The jazzy swing music is easy to get into being so likable, simple, and uncomplicated in the best way. It’s classic jazz piano trio music played by Ozawa on piano, Yusuke Yaginuma on drums, and the two bassists Koji Yasuda and Takumi Awaya, who share bass line duties on different tracks. One song, “I Wanna Be a Duck!”, also features vocalist Ema singing Ozawa’s wondrously imagined original lyrics.

Referencing the title of Cheers! again, the musical mood has that celebratory feel of kicking off a party together, the shared good-will of plans to make time together well spent. Also like a party, the colors of the different songs are various and vibrant while mostly staying true to the straight-ahead orthodoxy of swing, bop, and groove-based jazz.

The majority of the songs are original compositions from Ozaka. Track #1 “Introduction” starts strong and gets into a fun light swing that glows with positive energy. #2 “Poppin’” combines smooth and grit with an infectious rhythm and a nicely decorated arrangement. Next, “Stella By Starlight”, one of the two standards on the album, is a brief intermission-style piano solo, slow and ruminative. Track #4, “Serendipity”, glides through a waltz beat with beautiful, serious harmonies with graceful touches.

Track #5 is “Something Like That”, an upbeat and addictive highlight with a riff based on a Northeastern Brazilian Baião rhythm with syncopated melodic hits and harmonic whorls. #6 “My Old Grandad” is a tender ballad, soft and pretty. The sole vocal song is next, and “I Wanna Be a Duck!” rises as the liveliest voice in the cheering section that takes on a silly-seeming waltz with a pure sweetness at its core.

Another highlight is #8 “M’s Mark”, a song that leans toward the hard bop corner of piano trio jazz with nods towards the groovy Blue Note sounds of pianists like Sonny Clark and Horace Silver. The familiar jazz tune “Time After Time” follows with more light-fingered and crisp swing. Closing the set is Ozawa’s “Dear Gene”, full of the deep soul and jazzy blues of the with a style somewhere between Herbie Hancock and Oscar Peterson. This closer is dedicated to the highly regarded jazz pianist Gene Harris, who Ozawa draws inspiration from here as she digs in with bluesy power and obvious pleasure.

Online Liner Notes

(Translated from the original Japanese online introduction to this album.)

This is the debut album from a young pianist of the classic jazz tradition who regularly plays at Blue Note Place in Tokyo!

This recording centers around her original material, rich in variety, and delivered by her usual trio with complete and reliable trust.

In addition to two famous jazz standards, the songs include her blues number “Poppin’” with its second-line rhythm, her charming “I Wanna Be a Duck!” featuring vividly imaginative lyrics and singer Ema’s bright and cheerful voice, and “Dear Gene” which is dedicated to the beloved pianist Gene Harris. The tradition of classic jazz is respected through all ten songs while presenting an authentic portrait of Saki Ozawa.

Audio and Video

• “Introduction” (track #1):

• “Poppin’” (track #2):

• “M’s Mark” (track #8) - live performance from 2023:

• “Time After Time” (track #9) - live performance from 2023:

• Full playlist (YouTube)

• Excerpt from track #5: “Something Like That”

Among the selections, the Sato and Nakajima duo plays two songs from the Great American Songbook, the sweetly loveable #1 “Young at Heart” and the pretty ballad #6 “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face”. These two songs, along with the tender tribute ballad #3 “I Remember Clifford”, are played at a slow pace, and the two musicians play with a feeling of comfortable relaxation that sinks in easily. Three other popular jazz standards played as a duo are #2 “The Dolphin”, #4 “Stablemates”, and #5 “Invitation”, where Sato and Nakajima moderately turn up the gas and tempos with more advanced changes and adventurous playing.

The final two songs are Japanese pop ballads from different long-ago eras. Track #7 “Itoshi no Ellie (Ellie, My Love)”, is a classic love ballad released in 1979 by the popular Japanese supergroup Southern All Stars (video). Here on Longing, Ema and Nakajima introduce the song in a nice-and-bluesy rubato style as the singer melodically storytells in English and adds some Japanese in the second half, where Sato brings in a rousing sax solo.

Track #8 “Soshu Yakyoku” (“Suzhou Nocturne”, 素週夜曲, video 1, video 2) was written by the innovative composer Ryoichi Hattori in 1940 for a movie set in the ancient Chinese city of Suzhou. It has the feel of a sentimental ballad from a different generation, fitting the Shangai Jazz Age mood in this “Paris of the East”, and the song’s softly moving harmonies, pentatonic scale notes, and structure romantically evoke a bygone Asian era. On Longing, Ema sings the song entirely in Japanese, and the musicians play with a melancholic feel that is suitably dusky (yakyoku as nocturne, night song) and lovingly nostalgic.

Liner Notes

(Translated from the original Japanese liner notes.)

PROLOGUE

About founding the Pochizou label

The “Pochizou” name was born when I began uploading videos as an art teacher/Youtuber for my students while my school was closed during the Covid pandemic.

I first met Sato and Nakajima in 2019 at the jazz bar Coquelicot in Funabashi, just before the coronavirus turmoil heated up. I was the only customer, but I can still vividly remember the impact of hearing their live jazz performance for the first time. I said at the time, not jokingly, “I wish everyone in the world could hear this!” The dark period of Covid continued for the next three years, during which these musicians would still regularly come out to Funabashi to play. Ema joined them later, increasing their impact which resulted in an even more wonderful performance. At the end of 2022, as my teaching career was winding down, I boldly confided my thoughts about making an album to the three musicians, and they readily agreed. That is how this album was born.

I would like to thank everyone who was involved in the making of this album. I hope that this label can make progress in supporting those involved in Japanese music.

Sexagenarian Youtuber “Pouchizou Sensei”

MUSICIAN PROFILE

YOSUKE SATO

Yosuke Sato moved to the US in 2008 and started playing in New York. He won Grammy Awards in 2013 and 2016 as a member of singer Gregory Porter’s band. He has received high acclaim as a jazz saxophonist and has participated in hundreds of jazz festivals up through the current day. Sato departed the band in 2015 and moved his base to Japan to pursue his music, actively participating in musical events domestically and abroad.

GEORGE NAKAJIMA

George Nakajima was born in 1981 in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture. He studied jazz piano under Masayasu Tzuboguchi at Shobi University. He has released two albums as the duo Shinpei Ruike & George Nakajima, N.40° and Duo. His first leader album, First Touch, was released in April 2021. Nakajima has participated in overseas performances in the Republic of Slovenia, China, and elsewhere, and is active in many groups and his combos both inside and outside Japan.

EMA

From an early age, Ema has appeared in musicals and dramas, learning the joy and importance of expression while encountering various musical genres. She started with a single-song demo tape and continued under the guidance of producer Tomoaki Ogura to release her debut record with Sony Music Ariola Japan and perform at the Blue Note Jazz Festival. In recent years Ema has starred in musicals and expanded her range into genreless activities.

Audio and Video

• Live duo performance of “The Dolphin”, track #2 on this album:

• Live trio performance of “Peel Me a Grape”:

• Live trio performance of “Our Love Is Here to Stay”:

• Live duo performance of “There Will Never Be Another You”:

• Live duo performance of “Body and Soul”:

• Excerpt from track #4: “Stablemates”