服部正嗣 on Jazz of Japan | Brian McCrory https://www.jazzofjapan.com/tags/%E6%9C%8D%E9%83%A8%E6%AD%A3%E5%97%A3/ Recent content in 服部正嗣 on Jazz of Japan | Brian McCrory Hugo en-us Sat, 20 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000 Shunichi Yanagi Trio: Slope https://www.jazzofjapan.com/shunichi-yanagi-trio-slope/ Sat, 20 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.jazzofjapan.com/shunichi-yanagi-trio-slope/ <p>Jazz pianist Shunichi Yanagi’s <em>Slope</em> is his second trio release, a 2015 followup to his 2012 debut <em><a href="https://www.jazzofjapan.com/shunichi-yanagi-trio-bubble-fish/">Bubble Fish</a></em>. The trio explores fresh territory in the jazz, rock, and light groove moods which vary from track to track. Each member has a clean touch with a sense of drama in creating excitement, somewhat like a movie or video game soundtrack at times.</p> <figure><a href="L1220795-2-1024.jpeg"> <img loading="lazy" src="L1220795-2-1024.jpeg"/> </a> </figure> <p>The opening notes of <em>Slope</em> establish a delicate frame that quickly moves into a modern rock-styled beat, showcasing how this trio tends to move between jazz pop, rock, and light-as-a-bubble tenderness. Leading the trio as the primary composer, Yanagi orchestrates a progressive style, and his own playing is decorated with repeated arpeggios and densely looped patterns packed together like a woven carpet.</p> Jazz pianist Shunichi Yanagi’s Slope is his second trio release, a 2015 followup to his 2012 debut Bubble Fish. The trio explores fresh territory in the jazz, rock, and light groove moods which vary from track to track. Each member has a clean touch with a sense of drama in creating excitement, somewhat like a movie or video game soundtrack at times.

The opening notes of Slope establish a delicate frame that quickly moves into a modern rock-styled beat, showcasing how this trio tends to move between jazz pop, rock, and light-as-a-bubble tenderness. Leading the trio as the primary composer, Yanagi orchestrates a progressive style, and his own playing is decorated with repeated arpeggios and densely looped patterns packed together like a woven carpet.

Some tunes like the grunge of the opener “I Can’t Fly” and the sad ballad “Song of Do” are solidly modern, reminiscent of the great jazz trio EST. Other catchy songs like “Yudachi” and “Y’s Swing” feature graceful bossa rhythms and weightless swing patterns with a comfortable ambience, and the ballads “Silence and You” and the solo piano track “B.E.” paint serene and spacious musical landscapes. The final two tracks on the album are highlights as well: the wild spirals and chaotic webs of “Ame to Muchi” and the majestic “Nagai Yumei” both leave a strong impression as the album reaches the end.

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]]> Trio Export 63.1.0.X: Small Pieces for Flying Padre https://www.jazzofjapan.com/trio-export-small-pieces-for-flying-padre/ Wed, 19 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.jazzofjapan.com/trio-export-small-pieces-for-flying-padre/ <p>The album <em>Small Pieces for Flying Padre</em> from Trio Export 63.1.0.X is a special release of a live jazz recording at Kanmachi 63 in Yokohama, Japan. The piano-bass-drums trio performs the set live as recorded, bringing the listener into the music through the raw recorded sound of the room for an “as if you were there” experience. The ambience of music in an enclosed space performed right in front of your eyes is captured well and transmits the energy of musical drama unfolding in unexpected ways.</p> The album Small Pieces for Flying Padre from Trio Export 63.1.0.X is a special release of a live jazz recording at Kanmachi 63 in Yokohama, Japan. The piano-bass-drums trio performs the set live as recorded, bringing the listener into the music through the raw recorded sound of the room for an “as if you were there” experience. The ambience of music in an enclosed space performed right in front of your eyes is captured well and transmits the energy of musical drama unfolding in unexpected ways.

This live set is a four-part jazz suite with original, extended explorations running from 8 to 13 minutes each. The compositions by pianist Heitetsu Rin are unique and hard to describe, although references to the styles of Charles Mingus or Duke Ellington music would not be entirely unsuitable.

The musicians go on a journey, from curiously exploring in “Part I”, to abstract windy rumblings in “Part II”, playful tumbling and jaunty plate-spinning in “Part III”, and off-kilter hooks and propulsive excitement in “Part IV”. There are composed musical themes and structures, yet with plenty of flexibility for stop-and-start breaks and free sections where the musicians react and respond to each other’s dynamics and accents within and around the musical blueprint. Each member works together yet with stimulating leeway, and as with another often-referenced live trio recording, Bill Evans’s Trio at the Village Vanguard, Trio Export’s members carry equal weight, working closely together in composed sections as well as decorating the music with individual dynamics and surprises.

Original, catchy, and unique, this handmade album is available for sale at the jazz bar where it was recorded live, Kanmachi 63.

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