Jazz singer MIWO’s first album is entitled Tranquillo from 2020. This fifty-one-minute album delivers a sincere and straightforward set of twelve jazz standards perfectly suited to the leader’s modestly beautiful voice. Tranquillo was produced by mentor Hiroko Williams, a well-known jazz singer in her own right, and the result is an album with an authentic approach to vocal-focused jazz albums. While some decorative intros, endings, and arrangements are subtly attached, the performances follow the original music closely to respectfully elevate the original compositions and allow the immediately felt vocals to shine. ...

Salt Peanuts is a Tokyo jazz fan’s paradise, loved by Tokyo insiders for years and formerly less well-known but now experiencing a boom with appreciation and visits from new customers. Figure 1: May Inoue (guitar), Shunya Wakai (bass), Masayo Koketsu (sax), and Yuto Maseki (drums) at Salt Peanuts in 2012 ...

Isolated is a 2024 album from the Otohito Fuse Trio, a piano-bass-drums jazz group of popular and in-demand young Japanese jazz players. Led by pianist Otohito Fuse, the eight-track CD runs for sixty-five minutes from a brilliantly modern jazz piano trio. As mentioned in the album notes, Fuse’s sound somewhat follows in the path of several heroes he thanks: Bill Evans, Lyle Mays, Keith Jarrett, and Yuya Wakai, respected influences popular with many fans and jazz musicians. ...

With an ideal, near-peerless name that lines up with the legendary Blue Note Records jazz label, the Blue Note jazz club brand almost needs no introduction. Most jazz fans are familiar with this spot, and its New York location is regarded as one of the most famous and prestigious jazz clubs in the world. Figure 1: Entering Blue Note Tokyo For those who gravitate towards more traditional and atmospheric images of small, dark, underground jazz clubs, visiting an extravagant jazz oasis like the Blue Note may present some hurdles to overcome. It’s natural that some people just love nice, small bars and cozy hideaways for drinking and listening to great jazz, feeling comfortable and relaxed in an at-home way. ...

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. ...

Koen-Dori Classics has the air of being a subdued yet musically expansive performance art space with an adjustable layout. Distinct from many other Tokyo clubs, this nice spot features a wide variety of acts, and one can imagine coming here to enjoy anything from improvisational jazz to classical concerts and even plays or performance pieces. Figure 1: Ryosuke Hashizume’s Trioplan with Koichi Sato (piano) and Ryo Noritake (drums) in August 2017 ...

Project-N is the debut album from violinist Noriko Satomi, a classically trained violinist and “Nissan Presents Jazz Japan 2019” award winner. Satomi is active in the Japanese jazz live scene as a jazz violinist and graces many live spots with her beautiful string tone and charming presence. On this 67-minute album, Satomi leads a jazz quartet featuring Masaaki Imaizumi on piano, Kunio Oinuma on bass, and Masahiko Osaka on drums. This ambitious violinist released Project-N /in 2017, following up this debut with future releases /A Love Supreme (2019) and Duke String Quartet (2023), two excellent releases that focus her debut’s wide jazz spectrum into clear concept albums. ...

Frozen Dust is a live recording that captures guitarists Takumi Seino and Motohiko Ichino playing improvised jazz during their first set of the night at Kanmachi 63 in Yokohama. The two-track album is full of abstract improvisation throughout its forty-six minutes. The music is experimental to a degree, but close listening reveals musical themes within the subtle compositional frameworks and free improvisation. This first meeting of the pair demonstrates not only their guitar playing but also their liberal use of electric effects, adding modulated buzzes, textures, echoes, and filters to their mellow yet edgy musical tones. These guitar effects add a lot of personality to the music, setting up atmospheres that evolve from playful and curious to dark and intimidating. ...

Among the close to thirty album releases from pianist and composer Hitomi Nishiyama’s catalog, Calling (2021) is the third album recorded with one of her regular trios. This particular trio with bassist Yasuhiko “Hachi” Sato and drummer Kazumi Ikenaga is also featured on Nishiyama’s Sympathy (2013) and Music in You (2011). These three musicians have maintained close musical contact with occasional performances together since then, so this album is not only a long-awaited recording reunion but also a heartfelt response to various bittersweet events described in Nishiyama’s liner notes. ...