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.

While Ogawa is currently based in and performs in Japan, her educational path and the influences on her musical life up to now are wide-ranging. She started playing jazz in high school in Salt Springs Canada and continued with higher education at the University of Kansas, Boston’s Berklee School of Music, and the live scene in New York City. Her early experience resulted not only in important motivation and knowledge but also several awards, and eventually led to her debut Sky is the Limit: A Letter to Salt Springs (2016) and this 2019 album.

Where Have U Been? groups the young flutist together with thirteen musicians arranged into about eight different structures on the various tracks. Her core group is a jazz flute quartet with piano, electric bass, and drums, starting strong with #1 “Blue Smoke”, a stylishly cool beat with a smooth yet heavy pulse.

Continuing through the tracks, various members and instruments sub in and out for a dynamic feel as the album progresses. Some changes are subtle, others are more dramatic, like switching from electric bass to acoustic double bass and baby bass to adding violin, cello, percussion, guitar, trombone, and Fender Rhodes.

The two tracks with strings are cheerful and upbeat (violin and percussion on #3 “Maria Cervantes”) and heavenly lush with a beautiful arrangement (#4 “Completed Light”). Similar to #3, #6 “Sinceridage” is also a Latin rhythm taken at a comfortably cute pace and featuring guitar, and #8 “Is it going to be sunny?” is another fresh and sweet swing jazz break. #9 “Rain” revisits the Glasper-esque smooth and hummable groove with the classic Fender Rhodes keyboard sound enhancing the vibe.

Also quite noticeable and dramatic here is one of Ogawa’s specialties, spotlit on one track and perhaps leaving the listener wanting more. Her impressive solo “voice percussion flute” skills (ボイパフルート, boipa flute) are featured on the challenging and well-known jazz classic #5 “Isotope” by Joe Henderson. Here, the flutist beatboxes drum sounds with voice, lips, and breath as she simultaneously plays the tune’s melody through her flute.

Ogawa’s sunny personality rises from the music through to the design and musical titles, with motivational messages sprinkled through the layout (“Love yourself and do your best”, “Life is a party and you are invited!!”, “愛 (love)”, “so flute!”) and also felt in the song titles of Ogawa’s original compositions (“Blue Smoke”, “Road Trip”, “Completed Light”, “Sinceridage”, “Is it going to be sunny?”, “Rain”, “Winter Moon”) which have a tangibly natural and easy-going spirit.

Following the plethora of musician switches, the final track #10 “Winter Moon” finds the flute quartet returning for a simply lovely track of slow magic, essences of mystical and wistful hope that leaves a mark in the perfect place, a graceful exit from a sparkling and fun jazz flute album.

Obi Notes

The second album from ERiSA, a rising star in the jazz flute world and winner of the Grand Prize in the third Chigusa Awards!

Colorful pop-jazz that captures everything from her first debut up through now!

Audio and Video

• Promotional video with audio excerpts and scenes from the recording and photo shoot:

• Erisa Ogawa’s voice-percussion-flute style at Apollo Amateur Night Japan 2019:

• Erisa Ogawa’s video channel

• Erisa Ogawa’s website videos (older)

• Excerpt from track #7: “Punk”

The core band is made up of guitar, trumpet, fretless electric bass, and drums, with guest keyboard on three tracks adding a warm bluesy sound for extra soul. While much of the music is built around a fusion jazz/rock mood which runs through the album, the dial also moves to include smooth jazz sounds, evocative jazz waltzes, and pop, including a rendition of “Blackbird” by The Beatles. One track, “Loplop”, comes closest to pure bop guitar with a fast swing beat and walking bass, where Matsuo plays quick jazzy lines in the style of guitarists such as Tal Farlow and Pat Martino.

Bonanza’s jazz/fusion side is displayed best on the track “Wicked Wind”, an 11-plus minute jam which boils with energy and echoes the electric fusion periods of Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock to some extent. With developed excitement on extended trumpet and guitar solos played over a rousing bass and drum riff, and including a drum feature near the end, one almost expects to hear a crowd’s roar after the final note is played. In fact, a second alternate take of this song is included near the end of the album, a welcome encore of this satisfying set piece.

All the musician shine with visceral playing and a clean sound, with solos, duos, and group features arranged among the songs. Adding to the variations in mood are Matsuo’s use of acoustic and electric guitar selected to suit the material, as well as trumpeter Keisuke Nakamura alternating between trumpet, flugelhorn, and even adding real-time delay, wah-wah, and distortion effects to his horn at several dramatic moments. As for the indefatigable rhythm section, the impressively twisty lines from bassist Ryoji Orihara move with glissando slides, deep pops, and high ringing harmonic tones, and add a lot to the music along with the tight patterns and quick reactions from drummer Yasushi Fukumori, who uses the complete set to great effect with brilliant dynamics and incredible playing.

Audio and Video

• Bonanza performing “Loplop” live, the seventh track on this album:

• Excerpt from track #4: “Wicked Wind”