Setagaya Trio’s concept is based on having all three players extend freely, rather than having one leader decide the group’s direction and style. This results in music that is freewheeling and fun with a risk-taking energy that is powered by their youthful, fresh attitude. The trio’s arrangements feel loose in a way, as if anything could happen, and they look forward to those unexpected surprises as challenges to meet head-on. At the same time, the tightness of their playing and arrangements is apparent, solid and effective. It’s an impressive bond arising from the extreme attention paid by each member to one another, no doubt paid off by their efforts and dedication to studied listening and practicing their art.

This album contains ten tracks made up of seven original songs and three covers. While this is mainly a studio-recorded album, the last song is from a live recording, and adds the nice touch of topping the album off with a raw, encore-like performance.

The band’s original songs include the slow-building #1 “Omrai”, the most straight-ahead jazz #2 “Metsa”, the club-style J Jazz groove #3 “Hako”, the short, Ornette-ishly free #5 “Skip Song” (with its amusingly self-deprecating title), the funky Latin-tinged soul jazz of #6 “K.O.G.S.”, the short Medeski Martin & Wood-sensed jam jazz of #7 “Setado Funk”, and the calm, sweet waltz of #8 “Jarvi”. Most songs are roughly in the standard five-to-seven minute duration, except for the two short songs (#3 and #7) which are around 2 minutes each, giving the impression of quick experiments thrown in as spice for the mix, just for fun, because they feel like it, and hey, why not? It keeps things interesting.

The three originals include the slow and romantic Spanish love song #4 “Amapola”, drummer Paul Motian’s spaciously and poetic “Bird Song” played with impressionistic verve, and a rhythmic and intense live version of pianist Thelonious Monk’s quirky “Thelonious”, a great way to highlight the respectful yet playful dynamic personality of Setagaya Trio.

Liner Notes

(Translated from the original Japanese liner notes.)

The band formed after hitting it off at a jam session in 2015. They met at a jam session in Shimokitazawa, Setagaya, which inspired the name “Setagaya Trio” for the band. The motif for the jacket design is the maneki-neko [/beckoning cat figurine/] of Gotokuji temple in Shimokitazawa.

There is no musical leader, and their style is characterized by the free expression of all three members. From regular standard numbers from free jazz, quiet noise, and Brazilian music, to modern R&B-styled tunes, their performances have attracted attention all over the country for their appetite to absorb anything and play in their own restrained way.

They released their first album Introducing Setagaya Trio in 2017, which was featured on NHK-FM’s “Jazz Tonight” program. Currently, in addition to performing at jazz clubs centered around the Tokyo metropolitan area, they are expanding the scope of their activities, including musical support for hip-hop producer STUTS.

Audio and Video

• Live performance of “K.O.G.S.”, track #6 on this album:

• Live performance of “Blues”:

• Live performance of “I Love You”:

• Live performance of a madcap medley of songs including “Ladies in Mercedes”, “Giant Steps”, and others:

• Excerpt from track #2: “Metsa”

Almost like a concept album, or parts I and II of a story, the songs for the two albums were divided between them based on the overall effect that each part is intended to have. There is also a common theme of the morning and the relaxed, refreshed feelings that can arise with the sun. In short, the first album’s songs are intended to provide a soothing balm, and the second’s an energy boost, either or both to be used like tonics or medicine to fit the listener’s mood.

Yet the differences between the two collections are not drastic, and the pair could easily be imagined as a double-album release. The songs and arrangements are from Fukui’s hand, delivered through the trio, and during the same two days, so naturally there is a lot in common. Also in common with her previous releases, her music is characteristically groovy and laid-back with stimulating riffs, smooth playing, and subtly novel arrangements. It’s all delivered through the tightly bound rhythms that the three create so nicely together.

Initially, for some songs, there can be the feeling of a gentle playing style filled with cool swing and decorations. Sometimes that softness is misleading, and several songs build to dramatic peaks. As one example, Jobim’s classic “The Girl From Ipanema” starts with the traditional jazz trio sound that regular jazz fans have heard countless times, but Fukui’s clever arranging results in a unique version of this song that carves out its own unique space in the universe of ordinary versions.

It’s a good demonstration of some of the talents of this trio: gossamer piano licks surfing across the thumping bass lines and drum dynamics, climax-building section changes, outro vamps, and drum solos that add the finishing fire to several of the songs.

In addition to her compositions and arrangements, Fukui’s piano solos occupy most of the improvisation space, and there are a few bass and drum solos and interchanges as well. Nonetheless, the music gravitates towards emphasizing the trio’s locked-in, propulsive rhythms, and Fukui’s thought-out arrangements.

Flow-wise, with mid-tempo merges of swing, straight, and Latin beats, the album starts with the energetic swirl of #1 “Voltex”, the soulful groove #2 “morning sun”, and the deep spices of #3 “The Girl from Ipanema”. Track #4 “hammock” is a mid-album rest stop where heartwarming piano lines and a slow sway calm the spirits.

The engines rev up again with #5 “tipsy time”, which bubbles with a fun, light bounce resembling carefree tottering. Track #6 “MCY” excitingly invokes the percussive and chiseled piano playing of McCoy Tyner. The meaning of the album title becomes clear when hearing the sound of this track, but prior to that, other interpretations are interesting, and one case is mentioned in the liner notes. (Another wild guess was that MCY may stand for Music, Cats, and Yoga, as some of her favorite things are known to be.)

The last full song on the album, #7 “Mohito”, is a great update of a popular song from her first album, Urban Clutter, where the electrically charged sound of the Fender Rhodes replaces the acoustic piano. It makes for another version of the thrilling sound of Ami Fukui-style jazz fusion.

The afterword, #8 “Baikin Concert” (a spontaneous and curious ode to Baikinman, a mischievous germ-based antagonist in the comic Anpanman), is a short, friendly postscript featuring her young nephew and his cute original song, only seconds long, but ending the album appropriately with a cute /owari/—“that’s it, all done!”

Liner Notes

(Translated from Ami Fukui’s original Japanese liner notes.)

To everyone who purchased this album…

To some extent, you may ask “Was this album inspired by, or even made for your nephew?” It’s true, I relied on his help a lot for this album, including on the CD jacket design and with his voice. I have to think about how to store the funds from the profits for him (laughs).

In contrast with my previous album Nova Manhã, this album features more danceable rhythms and emotional content. At the start, the idea was to capture as much as we could, so we recorded a lot of songs over two days in November 2021.

Before starting to record, I was vaguely thinking that it would be nice to release a double album, and in fact, we ended up getting enough good takes for two albums.

The first part became the previous release Nova Manhã. These two works became a two-part series expressing stillness and movement. They’re opposing albums, but one thing they have in common is the keyword morning.

Hopeful strength with invigorating tenderness is expressed through “Nova manhã” [/track #1 on Nova Manhã/]. The awareness of the power of the morning sun overflowing with vitality inspired “morning glow” [/track #2 on this album/].

These two songs are at the core, based on the same morning sun but with different perspectives.

On a different topic, I noticed something in common between music and aroma. As aroma drifts through, the atmosphere of a place can be completely changed in an instant. I think that sound has the same effect. The moment that sound flows, it feels like the location’s scenery and your perspective of it changes instantly.

I would love it if you could use this music to lift your spirits, clear your head, relax, or get lost in your thoughts when thinking about something. It is like a tool that can be used depending on your condition and mood at the time.

01 Voltex

It represents a whirlpool. I envisioned the middle of a spiraling whirlpool, being steadily dragged in, and the state of abandoning yourself to the flow. I was listening to Egberto Gismonti a lot around the time that I wrote this song, and I think that also influenced this song a little.

02 morning glow

When I went on a trip to the remote island of Taketomi-jima near Ishigaki, I woke up early to go to the beach and watch the sunrise. The morning glow of the rising sun was so beautiful that I wanted to write a song about it. I wrote this after returning home. Through the successive live performances of this song, the composition as originally created changed with feelings of increased vitality and overflowing strength.

03 The girl from Ipanema

I’m not sure if it’s a good or a bad thing, but I boldly rearranged this famous song by Antônio Carlos Jobim. I got that idea for this song while I was playing a solo piano gig, and afterward, I created this arrangement based on that idea.

04 hammock

I jotted down a song about the memory of a certain important day. It was originally written as a bossa nova and we played it live numerous times as that, but to be honest it never really felt right to me. It has the image of the saudade of the evening. I was thinking about how to give life to this melody, with its touch of floating sadness, and came up with a reggae-tinged groove. I asked Kira to play that and we immediately adopted it! We pulled it off at the peak of the second day of recording in one emotional take.

05 tipsy time

It means being slightly intoxicated. This song was born from the desire to listen to a light, cheerful tune while drinking. It came about while I was casually sitting at the piano, and while I was playing around, the melody came to me. I just kept humming while playing, and turned it into this song.

07 MCY

This is a song I wrote during a time when I was continuously listening to pianist McCoy Tyner. Some have said this is too bright for McCoy and might be closer to Cedar Walton’s style. Either way, please forgive me for transferring it through my own filter (laughs).

One person guessed that the title “MCY” was taken from the initial letters of magenta, cyan, and yellow, the colors used in certain printers. I thought, oh, that would fit the colors for the CD jacket perfectly, and I borrowed a drawing from my nephew that I had originally wanted to use.

P.S.

To those who knew about the Mame Mugi T-shirts: Thank you to everyone who purchased one. When they are all sold out, I’ll be storing the profits for my nephew who drew the original illustration (laughs).

08 Mohito

Named for the cocktail, this is the song “Mohito” which was included on my first album Urban Clutter. Many people like this song, and I often play it with the current trio. I’ve always wanted to record this song on a Rhodes piano, and we finally made this wish come true. This was also a song that we recorded in one take with a lot of energy as we were almost reaching the end of our session time.

08 Baikin Concert

This is an audio file that I recorded as a test during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic when I was thinking about recording music at home. My nephew, who was four years old at the time, held the mic for me while I recorded lots of sounds. I later added my own keyboard notes to make this. It’s a song that my nephew wrote by himself and would sing all the time back then. To NHK, can you use this on Minna no Uta (laughs)?

This album was created with a concept of kineticism, like an energy boost that spreads outwards and lifts the tension slightly. To use Nova Manhã when you want to feel relaxed… To use MCY when you want to lift your spirits… It would be a great honor for me as a creator to have you use them according to your mood at the time.

P.S.

I am always grateful for my two bandmates, who are always listening intently to my sound, and who are warmly supportive yet can also push me strongly at times. This trio’s sound wouldn’t be the same without any one of these musicians. We get wonderful comments about how our sound is the unique result of the three of us playing together. I feel the same, if I can say so myself.

I’m proud and satisfied that we were able to deliver these two albums, Nova Manhã and MCY. At the same time, we remember that these products are only pieces of work. I believe that music is a living thing, and it truly keeps changing in interesting ways with each performance. This is something that I’ve often said since our first album, but it would please me greatly if you could come to a live show and listen to our trio’s changes to hear our current, “as of today” sound.

I also would love to thank all the people who were involved and who lent us their assistance. I hope that this album and Nova Manhã together can continue to be a part of the brightness of your days.

福井亜実 Ami Fukui

Audio and Video

• Live performance of #7 “Mohito” from 2021:

• Live performance of #5 “Tipsy Time” from 2023:

• Audio for “Mohito” from Ami Fukui’s first album “Urban Clutter”:

• Excerpt from track #1: “Voltex”

As with her previous releases Urban Clutter (2010), Amizm (2013), and New Journey (2016), this creative musician focuses her original music on the specific sound of her trio and her concept this time out. Seven of the eight tracks on this album are her own compositions. Her music is often colorful, perhaps with more calming hues on this release, and her unique blend of cool beats and pop melodies with a soulful smile runs through the music.

Fukui’s music often uses a modern jazz style beat almost like light neo-jazz with a groovy Latin backbone, as compared to a traditional swing rhythm or blues shuffle. Right from the album title, the jazzy opening track “Nova Manhã” (“new morning” in Portuguese) is underpinned by a subtly compelling rhythm similar to Brazilian or Afro-Cuban rhythms found in some EDM/electronic dance and pop music, but through a jazz lens.

The Latin feel is most apparent on the Brazilian song “Pra Machuchar Meu Coração”, the sole cover song on the album, and a gem that Fukui humorously describes overlooking on the well-known and much-played album by Stan Getz and João Gilberto (see liner notes below).

In addition, Fukui’s original “Nos Vemos!!” conveys a similar Latin sound with a tropical island feel. While it may be going too far to call these trademarks, this cross-genre flexibility is similar to previous compositions where Fukui combines conventional jazz with elements from club jazz, Latin, and pop music.

In particular, the Latin influence is felt on this album more than on previous releases, perhaps to add an overall calm and relaxing vibe to the music. Fukui and the trio also use their voices in wordless harmonies in a few spots in a very warm and welcoming way.

This is not to say that the album as a whole is a trance-inducing or zone-out experience. Maybe it’s the sense that a guiding angel inhabited the environment, aiming the music towards peaceful harmonies and away from over-stimulating roughness.

Fukui’s musical concept on this album of serenity and calmness may even be influenced by her focus on yoga, Ayurveda, and mindfulness, involved as a practitioner and instructor who offers online yoga lessons. It is interesting to consider how her dedicated training of body and mind may also be shaping her musical ideas and performances as well.

Most of all though, the pianist’s attention to her compositions and her jazz piano trio is comfortable and balanced, right in the Goldilocks zone of being not too simple, not too complex, but feeling just right.

Liner Notes

(Translated from Ami Fukui’s original Japanese liner notes.)

To everyone who purchased this, to those who know me as well as first-timers, thank you so much for picking up this album among all the CDs available.

This is my first album since my last release about five and a half years ago. Many things have dramatically changed in the past two years due to the coronavirus epidemic, and I think that my life and my heart have been greatly affected as well.

Rather than heart-pounding excitement, I aimed for gentle calmness. I created this album with this concept in mind. It’s also an album that feels like a collection of essays that have been compiled out of my daily life.

Many people helped out, and it greatly pleases me that we could bring this special collection to fruition. I hope that this album becomes music to bring peace to the hearts of those who listen to it.

Ami Fukui

01.Nova manhã

A song written during the coronavirus pandemic. One morning after waking up, this song was running through my head at high volume. Surprisingly it lasted all day. I wondered, is this strange incident somehow related to the coronavirus? Since this was a rare occurrence, I decided to write the song down just in case.

These two years were a blank. There were frustrating moments, but also some good things, if I changed my perspective just a bit.

Even in this situation or at any time, one thing that doesn’t change is that all are equal in the fact that a new morning will come no matter what. The message is that even if things are tough, keep looking forward and don’t give up. I chose the title based on the Portuguese word for “new morning”.

02.Pexy

My nephew started growing a touch-me-not plant. At some point, it was sitting alone near the kitchen window. He called the plant Pexy. Every morning, my nephew called out “Pexy, go for it!”. He even began to use a small megaphone, and the sound also reached as far as to me.

Although Pexy completed its mission of bowing once, not long after that it took its last breath with its head bowed. For some reason, the name Pexy stuck with me, and so I wrote this song.

Bonus Episode

As my nephew was choosing a nameplate for his touch-me-not plant, from the three available options he chose the one with a rainbow sticker on it. “Oh, since I always have a rainbow in my heart, I’ll get this one!”

I was moved to tears. It was a moment when I felt “Children are so amazing, aren’t they?”

03.Mi_So_Do_Re

When I was a student I was obsessed with Akiko Yano. This song was inspired by several famous songs I listened to, such as “Soko no Iron ni Tsugu” and “Hitotsu Dake”.

“Miso dressing” starts with the letters “mi so do re” [in Japanese, ミ、ソ、ド、レ]. I’m secretly looking to collaborate, so does anyone have a contact in the salad dressing industry? Actually, I don’t know which came first, miso dressing or the dressing industry…

04.Pra Machuchar Meu Coração

The origin of playing this song was when Kira (drums) told me that he had a song that seemed to suit me.

The famous album by Stan Getz and João Gilberto. Although I’ve listened to it so many times, I overlooked this song. I can’t believe I missed such a beautiful song. What exactly was I listening to? Like so, I play it every time.

05.Golden field

Imagine a vast golden wheat field in an American countryside. The setting sun begins to dye the wheat field a pretty orange color. A horizon that never ends. Ears of rice plants dancing in the wind. The indescribably nostalgic scent of a wheat field drifts by. I wrote this song with an image of that landscape. Well, please listen. Golden field…

06.Hommage

Many jazz standard songs are simple but so good. It can also be said of the musicians who have so many cool melodic phrases on hand, expressing themselves through unique characteristics in the form of their performance. I wonder how it feels to write songs that have been passed down as standards through different generations and countries, beloved to the point of being performed as a natural part of sessions.

And, the same with phrases used in solos. To hear a part and think “This is cool!!”, to copy it by ear, to practice, break it down, add our own ideas, and perform it as a language. We take it for granted but, thinking about it, it’s so amazing. I wrote this song as an expression of appreciation to those who created this history of jazz up to now, and with the faint hope that someday my own music can become part of it as well.

07.Nos Vemos!!!

Have you ever watched a movie in your dreams?

It happened to me just once. I can’t remember the story at all, but it was a movie that made me feel extremely happy. And after the final credits finished, I woke up. There was a song playing through the credits that didn’t go away even after I woke up. It stayed in my head all day, so I figured I had to write down this song.

The setting is the Mediterranean Sea. The last scene is at a restaurant by the sea where everyone is happily sharing a meal. I can remember that atmosphere. As I wanted to have that dream again, I chose the words “Let’s meet again.” If someday that dream continues, I want to remember it this time.

08.Mame to Mugi to Watashi

It seems like a title I’ve heard somewhere before (haha). [The title uses the same form as a hit J-Pop song “Heya to Y-shirt to Watashi” (1992).]

I have two black cats who are sisters. The one who came first was pitch black like black beans, so she’s Mame [bean]. I wanted to use the same type of grain for the younger sister who came after, so she’s Mugi [wheat]. This girl’s fur turned out to become a little brownish so it was just right.

I wrote this song thinking about how fun it is to play with these kitties. The song is a duo with a great bassist.

Audio and Video

• Promotional video with excerpts from “Nova manhã”, “Pra Machuchar Meu Coração”, and “Pexy”:

• Promotional video for “Mame to Mugi to Watashi”, track #8 from this album:

• Excerpt from track #6: “Hommage”

Links

• Online yoga lessons link provided by Ami Fukui