The title Defune is a rendition in English of the Japanese word 出船 (デフネ, deh-foo-neh, setting sail, departing from port), which is a perfect fit for Komatsu. In addition to music and jazz trumpet, sea fishing is also a part of the leader’s lifestyle, and several of the songs are thematically linked to his hobby. There’s the opening track “Rising Sun” where the quartet’s live and present sound immediately tunes listeners into the group’s positive energy. Similar in theme, tracks #4 “Aketara (When It Comes to Dawn)” (a deeper groove), #6 “On the Sea” (a comfortable bossa), and #7 “Lucky Fish” (a boppy swinger) dip into his same source of oceanic inspiration also shared through photos throughout the CD.

His other songs are equally fun and convey a sense of someone who could not wait to get his new music out into listener’s players. There is a round cheeriness on songs like the bouncy #7 “Lucky Fish” and #5 “Peaceful Sound”, where the trumpeter’s buoyant mood evokes the fun of Louis Armstrong’s playing. Similarly, on songs like #3 “Brulee” his joyful playing recalls trumpet personalities like Clark Terry’s humor and good nature.

Rounding out the album are the smooth-grooved #2 “Urban Night View”, the melancholic #8 “Pine Wood”, and the blisteringly fast #9 “Burst”, racing to an high-energy close.

Liner Notes

(Translated from Yuto Komatsu’s original Japanese liner notes.)

Thank you for picking up this album.

It’s been seven years since my first album from 2018.

I will never forget that time, when the whole world was thrown into disarray by the coronavirus, and all of my work as a musician had stopped. But even during that time, music continued to sound out in my heart.

After a long period of isolation, there was an almost unbelievable sense that the ordinary life before Covid-19 was gradually beginning to return. I learned not to take the things we are accustomed to for granted, and that they are not always guaranteed to be considered what’s usual.

As work opportunities started to return, little by little, I began to have a strong desire to travel, to go on tour with my band, and to make a second album.

This album’s title of Defune relates to songs from the recording having to do with my hobby of fishing at sea. I came up with some titles like setting sail and leaving port (出船, 出港), but I chose to purposely use English characters for the title.

There are nine original compositions here. I aimed for a sound that is easy to understand and nice to listen to.

I really hope you enjoy this album.

Yuto Komatsu

1 Rising Sun

When I go to sea to fish, I begin to drive before dawn. When I arrive at the fishing spot, I see the rays of the rising sun. It always makes me feel excited. As with the earth, the sun’s energy is vital. This bright song was inspired by the sunrise.

2 Urban Night View

I always write songs using a keyboard, and I wrote this one thinking of the skyline of the city. In the chorus, I hope you enjoy the feel of the chord changes (how the harmonies transition) and the unison rhythm playing in the second half (all hitting the same note at the same time).

3 Brulee

During the coronavirus pandemic, I was at home with a lot of free time, so I got a little better at making coffee. One thing that goes well with coffee is crème brûlée (the dessert meaning “burnt cream” in French), which this song was inspired by. It’s a medium tempo tune, and I used a flugelhorn in the first half of the piece.

4 Aketara (明けたら)

At the time, I used to talk with my friends and say things like “When the pandemic ends, I really want to…”, yet there were days when I wondered whether it would ever really truly end. Still, even in the midst of all that, music was created. I hope you like how the dark atmosphere of this song’s theme suddenly brightens in the middle.

5 Peaceful Sound

One night, I was listening to the sounds of Louis Armstrong while happily strolling along the banks of the Sumida River with a drink in one hand. How much more peaceful would the world be if everyone could hear such wonderful music?

6 On the Sea

I wrote this song thinking of a fishing boat out at sea, on a day when the wind is strong but lulling and the boat is relatively steady. It’s so enjoyable to be fishing that the time seems to fly by, and it especially feels good when the weather is nice and the sea is calm. I used flugelhorn on this bossa nova.

7 Lucky Fish

Fishing is a serious competition between humans and fish. Once, there was a huge mackerel caught on my baited hook, and after a fierce struggle, the fish was finally brought into the boat. It was a win for the humans, or so I thought. Suddenly the fish raged and slipped from my hands, bounced once off the cooler, and returned to the sea.

In useless mode, a secret technique, to let a fish escape from the boat.

And, amazingly, a victory for the fish. Lucky Fish.

8 Pine Wood

When I returned home for a visit, I went for a walk at my old elementary school in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka. I was surprised at how the beautiful playground equipment had been so carefully maintained, as if it hadn’t changed at all, and I was filled with nostalgia. I remembered that there was a pine forest behind the schoolyard where I often played, so I went to go see it. But, the trees must have become diseased, as they had all been cut down and removed. I tried to write a song expressing my sadness for the pine trees that were gone.

9 Burst

I had thought that bursts were things that happened in the world of F1. Then, one day, I was driving on Japan National Route 6 from the Matsudo region to Tokyo when my tire burst at an uneven bridge junction. Fortunately, I wasn’t on the highway, and I managed to avoid an accident. But ever since then, I’ve tried to change my tires sooner rather than later. This song is explosively fast and ends before you know it, but I hope you enjoy the ensemble performance of the band.

Audio and Video

• Promotional video for Defune:

• “On the Sea” (track #6) — live performance in 2024:

• Excerpt from track #1: “Rising Sun”

The sound of Nagatake’s jazz trio is compelling and modern, with a youthful style that is dynamic, energetic, and fun. Running at about 71 minutes, all ten tracks were composed by Nagatake and are bursting with her creative force, one that builds on the adventurous leanings of jazz pianists like Carla Bley and Cecil Taylor. Skillful and quick, Nagatake’s fingers can go from quiet and patient loveliness to a key-jabbing with barely contained energy, always in control but often peeking over the edge in risky provocation. Live audiences and album listeners cannot help but be drawn into her magnetic presence.

Here is a quick run through of the album flow. It starts with three highlights: #1 “Introduction -Breathe Beneath the Sun-” is Nagatake starting up the engines alone with a solo piano riff, deep and low on the keys with a rhythmically addictive pull and sharp lines coming in from above. The trio format begins with #2 “Not Even Heaven Knows”, a fiery and percussive fastball. #3 “Lucky You!” is another uptempo roller coaster with thrilling drops and bends, a frenetic Horace Silver-ish fever dream. #4 “Just Like He Sings” is a brushed ballad with the grace and sweetness of an Ellington/Strayhorn tune. #5 “Clover 9” is a wild and fast blues transmogrification, another album highlight (lots of these).

Track #6 “Teoribata” is a slower song written for bassist Orihara to shine peacefully in a long-form fairy tale. #7 “Say No More” has a classic hardcore dark jazz vibe with Chick Corea-esque Latin/straight waltz-time mix, grippingly edge-of-seat at a dangerous speed. #8 “I’ll Send You Good Vibes” is the first quartet track, as veteran saxophonist Kosuke Mine joins for a soulful and warm gospel/rock groove with his great playing. #9 “Nekokai no Ballad” continues the bluesy quartet atmosphere, gritty and genuine, with Eiichi Hayashi on sax, another distinctive and renowned Japanese jazz player. Finally, #10 “Get Ready to Say Goodbye” is a melodically beautiful and moving outro song with the elements of a hit pop song tenderly refracted through a Brad Melhdau-ish jazz prism.

Liner Notes

(Translated from the original Japanese liner notes.)

Introduction

Before anything else, I would like to thank you very much for listening to this CD, Breathe Beneath the Sun. We’ve been fortunate to be able to able to release another trio recording in quick succession after the previous trio recording released in March 2021. I can’t express enough the appreciation I have for the label, Owl Wing Records, and Aratake-san. On this CD, all the songs are original compositions that I wrote over the past year, mainly, including two songs in the memory of people who have passed away.

When I am riding on the train and dazzling sunlight pours in from the train window and washes over me, I really feel alive. The sunlight permeates me just like soaking into French toast. Whether it’s morning, evening, or even if I’m still tipsy from the previous night, it’s always great. I realize how good it feels to be alive, and the motivation to do my best increases as I’m being treated with unconditional kindness.

I contemplated different album titles while thinking that it would be great for this CD to have that kind of presence of sunlight. I thought, Something like French toast or…, and so on. I tried to express my ramblings to a close female friend, a high-school classmate who returned from abroad, and she understood what I was trying to say perfectly. Ultimately, she gave me the wonderful title Breathe Beneath the Sun.

永武幹子
Mikiko Nagatake

Introducing the Musicians

In February 2020, this trio entered our third year together.

Ryoji Orihara, the trio’s senior member, supports the band on fretless bass. He’s active with his solo project “Invisible Furniture”, serves as a member and musical director of “Virtual Silence”, and plays with Lisa Ono’s band. He is a professional fretless bass player specialist.

After we finished recording this album, he went to perform in a concert in Taiwan with Lisa Ono’s band. This was at a time when coronavirus was spreading in Taiwan, and he was forced to stay quarantined in a hotel for two weeks. However, he wanted to keep working on this album even at that time. We made full of video conferencing and other specialized tools and finished the mixing (working on the sound balance of the recording)! I was so surprised at the modern technology that allowed us to do the mixing while being far apart, without any time lag.

After this album was recorded, our trio went on to perform at various locations. One thing I have to mention is Orihara-san’s lunch presentations. In the mornings, we would gather in the hotel lobby and be treated to his presentation of notable restaurants in the area, including their websites, business hours, distance, and travel time. There was a passion for food overflowing with hospitality. Kira-san is also passionate about food, and so all throughout the tour we would prepare for the evening concert by having delicious meals.

Drummer Sota Kira is active in a wide variety of musical acts, from Kei Akagi’s band and Junko Onishi’s band (that is to say, he started with jazz bands) to even STUTS’s band and others. Kira-san has been supportive of me ever since my student days. He also plays drums in “J.J.Soul”, another of our regular jazz trios. There, too, his incredibly energetic drumming always enriches the band’s sound and boosts the excitement of everyone present.

Recently Kira-san has been focusing his attention on the proper ways of body movement. Backstage, he has been sharing his techniques and instructing us on effective stretching methods. Even on the day of the recording, there was quite an odd scene when everyone was facing the same direction and doing stretches (ha ha).

At the live venue Nardis in Kashiwa, there was a three-day event where our trio was featured as the core band with special guests. At that performance, the masters Mine-san and Hayashi-san were each featured on a one-horn ballad. It was so intense that I absolutely wanted to capture that in some form, so I asked them to make a guest appearance on this recording.

Since my student days, I have often gone to hear tenor saxophonist Kosuke Mine play. I’ve listened to him with Mine-san’s Quartet, the Takeshi Shibuya Orchestra, and others. Recently I’ve been working consistently with him in live concerts as a duo, and as a trio with saxophonist Miyuki Moriya. I am always moved by his one-of-a-kind tone and phrasing, and his warm, charming personality.

As for alto saxophonist Eiichi Hayashi, it’s possible that I heard him on CD before seeing him play live. When I was a student, there were special listening sessions in the Waseda Danmo (Modern Jazz Research Group) study room between jam sessions. That’s where I heard CDs like the Eiichi Hayashi and Fumio Itabashi Duo, and Daidarabocchi with Shun Sakai. I was totally blown away. When I went to see him play live, I was even more amazed. I’m so grateful that I am able to play with Hayashi-san in duos and with Masayo Koketsu’s “Ataira no Ei-chan”.

This recording is a performance featuring these kinds of trio members and two special guests!

1.Introduction -Breathe Beneath the Sun-

In the same way that we can hear the chimes of nearby elementary schools, wouldn’t it be so interesting if we could hear the songs and sounds of foreign countries carried by the wind? I wrote this short motif with that kind of feeling in mind. I hope that the performance on this CD can also reach people in all kinds of countries and regions.

2.Not Even Heaven Knows

“God has six fingers on each hand and twelve fingers on both hands.”

“See, this is why the first perfect number is 6, time is divided into 12 parts, and the seasons also end with the 12th month.” This is what my private school principal taught me when I was in middle school.

I suddenly remembered this a few years ago and thought “I should write a song with a time signature that only God can count on his fingers!!” So I wrote a song titled “God Has 12 Fingers”.

Time passed, and the threat of the new coronavirus appeared in 2020. Conventional common sense changed in the blink of an eye, and the world was thrown into disorder. I couldn’t help but think that not even God could have predicted something like this. I wrote a 13-beat song with a theme that even Got could not count (but since 13 is an unlucky number, the improvisations are in a 7-beat meter. Lucky seven!).

3.Lucky You!

I wrote this song with Kira-san in mind. The image of Kira-san is happiness! Yet, around the time we first had met, no matter how many times we performed, drank, and hit it off together, the next time we met, it felt like we were meeting again for the first time. I tried to project a sense of that somewhat not-straightforward feeling into this song (ha ha). It feels as if 吉良(Kira)(-san) is taking on the meaning of “lucky” in the lingo of business buzzwords.

4.Just Like He Sings

I wrote this song inspired by Shinji Hashimoto, a guitarist I love who passed away in July 2020. One day, Shinji-san appeared in my dream. In the dream, Shinji-san was playing “Naima” by J. Coltrane, and his improvisational approach was melodious like a vocal jazz standard song. It made me realize the affinity between modal-style songs and vocal standard songs.

To be able to listen to Shinji-san’s guitar in my dreams was like a dream (well, it was a dream)!! That’s why I wrote this song. I would love it if Shinji-san would play this song in my dream someday.

5.Clover 9

The “deck of cards” series. The previous release Into the Forest included “Clover 2”, and this time it’s 9. There are currently eight songs in the “deck of cards” series. The goal is a complete 53!

6.Teoribata (手織り機, hand loom)

I wrote this song with Orihara-san in mind. The title is just a joke [/The title in Japanese is 手織り機, or hand loom, and Orihara is 織原, containing the same Kanji character 織/]. I spun the melody based on the image of Orihara-san’s sound. It’s really nice to play this kind of mellow song with such emotion, and I love Orihara-san’s simple style of singing.

7.Say No More

8.I’ll Send You Good Vibes

Sometimes I think that if I were close by, I could send some positive energy with just a single handshake. These days, when we live in a world where we can send messages immediately, it’s good to know that we can check on faraway friends’ safety when natural disasters and emergencies occur. On the other hand, it can feel stressful when there is just not enough time to reply.

It’s rare that the timing works out such that someone contacts you just at the right moment when you need encouragement. At time like those, I would love it if you suddenly remembered to play this song with a click as if it just came to mind, and to feel a sense of positivity. The strong emotions I felt when writing this song perfectly match Mine-san’s gentle yet powerful saxophone, and this makes it a song I cherish even more.

9.Nekokai no Ballad /(猫飼いのバラッド, Cat-keeping Ballad)/*

In the summer of 2021, there was a Mikiko Nagatake three-day event at Kashiwa Nardis. This is a song I wrote for that occasion while thinking of Eiichi Hayashi. I listened to Hayashi-san a lot in my student days. I wrote a melody for his kind of really cool Hayashi-san sound that stands out in all kinds of places, and the master was even more amazing than I expected!!

10.Get Ready to Say Goodbye

I wrote this song when I heard the news of the sudden passing of someone who always came to my shows with a smile. With the state of emergency and everything that began in 2020, it had felt as though time had stopped. But of course that wasn’t the case, and time passed moment by moment, and sometimes it was no longer possible to meet someone that you hadn’t seen in a while. Accepting a final farewell takes time, and I think it’s best to take it slowly and with a peaceful mind.

All Composed by Mikiko Nagatake

A Letter from Yoshiaki Masuo

Dear Mikiko Nagatake

I listened to the audio for your new recording. I apologize for the delay, later that the promised date. Although I was asked to write some liner notes, I decided to express my feelings in a letter to you after just listening to the music.

First, all the musicians beginning with you were fantastic. The songs are good and there’s lots of variety. I’m very impressed by how it sums up your current feelings and how it comes together as one story all the way through to the end. The music was inspiring, and there were many moments that touched my heart directly. I love that kind of music.

It’s been almost six years since we started performing together. But it’s true that, when I listened to this recording, I realized that I know nothing about you, despite our working so long together. We’ve been linked only through music during these six years, without even having a drink together after a concert (ha ha).

One reason that I don’t know much about you is because of your intuitive sense about music. Because you can pick up so much just from listening meant that there was not much need to talk about it. Of course, human interaction and communication is also important for many reasons, and I’m reflecting on that.

Six years ago, when I started to audition pianists for my new band, you happened to be the first person I called. By just hearing the music, you understood well without me having to say anything. You interpreted the songs with your own personal style a fresh sense and feeling. I remember how I instantly took to you, with your own free and delicate sensibilities, right from the start. I was planning to try out other people as well, but in the end it was just that one audition and it was over.

It may be quite impolite to put it this way, but when listening to this recording, I feel that I can truly understand your depth as a human being. Also, I’ve never thought too deeply about musicians being male or female before, but on this album I really get the sense of you as a women (with good meaning).

In the generation that I grew up in, there were almost no female jazz musicians, and in the midst of that male-dominated jazz world, I hadn’t really thought about female jazz musicians. Because of preconceived notions of women, there must have been very difficult situations, including sexual harassment, even unintentional in some cases.

However, when I listen to your music, I feel strongly that we have already transcended that era and progressed forward one or two steps. Long ago, back in my day, all the role model jazz musicians that we looked up to were men, and Americans. Now, there is a big difference in the way of thinking between that generation and environment that we grew up in, and those of the young people of today. It’s good that this young generation is free of those previous boundaries, and especially the women of this generation.

Men tend to use authority and power as a basis of comparison, but I think women may be resigned in those aspects from the start, or consider them to not be problems, perhaps. That’s why there is no unnecessary ego in the music. I think that purity is also good. In this sense, women are very cool and aware. I can say this confidently. A conclusion from this is that there is a great potential for the future development of music to be shaped by the sensibilities of female musicians.

For the future, the advancement of women is absolutely essential not just in music but also in the world. If the ones at the top are always power-hungry men, then, well, we are doomed.

Sorry, I went off on a tangent.

Anyway, thank you for the wonderful music. I want to keep listening to it more and more. Please continue to push forward.

June 12, 2020 MASUO

GUEST

track8
Kosuke Mine (tenor sax)

Born in Tokyo on February 6, 1944.

He began playing clarinet when he joined the brass band in middle school. He played clarinet in part-time bands when he was around 17 years old, when he also started to play alto sax. He first encountered jazz in his second year of high-school when he would listen to records at jazz kissas. In 1963, he joined a jazz band and started to play at jazz clubs. In 1969, he was noticed by pianist Masabumi Kikuchi and joined his band, where he remained until the band ended in 1973. He released his first leader album, Mine, in 1970. In that year, he ranked second in the magazine Swing Journal’s reader popularity poll in the alto saxophone category, right after Sadao Watanabe, and attracted attention as a new alto sax player. After Masabumi Kikuchi’s band ended in 1973, he moved to New York where he stayed for two years. During this period he also made brief trips to Japan to continue performing in concerts with Masabumi Kikuchi and to record his own albums. After playing with groups including Four Sound with Fumio Itabashi, Nobuyoshi Ino, Hiroshi Murakami, and Masahiko Togashi’s J.J.Spirits, he formed his group Mine Quartet in 1992 and released his long-awaited leader album Major to Minor in 1993, which won the grand prize for Japan Jazz in Swing Journal’s Jazz Disc Awards that year. Currently, in addition to playing with his own group, he participates in many sessions including with the Takeshi Shibuya Orchestra.

track9
Eiichi Hayashi (alto sax)

He became a professional musician at 17 years of age by training in big bands and R&B groups. In 1980, he joined the Yosuke Yamashita Trio as “Plus One”, and a concert recorded during their ‘83 European Tour was released as a live recording. In 1990, he formed his own band MAZURU and released an album under that name which was well received. To this day, he is active and widely recognized as one of Japan’s top alto players, and his inimitable sound is an essential part of groups including the Takeshi Shibuya Orchestra, Fumio Itabashi’s band, and Akihiro Ishiwatari’s Mull House. In 2012, he released GATOS Meeting’s self-titled album featuring his three-horn arrangements. In July 2015, in the culmination of his work as an arranger, he led the 13-piece Eiichi Hayashi MAZURU Hokkaido Orchestra where he was showered with applause from large crowds of free jazz fans who gathered all over Hokkaido. Among his numerous releases, his representative work includes de-ga-show, Monk’s Mood, Oto no Tsubu, MAZURU no Yume, Mori no Hito, Birds and Bees, and Tsuru.

Obi Notes

“The music was inspiring, and there were many moments that touched my heart directly. I love that kind of music.” Yoshiaki Masuo

Audio and Video

• “Not Even Heaven Knows” (track #2):

• “Lucky You!” (track #3) — live performance (2021):

• “Lucky You!” (track #3) — live performance (2021):

• “Just Like He Sings” (track #4) — live performance (2021):

• “Clover 9” (track #5):

• “Say No More” (track #7) — live performance (2021):

• Excerpt from track #1: “Introduction -Breathe Beneath the Sun-”

As is natural for these creative jazz musicians, this album features mostly original music stamped with individuality. There are five contributions from drummer Omura, three from Nagatake, and one group improvisation from all three musicians. The one covered song is the beautiful ballad “Touch Her Soft Lips and Part” by Sir William Walton, played with exquisite clarity and sweetness, and reminiscent of the gentle interpretation on drummer Peter Erskine’s 1996 trio ECM album As it Is with John Taylor and Palle Danielsson.

As for the compositions, Nagatake herself describes Omura’s songs on this album as being like a philosophy book, while her songs take on more of a fairy-tale atmosphere. These songs may be coming from different directions but they are all unified by a romantic quality.

From Omura’s titles and notes, it’s clear that the drummer puts a lot of thought into what he wants to convey with his music. His melodious and carefully crafted #1 “Savichara”, #2 “Accismus”, and #10 “Liquidity” expand on introspective thoughts with deep musical phrases that rise and fall like a boat on unpredictable waves.

His other two songs, #6 “Petrichor” and #8 “Melt Dough”, are down-to-earth appreciations of fine things in life: sensing the richness of transient environments, and gratitude for simply-transformed, delicious food.

A superb thing about Omura’s compositions is that they have a tangible “Ko Omura style”, multi-faceted with boundary-pushing elements. It’s a style also apparent in his music on Polyglot Talk, Vol 1, /his several recordings with Bungalow, and his own leader album /Introspect.

Pianist Nagatake’s compositions share similar qualities to Omura’s in being dynamic, creative, and distinctive. These are energizing modern jazz songs with exciting time signatures and arrangements, and the music never strays from being appealing to listeners, as well as just being fun and stimulating for the musicians who play these songs together.

On this album, Nagatake’s three songs are each focused and special. #3 “Le Petit Prince” is a tenderhearted melody of childhood and growth colored with playful chromaticism. #4 “Glow” is a challenging piece with an elaborate meter and Mobius strip-like melodic traversals. #7 “Not Sure” is a free jazz collaboration bracketed with ornate bookends, like imposing and modern skyscrapers looming over the chaotic streets contained between them.

Throughout, the music is ultra-clean and immediate. The artistically recorded sound is comforting with an immensely ambient presence like ECM contemporary jazz albums. Much of the rhythmic ride is set in straight-eights territory, with subtle swing beats surfacing and reliably strong basslines surging, pounding, or setting the bottom of the frame as suits the music.

This album is further enhanced by Omura’s tabla drumming on a few tracks, as with his other bands and recordings. While he plays jazz drumset on most of the songs with expert sonic control and delicate finesse, his earthy-yet-astral tabla drums are also always a pleasure to hear.

Omura and Mendenhall improvise a spiritual dance of rhythms and bass tones in the second half of #5 “Whispering Clouds / Nimbus”, and tablas also awaken the senses on the positively-charged adventure of #6 “Petrichor”, both unique and very different highlights on this colorful album.

Liner Notes

(A translation of the original Japanese liner notes.)

It’s so cool!

I was so moved the moment I heard Steven Sacco, one of New York’s top recording engineers, exclaim “It’s so cool!” while the trio performed at central Manhattan’s Sear Sound Studios. From deciding then to record them, the days that followed passed like a flash before my eyes.

I was fascinated by Mikiko Nagatake’s lively performances and positivity. Wanting to support her overseas activities more, I resolved to record her in New York. We finalized the schedule in March 2020 with the participation of the internationally active Ko Omura. Immediately after that, the coronavirus pandemic broke out.

As I paused for three years, Nagatake was active with incredible energy, releasing many CDs, performing at top clubs, and achieving great success as is widely known. Omura, in addition to his drumming work, wove his way through gaps in the pandemic to travel to India and study tabla drumming zealously.

This three-year wait also gave me the opportunity to meet Kanoa Mendenhall, a talented young bassist who was attracting a lot of attention and performing with top musicians. While she is small in stature, her bass sound is both supple and strong and became an essential foundation for this trio.

The performance from these three extremely talented musicians unfolding right in front of me… “It’s so cool!”

We would like to express our deepest gratitude to everyone involved in the production of this CD.

January, 2024

Tommy’s Record (representative) and Tommy’s By The Park (owner)

Tomoyuki Wada 和田知行

1. Savichara

In Sanskrit, the meaning of thoughtfulness and prudence. It refers to the act in meditation when focusing on the object of meditation, looking in deeply, and observing.

2. Accismus

This refers to the act of feigning disinterest or indifference in something despite really wanting it.

3. Le Petit Prince

I was so moved by Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince that I came up with this song immediately after reading it.

4. Glow

During the coronavirus pandemic, the downcast days somehow just went on and on. But sometimes, when unexpectedly encountering great music, the perspective suddenly widens and everything sparkles. “Glow” is a soft light, a feeling of happiness.

5. Whispering Clouds / Nimbus

This was captured on the first day of recording. It is the only completely improvised take on this album.

6. Petrichor

This is a word that refers to the scent of soil and grass after the rain.

7. Not Sure

There is a melody at the start and end with improvisation in between. Three people’s wavelengths get tuned in to each other, and it became a really interesting take.

8. Melt Dough

When naan (Indian bread) is placed in a tandoor (Indian stone oven), the dough is baked deliciously as if it has melted.

9. Touch Her Soft Lips And Part

A short piece from a suite composed by English composer William Walton for the film Henry V (Shakespeare). This song is a request by Tomoyuki Wada, the producer of this album. The famous melody is clear, straightforward, and sinks in smoothly.

10. Liquidity

In the field of economics, it refers to the liquidity of value. This song was written with while reflecting on the concept that each person is an existence whose values expand like an infinite universe, so such a value system probably requires fluidity and flexibility.

◆eFreydut: Our group name is based on an anagram of Duty Free.

◆Fairway: The name of a long-established supermarket in Manhattan that was close to the hotel where I stayed and that I visited many times.

Audio and Video

• Promotional video with an excerpt from “Liquidity”, track #10 on this album:

• Excerpt from track #1: “Savichara”

Based in jazz but extending beyond the genre, the music contains a great mix of moods: creatively jaunty, dark and brooding, fanciful, quirky, gentle and sensitive. The personality of the duo surfaces in fun and sensitive ways as the duo moves intuitively through shades of color, mood, and style.

A first-time listener’s ears will no doubt perk up on tracks #1, #3, #5, and #8, songs that are filled with moments of bright energy, whimsy, speedy cool jazz, and funky soul. Yet the music is heightened by the balance offered by the other tracks through slowly captivating ballads, fantastical edifices, and intimately beautiful playing from the two musicians which blooms with repeated and attentive listening.

Of pianist Nagatake’s two evocative and memorable contributions, #2 “Sakuragochi” recalls her duo album with Tetsuji Yoshida with its poignant moods and heavy riffs, while her #8 “Along With You, Sunnyman” skillfully lays out the good-feeling catchy hooks and grooves based on the pianist’s appreciation for Stevie Wonder-like positivity.

Nagatake and Kano’s playing on the saxophonist’s compositions #6 “Foggy Mind” and #7 “Mysterious Dress” feature some of the most exquisitely performed music on the record. These two songs are played consecutively, continuously linked through Nagatake’s piano which infuses the music with wisps of Debussy and Duke Ellington while Kano’s emotionally intense melodies arise bravely and flow gracefully.

Liner Notes

(Transcribed from Nami Kano’s and Mikiko Nagatake’s original Japanese liner notes.)

Jabuticaba (ジャボチカバ) is a tree native to South America whose fruit grows directly on the trunk.

During our second tour, we were discussing what we wanted to call our unit, and at first, we were looking for something cool, maybe something in Italian or French.

One late night, I received images from Mikiko of a jabuticaba tree with lots of fruit on it. I remember clearly how I lost sleep after seeing the astonishing images.

“The character 幹 (tree trunk) from Mikiko (幹子), and the character 実 (fruit) from Nami (奈実)… what do you think about this? Also, it’s a great word, isn’t it?” Coming up with clever ideas is part of Mikiko’s charm, as seen in her performances as well.

That was how Jabuticaba started. Synchronization born from sharing many stages together. And scenery that can only be drawn by these two people with similar sensibilities.

This is an album filled with that which makes us us. I hope you enjoy it.

Nami Kano

Samambaia

When I moved to Tokyo from Nagoya, I was sorting through a lot of music scores when among them I found the music for “Samambaia”, which I had never played before.

I felt like I definitely wanted to try it with this duo, and it fit us great.

As I kept playing this with Mikiko, I began to realize the song’s richness of expression, and it became one of my favorites.

(Kano)

Sakuragochi (桜東風, Sakura East Wind)

In the spring of 2020, all of my performance work was canceled due to the influence of the coronavirus, and the amount of time I spent at home drastically increased. I was so disappointed by losing the opportunity to perform, but conversely, I realized this was my chance to compose songs slowly! I created a melody based on the rhythm of India’s unique tabla drums, and this song was born.

I was hoping that in the spring of the next one or two years, together with my friends, family, and partners, I could remember the gentle feeling of the cherry blossoms of 2020. From this idea, I added the keyword “Sakura” to the title.

(Nagatake)

Wrong Key Donkey

There’s a jazz cafe in Waseda that I really love, and I often went there after classes when I was in college. When I went there, the owner would play albums that I loved like Jackie Byard, Lee Konitz, and Masahiko Togashi. It was there one day that I heard Carla Bley’s album Songs With Legs. I thought it sounded like such a great album that I had to immediately place an overseas order online. This “Wrong Key Donkey” is one of the songs on that album.

Both Nami and I love Carla Bley, and we often play her songs at Jabuticaba performances.

(Nagatake)

What Kind of Fool Am I?

When I was in the sixth grade of elementary school, it was my first time performing in a big band and I got to play on this song as a soloist.

It was the first time in my life that I played on a ballad, and for me at the time it was so difficult, but it’s full of so many memories that it’s still a favorite song of mine. For this recording, Mikiko has added a wonderful arrangement.

(Kano)

Play Fiddle Play ~ Kary’s Trance

One time, we were playing Lee Konitz’s “Kary’s Trance” and Nami said, “It would be interesting to arrange this in a trance-like state”. With that in mind, I took up this arrangement.

“Kary’s Trance” was based on a preexisting song called “Play Fiddle Play”, where Lee Konitz took the chord progression and added a new melody line. When I listened to “Play Fiddle Play” again, I thought it had a really nice melody. I wanted Nami to play both melodies, so that became part of this arrangement. The last part of Nami’s solo is amazing!

(Nagatake)

Foggy Mind

An easy feeling of being in an unfamiliar Tokyo, but with an ambitious feeling of not wanting to give up, and filled with hopes for the future of music that is not yet visible… this is a song which expresses my spirit after just having moved to Tokyo.

(Kano)

Mysterious Dress

When I finished this song, I asked my mother to listen as I played it with my clumsy piano skills. She said it reminded her of a girl wearing a pleated skirt. I had an image of being in a strange forest, so I combined this with my mother’s image and this title easily came to mind.

Continuing from “Foggy Mind”, I think this song expresses the feeling of entering a forest together with Mikiko’s beautiful piano.

(Kano)

Along With You, Sunnyman

I usually have a tendency to write songs that are a little difficult. One day I was listening to Stevie Wonder’s songs on iTunes, and I thought “This person’s songs can make anyone feel good no matter where or when” (it’s a subjective opinion [/laughs/]). This song was motivated by wanting to write a song like that. As I was thinking this, there was a Jabuticaba performance in three days and I wanted to play it there, so wrote it up with Nami’s sound in mind. Sunnyman is a coined word for the thought I had that sometimes there are people just like the sun. Like Anpanman.

This song is a collaboration between Jabuticaba and the Mikiko Nagatake Trio! Since we’re on the same label and can be released together, I was so happy to be able to blend my two favorite sounds!

(Nagatake)

Lastly…

There’s an expression “It’s easier to do something than to worry about it,” but when it comes to CD production it’s certainly not the case! We have nothing but admiration for musicians who overcame so many hurdles to release a CD. Looking back now, it seems so reckless trying to release independently without the know-how.

Jabuticaba was formed at the end of 2017 and our first live tour was in the spring of 2019. When we finished our second tour we talked about wanting to record just like that. Around the time we were setting up our third tour, we were thinking about which songs to include and which arrangements, and the ideas for a recording continued to grow steadily.

Having decided to self-produce and looking for a recording studio, we considered a studio in Eifukucho equipped with a Yamaha piano. Around that same period, it had been decided that Mikiko Nagatake’s trio recording would take place at the same studio and on the same label, so we consulted with Owl Wing Record’s managing director Yuichiro Aratake. He suggested, “Why don’t you release this on my label?” It was a dream-like idea.

So, after our autumn tour finished, we spent two days recording at Eifukucho Power House Studio. Right then, we really learned how hard it was to release a CD, and keenly felt gratitude to everyone at Team Owl Wing Records.

The fact that Jabuticaba is entering our fourth year and was able to release our first album is entirely due to our great fans, the live house barmasters, mamas, and staff, and everyone who has been supporting us. Thank you so much.

The fact that we were able to record in the turbulent year 2020 is also largely significant, we believe. We hope that this CD reaches many homes and that the sound deeply touches many people.

Jabuticaba Mikiko Nagatake Nami Kano

Audio and Video

• Promotional video with #3 “Wrong Key Donkey”, #4 “What Kind of Fool Am I?”, and a short interview:

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

• Audio for “Wrong Key Donkey”, track #3 on this album:

• Jabuticaba live at Nica’s in 2021:

• Excerpt from track #7: “Mysterious Dress (Nami Kano)”

On this album from 2022, concisely titled Solo, the versatile pianist deploys a range of piano approaches that she honed during her years-long residency at the jazz bar Nardis located in the outer fringes of Tokyo.

Solo contains thirteen tracks arranged for piano by Nagatake, some of which she tailored to make the most of the sound of piano jazz, and others improvised completely as spontaneous piano music. Most songs are five minutes or less, which Nagatake set as a self-imposed limit to allow for different facets of her playing to emerge on the album’s many tracks. This variety and balance combined with the excellent songs selected by the pianist keeps the album moving and listeners engaged.

Some songs, like the ballads “These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)” and “Prelude to a Kiss” are played slowly with a patient, romantic finesse, contrasting with other tracks like “Invitation”, “Green Chimneys”, and “Tea For Two”, which explode with creative abandon, swinging hard with a just-controlled wildness.

One interesting arrangement on this album is Nagatake’s choice to divide the album into two sections. The first set of nine songs is made up of selected jazz standards, including popular songs and lesser-known favorites of jazz buffs and musicians. As she explains in the liner notes, she avoids the temptation to replicate the sound of a trio or a full band on solo piano, choosing to make the most of her independence to interpret each song freely. Nagatake plays the music soulfully and with rapt attention, unfolding each song according to her feelings and judgment in the moment.

Beginning with an interlude on track ten, “Impro Invitation to My Songs”, the final three tracks consist of the pianist’s original compositions. Following the tour of jazz standards and covers, this second part of the album displays sensitive and melodically rich aspects of Nagatake’s playing and conceptions, perhaps also the additional beauty of vulnerability felt when sharing original compositions, alone at the piano, for us.

Liner Notes

(Translated from the original Japanese liner notes written by Mikiko Nagatake.)

It’s an honor to be able to record this solo piano album, the sixth release in the Owl Wing Record Solo Piano Series.

Beginning in my student days, I was given the opportunity to perform monthly in solo live settings at the live house Nardis in Kashiwa. Every month, I would learn a lot by studying the audience’s reactions and the atmosphere. Over seven or eight years, it added up to around one hundred of these performances in total. What a blessing! I am truly grateful to Mr. Komine, the proprietor of Nardis.

When I first started to play solo concerts, I felt as if I should try to simulate a full band by myself, and I made an effort to rigorously keep the tempo, play bass lines, and so on. But over time as my experience deepened, I began to feel a strong desire to focus on things that could only be done in a solo context. I began to avoid clinging strictly to chord changes or tempos, and the boundary between the songs and my improvisation gradually disappeared. On any particular day, there may be a completely improvised set, or a set limited to certain composers, but in general, sets alternating between jazz standards and improvisation were numerous.

In this way, I have selected standard songs with a high degree of freedom for this album. For live performances, one song may last about ten minutes, but for CDs, personally, I prefer to have many shorter pieces (especially with solo piano albums), much like the meals of Kyoto-style obanzai or Sri Lankan cooking. Most of the songs on this album are about five minutes long or less.

“Invitation”, “These Foolish Things”, and “Tea for Two” were consciously arranged with a pianistic approach, whereas “Limbo” and “Green Chimneys” emanated freely with on-the-spot arrangements. I also wanted to include “I’ll Walk Alone”, a song by a pair I love, the great July Styne and Sammy Cahn. As you can see, the first part of the album contains vocal songs, standards, and songs from jazz giants. The second part contains three of my original songs which I especially wanted to play in a solo piano context. The last song, “Engawa”, was written for contrabass player Tetsu Saitoh.

This album was recorded on solo piano in a one-room studio, and I’m extremely grateful for the care and attention from engineer Morishita and the label’s Aratake and Komori, who graciously arranged for me quiet recording conditions allowing for concentration. Thank you very much. Whether for one listener or to many, I hope this album reaches you.

Audio and Video

• Promotional video for “My Shining Hour”, the first track on this album:

• Excerpt from track #6: “Green Chimneys”

The opening track “Kototoi-dori” is an immediate attention-grabber with a stark rhythm and sparse call-and-repeat melody, accompanied by a video of the performance and a quick tour of the surrounding neighborhood and street named in the title. This catchy song seems like it could also be the product of a stripped-down guitar band, a style also shared by track #4, “Stomach Elegy” with its brisk and exciting musical chase.

The remaining four tracks portray other aspects of the songwriting and the duo’s balance and taste. “Jackanapes” combines Latin rhythms with melancholy yearning, and “Inori” (prayer) conjures up a haunting ballad with rich emotion. Free jazz experimentation appears on “Iwaki No Yoru Wa Fukete” (late night in Iwake) with provocative simultaneous improvisation and standout solo piano playing from Nagatake.

The final track, “One Blues”, ends the album cheerily with evocatively muted trumpet and the swagger of blues piano grooves. As the musical statements conclude and the album winds down, the sounds of applause and gratitude from the musicians bring into focus how the nearby audience and community play an important part in the atmosphere and inspiration, a vital component of the music created in the moment.

Audio and Video

• Video for “Kototoi-dori”, track #1 on this album:

• Excerpt from track #3: “祈り (Prayer)”