Hikari Ichihara Group: Move On (2010)
Audio and Video
Excerpt from “The Laughing Stock”, track #9 on this album: