One of bassist Ryoji Orihara’s many projects is his solo work BGA (Back Ground Ambient), where he conjures transparent or intangible furniture to create ambience, as opposed to playing a standard live set with starts, ends, and discrete songs. This seems to be the seed from which Virtual Silence grew. The BGA sound transforms the space of a room through his fretless electric bass and effects like guitar pedals, loopers, Jaco Pastorius-style playing, and a stringed bow for atmospheric drone notes. In addition to writing four of the five songs on Virtual Silence, he also contributed the original artwork, design, logos, sales, and video editing.

Vocalist Chie Nishimura’s background and previous albums exhibit a love for classic jazz that started at a young age (with an influential Ella Fitzgerald phase), training in classical and opera, and experience with R&B and jazz performance. Although jazz standards have been a mainstay, her recent albums include more impressionistic and grand views of music. This vision permeates Virtual Silence, which began as Orihara’s duo project with Nishimura. Playing in a duo format with bass is not new for the vocalist, and her previous album Funky Duo also follows this format. She has a deep appreciation for singing with a bassist, an experience that stretches back to her early years as a jazz singer.

There are no lyrics sung on the five tracks of Virtual Silence and the stories are not told through words, yet the song titles describe the mood of the music. Orihara’s four compositions have both Japanese and English titles printed in the track listing, with some interesting differences between the two:

1. 溶けた日常 (Metamorphosed) / _toketa nichijo, “dissolved daily life”_
2. 矛盾の街 (Vain Pursuit) / _mujun no machi, “city of contradictions”_
3. Beyond The Flames
4. 人間が住んでる (The Past Decade) / _ningen ga sunderu, “humans are living”_
5. 汚れた群青 (Grief Runs Deep) / _kegareta gunjo, “dirty ultramarine blue”_

An excellent Mikiki article with an interview from 2021 explains the songs and background ideas. In summary, Nishiyumura and Orihara alight on the importance of sound, dynamics, and restraint: From starting very quiet and grabbing attention, to having tightly controlled and compressed sounds and voices with patience and layered sounds; from the influence of certain ECM records and bassist’s solos to the use of ambience, ostinatos, and loops, and how every member and no member is the solo instrument; how being simple but passionate is a constant goal, arrived at most powerfully on the last track.

As the songs progress, the flow mutates from quiet and calm at the outset to larger and more chaotic towards the final stretch, helping the album as a whole to feel like a concept or an encapsulated experience. There is the feeling of being part of a rapt audience during a live performance. Immersed in the music from track #1, a haunting combination of fretless electric bass and voice sing together and imagine an abandoned factory with sheet metal echoes. Loose drumset accents and guitar effects float and linger like dust in the air. As with much of the music, a simple theme is established in union by bass or guitar with voice and repeated slowly. Simple linear steps of melody rise slowly toward high ceilings, tempting meditative moods.

The next four tracks slowly turn up the heat like one extended crescendo, with musical roiling, rumbling, and riffing, layers abutting and adjoining, superimposing and repeating. Free and floating space alternates with thick, steady rhythms. A David Lynchian feel comes into focus at times with odd, lovely, and nostalgic oldness and a slightly sinister feeling. Guitar improvisation and overdrive level increase the drama on the last two tracks, where the stepwise up-and-down themes invoke spiral staircases slowly turning. Although Nishiyama’s voice dynamics are often intentionally moderated for a controlled effect, Nishimura begins to roar and peak on the last two tracks, the plaintive oohs and aahs spinning deep with universal gravity.

The guitar tones and drum patterns veer between heavy density and light ambience, adding quite a lot to the quartet’s distinct, atmospheric qualities. Each instrument (voice included along with guitar, bass, and drums) contributes to the overall sound of shimmering, bright, melodic, and melancholic. Effects like delay, reverb, and chorus flicker like New Wave music (early Radiohead or The Cure, minus alt-rock hooks, plus Norma Winstone and Azimuth colors), where the spacious textures create a mosaic of background effects, smoothed loops, and jangly accents.

Particularly impactful, the last track #5 “Grief Runs Deep” starts with a heavy drum beat resembling the iconic booming of John Bonham’s drum intro to “When the Levee Breaks” (and perhaps it’s no coincidence that drummer Tamaya Honda is a member of ZEK3, an all-Led-Zepplin-songs jazz trio). This head-turning beat maintains its rock rhythm framing as guitar riffing and band jamming layer in near-psychedelic grunge riffs and painted streaks of Nishimura’s slow, soul-piercing vocals. Led Zeppelin meets Pink Floyd with Jimi Hendrix and Faith No More swirling in the stars, a dramatic high point to end the experience, and to return safely to earth.

Audio and Video

• Promotional video for #5 “Grief Runs Deep”:

• Excerpts from the album release concert:

• Impressions and an excerpt from #4 “The Past Decade” (at 17:45):

• Live rehearsal for #5 “Grief Runs Deep”:

• Excerpt from track #2: “矛盾の街 (Vain Pursuit) (City of Contradiction (Vain Pursuit))”

Links

• Album introduction and song descriptions from bassist Ryoji Orihara

• Mikiki article and interview with Chie Nishimura and Ryoji Orihara

• Label information

Viento is saxophonist Mabumi Yamaguchi’s second release on Days of Delight following his chord-less trio recording Trinity (2022), but he’s been playing and releasing albums for over five decades. In that time, he’s worked with stellar domestic and international musicians including drummers Motohiko Hino (“best jazz drummer in Japan” award winner throughout the 1970s) and George Otsuka for a landmark 1978 tour with Kenny Kirkland (piano), John Scofield (guitar), and Miroslav Vitous (bass). His recording Mabumi (1981) also featured Kirkland and Vitous with Tony Williams (drums) joining the lineup.

Yamaguchi’s live jazz activities started in the 60s and 70s at the venerable Tokyo jazz clubs Naru and Pit Inn. It’s remarkable that after nearly fifty years, Mabumi still consistently appears for fan-favorite and fulfilling jazz sessions at Naru (stay tuned for an upcoming spotlight on that beloved jazz haven, coming soon).

His new album Viento is a collection of eight of Yamaguchi’s originals, all written with the concept of using soprano saxophone in the forefront. This characteristic makes a strong impression as Yamaguchi’s bright tones extend like tendrils of vines embedded in cracks and grooves, skillfully navigating dramatic paths and always pushing forward through songs covering straight-ahead and modern jazz terrain.

This musical landscape shifts back and forth from dark, mellow, and mysterious (#1 “Sequel to a Dream”, #2 “Evening”), to fantastical and churning (#4 “Thalia”, #6 “Viento”), and to exciting and positive (#3 “Let Your Mind Alone”, #5 “True Face”, #7 “Empty Mirror”) when the uplifting mood is heightened as the good-feeling swing or cool funk sets in. The last track, the sweetly elegant song #8 “Toi Yakusoku” (Distant Promise), closes the album perfectly with Yamaguchi and pianist Katakura playing as a duo in a sentimental rubato with a Strayhorn/Ellington-ish emotional impact.

Liner Notes

(Translated from excerpts of Akiomi Hirano’s original Japanese liner notes.)

Tomorrow a small percent different from today

If possible I don’t want to repeat what I did yesterday, I don’t want to play what I already know. So says Mabumi Yamaguchi.

“The ideal is to create from scratch each time. Of course, that’s impossible, so if I can do it just a few percent, that’s good. Even if it’s just a few percent, if I do that every time I play live and keep it going over a long time, a little bit of my personality will emerge, don’t you think?”

These humble words represent his character well. Spoken shyly and haltingly, it is hard to believe they come from a maestro who has maintained a presence at the core of Japanese jazz for half a century through many famous performances and recordings.

There is a certain quality common to truly compelling artists and creators, not just with jazz musicians. You may not see the signs of the hardships they endured through the accumulated years of severe training. Their demeanor is gentle and not arrogant.

Even when you hear their actual story, it’s rare to sense the strange hardships experienced by performers in the upper levels of their field. Perhaps there’s an aesthetic that makes it embarrassing to express difficulties through words, or maybe they don’t really think that they have suffered through hardships.

I’ve seen this in many artists and creators, and in my experience, Mabumi is of that type.

So, how on earth did Mabumi acquire the skill of making “Tomorrow a small percent different from today”?

“While playing I search for the sound. From where you are now, where do you go next? The vital point is when putting out a sound, don’t go back, move forward. You can’t turn around and go back. Concentrate on moving straight ahead down one path. That’s the ideal. While playing I’m trying things out, so of course there are plenty of mistakes, haha.”

For now, look forward. Don’t look back.

…

The first thing that strikes me from the outset is that soprano saxophone is played through the entire album.

Actually, for a long time now I’ve found it strange that there are so few albums with an “all-soprano” format. This may be due to some players and listeners who regard the soprano sax as a substitute instrument brought in for a change. But to someone like me who is an avid soprano sax fan, it’s an extremely appealing format.

Furthermore, Mabumi’s tone is undeniably beautiful. His soprano has an expressive power that ranks among the best in the world of Japanese jazz. It is perfectly matched to his original compositions, as well. Mabumi’s originals all possess his distinctive personality, but when played with soprano, they take on an intelligent and floating quality that is especially fascinating. For this album, we decided to collect original songs which were written to be performed on soprano sax.

Regardless, why I am so attracted to Mabumi Yamaguchi’s original compositions? What does he think about when he is writing a song? What makes a song have good or bad qualities in the first place…?

What are the conditions for a good song? When I asked about this, this is what Mabumi said to me.

“For example, Wayne Shorter’s ‘Footprints’ is very simple, but just like Charlie Parker’s ‘Now’s the Time’, it is a masterpiece ingrained in jazz history. The amazing thing is that even though the motif is simple, it is fashioned into a large piece of music. With just a few phrases you can feel the size of it. It’s because there is strength in the theme. It’s the same with Charlie Chaplin’s ‘Smile’, right?”

Now that I think about it, the theme of “Footprints” certainly does have a mysterious power. It’s hummable, and it stays in your head. It’s the same as the one from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Even though it’s been decades since I’ve seen the movie, those five notes are unforgettable. Maybe a masterpiece is something that affects a person’s brainstem like this.

“I want to create themes or motifs that are simple and strong. Of course, it’s not easy. There are many fragments of tunes that I’ve scribbled down at home, but if the seeds don’t have that strength, I have to toss them out.”

The magnetism of Mabumi Yamaguchi’s songwriting is that he grasps the “vital point of songwriting”, and he is steadfast in following through without compromise.

…

Making “tomorrow a small percent different from today” requires a tough spirit to resist the temptation to pass the ball back, a strong will and concentration to maintain the drive to create, excellent leadership to draw out talent, and above all, the integrity of a jazz musician who wants to constantly evolve.

When I see Mabumi Yamaguchi, I feel this keenly. And the next generation of top players are watching this figure. They are taking him in as a role model. There’s no doubt that this structure is a valuable resource for the world of Japanese jazz.

Akiomi Hirano (Days of Delight)

Founder/Producer

Audio and Video

• Promotional video for this album:

• Live solo performance of “Thalia”, track #4 on this album:

• Excerpt from track #5: “True Face”

Links

• Days of Delight record label

• Days of Delight album releases (e-onkyo music)

• Days of Delight videos

This album features a special Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand piano, the deep and full tones echoing beautifully as the pianist moves freely through his selection of originals and familiar covers (“I Loves You, Porgy”, “Round About Midnight”, “What The World Needs Now”, “Blackbird”).

In addition to solo piano, 3 of the 12 tracks feature duos: a piano and sax outing on the warm “Family”, a bluesy “Born To Be Blue” for piano and bass, and a vibrant outpouring on “Grumbling Sky”, a piano and drums duo, the one spot on the album which departs from the otherwise tranquil mood. Aside from this charged track, the otherwise quiet solo piano ballads consistently evoke peace and love, ringing through this album with a comforting sense of togetherness.

Audio and Video

• Yuichiro Aratake trio playing live in 2014:

• Excerpt from track #1: “I loves You,Porgy”

The pianist Ohkuchi contributes three original songs (the opener is a highlight) with other tunes by Andrew Hill, Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, and others – undoubtedly influences on Ohkuchi’s piano style. The result is a skilled piano trio having a great time making high-caliber jazz.

Audio and Video

• Live video of the Junichiro Ohkuchi trio in 2021:

• Live video from 2008:

• Excerpt from track #1: “Sopa de Ajo”