While Emiko Voice can deliver swingy cuteness and honey sweetness on mid-tempo swing and ballads with an alluringly soft style, she can also carve up bebop lines and turn corners expertly on odd-meter and breakneck-speed songs. On tracks like “Just One Of Those Things” and Charlie Parker’s “Confirmation” and “Yardbird Suite”, the vocalist tracks Parker’s original solos with vocalese and lets loose with bebop improvisation as well. Pianist Suga’s experience with free jazz and other genres comes into play as he veers and curves through the music, pushing boundaries with a sense of danger that makes it seem like the structure could come crashing down at any moment, yet holds fast masterfully.

Playful yet serious, the duo also covers mid-tempo and ballad tracks such as “Shiny Stockings”, “Solitude”, and “Every Time We Say Goodbye” with original and imposing atmospheres, where the vibrating piano strings and evocative vocals encompass the listener in a stimulating experience.

Audio and Video

• Emiko Voice and Dairo Suga performing “Honeysuckle Rose”:

• Excerpt from track #8: “コンファメーション (Confirmation)”