It’s an exciting big band sound where the instrumental arrangements are a natural forefront highlight of Nakabayashi’s music written for alto sax, tenor sax, clarinet, flute (x2), baritone saxophone, trumpet (x2), trombone (x2), piano, bass, and drums. All of the players are well-known, hard-working musicians working in and outside Japan in various forms. Special mention is made for trumpeter Takuya Kuroda, the most famous name in this group who is known for major label releases, international jazz festival activity, and collaborations with international musicians in jazz, fusion, and other genres.

The rhythms on Circles are energetic, many with modern jazz straight-eights and Latin-beat propulsion. The exciting individual horn soloists interlock grandly with written-out front-line horn section statements. This results in a live jazz sound that grabs listeners’ attention and illuminates different parts of the orchestra as the music unfolds.

As a long-experienced bassist, Nakabayashi knows how to expertly deliver the essential rhythmic and melodic roots when playing jazz to communicate intimately with listeners. As the leader on this album, he makes sure to keep driving an exciting groove throughout most of the songs, making several moments on the album equal candidates for highlights.

#1 “Circulo” introduces the exciting modern jazz sound overflowing with energy. #2 “Passing” shifts to a solid 3/4 time walk that is somehow both weighty and light. #3 “Choro for Charlie” (for Charlie Haden? Mingus? Parker?) is sleek with cool George Russellian quirks to it that keep the interest high. #4 “Partagas” is a brave adventure with a surprise piano montuno and drum solo embedded in its fusion/Latin groove.

#5 “My Ship” (tracks #5 and 6 are switched on the CD jacket), the sole jazz standard, is a laidback cool-down interval. #6 “Evenfall” is a magnificently suspenseful journey guided by an extended flute solo. #7 “Nocturne” has an emotional, graceful Ellingtonian sound, and together with track #5 offers a restful period on a disc otherwise filled with engaging whirlwinds. Finally, #8 “R.B.” is a fun, loud jazz blues that builds with popping swing-dance energy. Here the humble leader, not one to hog the mic, at last takes his only bass solo on the album (likely invoking “R.B.”, or Ray Brown, the famous long-time bassist in the Oscar Peterson trio). Nakabayashi plays a great four choruses on four strings before the ensemble locks into a lively orchestrated fanfare, a perfect way to close this Circle.

Audio and Video

• Promotional video for this album with brief excerpts:

• Promotional video for “Circulo”, track #1 on this album:

• Live performance of “Choro for Charlie”, track #3 on this album:

• Promotional video for “Pargatas”, track #4 on this album:

• Streaming/digital version of “Circles” (Bandcamp)

• Excerpt from track #6: “Evenfall”

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

Audio and Video

• Audio for “Coati”, track #1 on this album:

• Audio playlist for all tracks on this album

• Excerpt from track #9: “The Laughing Stock”

With two exceptions, the songs are all originals including four from Shimizu. The pianist’s concepts mostly explore modern jazz territory taken at a medium pace with a light rock/country feel and fleeting moments of abstract color, as if influenced by a certain period of Keith Jarrett’s music. The title track “Sora” (sky) rolls along comfortably and brings to mind calm nature scenes while opening with rain and wind effects for atmosphere. The music continues smoothly into the bluesy noirish “Out of the Blue”, again invoking images of nature as if materialized out of the blue sky. Shimizu’s “Cat Trucks” is playfully Monkish, and “Terra” heightens the mood even more with simmering modal jazz and by adding Toshihiko Inoue’s Jan Garbarek-style soprano sax embellishments.

Along with original compositions, Duke Ellington’s “Rockin’ In Rhythm” jaunts along at a swinging uptempo pace, and the album closes tenderly with a emotional rendition of the Japanese traditional folk song “Furusato”.

Audio and Video

• Promotional video for this album:

• Eriko Shimizu performing live in 2013:

• Excerpt from track #1: “SORA”

The quintet consists of strong, like-minded players who play with a polished yet intimate feeling, creating a solid framework for the improvisers to gracefully leap and flow over. Ichihara’s trumpet solos consistently capture attention, full of impressive decorative swoops and turns, loaded with dramatic soul and a beautifully fluid and organic sound.

Closing brilliantly with pianist Hideaki Hori’s upbeat composition “Inspiration”, this album’s positive energy and satisfying sound will surely have listeners inspired to listen again, and to move on to explore more of Hikari Ichihara’s music as well.

Audio and Video

• Video of Hikari Ichihara playing “Can You Repeat the Past” from the 2014 album “Dear Gatsby”:

• Excerpt from track #1: “やみくろ (Dark Black)”