Kaoru Azuma / Hitomi Nishiyama: Faces
The album Faces from 2020 is the follow-up to vocalist Kaoru Azuma and pianist Hitomi Nishiyama’s first album Travels (2013). As with the earlier work, this album features mostly original compositions from the pianist that are delicately adorned with the light and airy voice of Azuma, who adds lyrics and instrument-like vocalizing to the music.
Along with Azuma and Nishiyama are the same members as before, guitarist Motohiko Ichino, saxophonist Ryosuke Hashizume, and bassist Toru Nishijima. On the tracks, the five musicians play in different combinations including a duo, trios, quartets, and the full quintet for subtle variations in sound, structure, and solo space.
The music itself, soft and brilliant, is naturally rooted in Nishiyama’s emotive piano and Azuma’s heavenly voice that at times drapes the music like an embroidered cloth, simple, plush, and cozy, and at other times meshes with the piano and guitar as a dimensional, instrumental voice. The addition of Ichino’s mellow guitar and Hashizume’s textured explorations expertly add the warm, astral strands to Nishiyama’s frames and Nishijima’s bass foundations.
Much of the album moves at a slow or mid-tempo pace, a comfortable environment easy to absorb and get lost in. Whisper-sweet, encompassing feelings of dreamy reflection are buffeted by several slightly more upbeat and rhythmic selections, with an overall album ebb and flow that is reassuringly relaxed.
Liner Notes
(Translated from excerpts of Kaoru Azuma’s and Hitomi Nishiyama’s original Japanese liner notes.)
FACES of “East” (東, Azuma) “West” (西, Nishi)
Our first album together was Travels, seven years ago. Compared to that, the songs recorded this time may not be as flashy, but require more precision and delicacy, and the sense of drama I felt was missing previously, but this time I wrote lyrics with the premise of singing as the feeling of the main character.
For my writing style this time, I wanted to capture the ups and downs of visualizing emotions, especially on “Pierre Without a Face” and “Pescadores”. “Pierre” is set in France. It’s my first attempt at substituting French in the lyrics and has a feeling of a dramatic play, and I hope people enjoy my short enactment and introduction at live shows.
“Pescadores” has the feeling of life’s meaninglessness and despair, but after the solos, the musicians together resolve to fill the main character with the decision to live, take it easy but stand firm, so I sang this while moving through these feelings. That posture is just like an Enka singer (haha).
* The composer [Nishiyama] had said earlier that it is like an Enka song.
(Kaoru Azuma)
Face of Yesterday
Included on the duo album El Cant Dels Ocells (2012) with bassist Daiki Yasukagawa. This was originally written with a vocal impression, so I asked to have lyrics added to it.
White Cloud Mountain Minnow
Also from El Cant Dels Ocells. The title is the English name of the akahire. fish. There is a small aquarium next to the piano in my home piano room and this song was written when young akahire were hatched there.
Pierre Without A Face
The first song recorded for this album. At home, there’s a wooden doll with the name of Pierre, but he doesn’t have a face. Be sure to listen to Azuma’s introduction of this song at a live performance.
Fly Me To The Moon
Like with our previous album, I wanted to include one standard song. Upon hearing Azuma singing a standard, her grounding power is immediately understood, and I wanted to clearly show how this album and originals are an extension of that.
Manouche
I wanted to write a song in the Manouche style, but this song ended up going in a completely different direction. I arranged it with two voices to blend the voice and guitar.
Analemma
This is a song included on Shift (2014), but this time I definitely wanted to hear it with the saxophone featured, so I thought of an arrangement.
T.C.T.S.
Included on Live (2016). I wrote this by rotating through twelve chords in one cycle with a blues size. It feels great to play this with these members who can perform this space-filled piece without overfilling it.
J
I had mainly performed this as an instrumental song in a duo with Motohiko Ichino, so I had vocals added to the duo.
Pescadores
Included on the duo album with Daiki Yasukagawa Down By The Salley Gardens (2014). It’s a song written by thinking of a simple melody so thoroughly to the point where there was nothing else that could be done.
Night
This is based on “Before Night Falls” from Many Seasons (2007), but I changed the size and expanded the image into a different song.
(Hitomi Nishiyama)
Faces by Kaoru Azuma / Hitomi Nishiyama
Kaoru Azuma - vocal
Hitomi Nishiyama - piano, composition, arrangement
Motohiko Ichino - guitar (#1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8)
Toru Nishijima - bass (#1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9)
Ryosuke Hashizume - tenor & soprano saxophones (#2, 3, 6, 7, 10)
Released in 2020 on Meantone Records as MT-09.
Japanese names: Kaoru Azuma 東かおる (Azuma Kaoru) Hitomi Nishiyama 西山瞳 (Nishiyama Hitomi) Motohiko Ichino 市野元彦 (Ichino Motohiko) Toru Nishijima 西嶋徹 (Nishijima Toru) Ryosuke Hashizume 橋爪亮督 (Hashizume Ryosuke)
Related Albums
Rabbitoo: The Torch (2016)
Ryosuke Hashizume Group: Incomplete Voices (2017)
Hitomi Nishiyama: Vibrant (2020)
Audio and Video
Excerpt from “J”, track #8 on this album: