The drum-led trio creates a live sound, bright and open, in a chord-less configuration consisting of drums, bass, and alto sax. The stripped-down sound creates both purity and rawness that pulls the listener straight into the music, loose and fun and in control, with soaring, bebop saxophone fluidly soaring over the solid double bass and drum foundation.

The players are confident as experienced musicians who know each other well, grooving and swinging with playful quotes and spontaneous interplay spicing up their collaboration.

The album has six standards including Thelonious Monk’s “Four In One” and Charlie Parker’s “Ah-Leu-Cha”, with one short 45-second drum improvisation interlude before the final track, John Coltrane’s spirited “Chasin’ The Trane”. This is pure jazz played with a relaxed feeling, evoking an experience like being invited to a high-quality jazz session in a cozy jazz bar.

Audio and Video

• A performance of the Hara Dairiki Trio playing live in Tokyo in 2009:

• Excerpt from track #1: “Four In One”