As “meets” indicates, Big Catch is led by two well-traveled and in-demand jazz players, saxophonist Wataru Hamasaki and pianist Akane Matsumoto, each active in popular groups in the J Jazz scene. With Big Catch, the horn player meets the piano trio and forms a quartet focused on turning out bold sounds of full-bodied jazz, groovy, bluesy, and full of pep.

With 11 tracks of mostly original songs and several jazz covers, the sound runs from mid-tempo groovy swing jazz (“Big Catch”, “Mean What You Say”) to exciting, up-tempo whiplashers, where the players gleefully race at speed, urging listeners to hang on for the ride (“Hiding Place”, “Playing”). For straight-ahead, satisfying jazz sax, comparisons could be made to the sounds of Gene Ammons, Ben Webster, and Coleman Hawkins, just to name a few. Among the tracks, two slower ballads are included, adding a nice balance of mellow comfort and lyricism (“If You Need A Friend” and “Monica”, where the soprano sax adds a floating, softly romantic sound).

While most of the tracks feature tenor sax, Hamasaki also adds color with soprano sax and flute, expertly played. On two tracks, Matsumoto takes center stage in piano trio format, on a straight-ahead version of “Love Letter” and her crowd-pleasing original tune “JJ”, putting her impressive Phineas Newborn Jr./Oscar Peterson-like piano dexterity on full display.

Cover art by Akane Matsumoto (dig those Big Catch big cats having a ball on the cover: “Swinging Soooo Hard!”).

Audio and Video

• Music from the album “Big Catch”:

• Excerpt from track #1: “BIG CATCH”