Where the previous collection was packaged in a tranquil shade of blue with several songs referencing the color, this album moves from aquamarine to a deeper pink in deep magenta or fushia. This choice contrasts nicely but still conveys feelings of calmness with added luxury, romance, and introspection. The color may be most directly related to track #5 which refers to a pink or peach-colored light, and possibly #13 “Aldeberan”, a reddish giant star, as well. The cover art also strikes a similar pose as the previous album, with the subject dressed with elegant confidence and chic style but in a different imagined setting… traveling, perhaps? But as before, the woman is completely absorbed in the music to the extent that all else seems to disappear.

As the title indicates, these are relatively short pieces played on solo piano. Endo masterfully sketches his direct ideas through comforting tunes for two to four minutes apiece. The longest song, #9 “Erica”, is six minutes long and feels like two pieces nested in one another, the middle section being an enchanting Endo-esque waltz nestled between two ornate bookends of prismatic arpeggios.

Compared to the previous album, the songs are slightly longer here. The titles still reference themes that are quite poetic and personal, exploring feelings of gentleness, wonderment, and sentimentality. As before, the music is mostly slow-to-medium tempo with subtle rubato or swing touches and a few lightly groovy songs for catchy variety. Like a stained glass window of harmonious connection and pure feeling, as the first Piano Pieces Collection /ends with hope and appreciation, this /II also closes in a positive mindset with #15 “True Happiness”.

1. “When Standing in Heaven”
2. “Spiritual Provisions”
3. “Carry Forward”
4. “Sunset Shadow”
5. “Peach-Colored Light”
6. “Hand in Hand”
7. “Together with Sakata”
8. “Tears of Shura”
9. “Erica”
10. “Moonlight”
11. “Equal in Rain”
12. “Momentary Flicker”
13. “Aldebaran”
14. “Sentiments of the Keyaki Tree”
15. “True Happiness”

Audio and Video

• Promotional video for this album:

• Spotify link for this album

• Apple Music link for this album

• Excerpt from track #9: “Erica”

At first glance, another comparison could be made to the great Chick Corea’s Children’s Songs album. Each album has 19 to 20 tracks, all short solo piano pieces. Also, both albums showcase the respective pianist’s sketches of minimal, memorable, melodic music. Beauty through simplicity. Corea’s compositions might edge towards more complex and rhythmically stimulating music, and similarly, Endo’s pieces also carry his own personality. His compositions are delicate, graceful, and subtle. More miniature than minimal, Endo aims to create moods of gentle understanding and welcoming calmness.

Considering the cover of Piano Pieces Collection, perhaps the intended mood is one of alone time, dressed up with nowhere to go. Or, dressed up and somewhere, but that somewhere fades away as the music in the headphones takes the woman worlds away, elegant and relaxed and gazing into the distance. The calming blue-green of the package design also surfaces in three song titles: #1 “Blue Lighting”, #13 “Azure Dragon”, and #14 “Sky Blue of the Mind”.

Like a sketchbook of vignettes that continue from page to page, the impressions conjured by the songs flow into one another. A first listen may absorb a bed of background music that is soft and relaxing. Repeated listening reveals the magic of the songs and uncovers highlights as the strong melodies tickle the ears and stay in the mind. It can be beautifully touching.

Endo’s rubato touch and timing heighten the mood with dramatic pauses and volume changes, though slight in moderation. The sense of wanting to touch and comfort the listeners through music rises above all else. It’s piano music where the romantic style is not exaggerated but played gracefully as the piano becomes the medium (and Endo the vessel) for the composer’s message that can be mellow, introspective, or encouraging, but always engaging.

This hour-long collection of miniatures consists of songs that mostly fall between two to four minutes in length, with the longest track #17 “Hope” reaching four and a half minutes. Most songs are in standard 4/4 or 3/4 time, with one in 5/4. Most songs float along as pretty piano pieces with a softly implied beat. A few pulse with an implied light rock backbeat, including #4 “Think of You”, #7 “Itosugi”, #13 “Mirai kara no Kaze wo Ukete”, and #17 “Hope”.

Most of the tracks on this album are given Japanese titles. Roughly translating the set to English also gives insights into the poetic images Endo paints through the black and white keys. Themes of natural imagery, emotions, and personal reflections give rise to positive feelings of hope and thanks given.

1. “Blue Lighting”
2. “The Light is Held, the Past is Lost”
3. “Heavenly Sea”
4. “Think of You”
5. “Words of Truth”
6. “Wet with Rain”
7. “Cypress”
8. “When Breathing into the Sky”
9. “When the Dazzling Grass Unfolds”
10. “Always Quietly Smiling”
11. “Orion”
12. “Eyes of Brown”
13. “Catching the Wind of the Future”
14. “Azure Dragon”
15. “Sky Blue of the Mind”
16. “Snow Flurries”
17. “Hope”
18. “A Row of Spring”
19. “ThanQ”

Audio and Video

• Spotify link for this album

• Apple Music link for this album

• Excerpt from track #5: “まことのことば (True Word)”

Presenting Taguchi’s sweetly mellow voice in an exquisite frame, Pianist Seiji Endo arranged all the songs on this album, and his vision combined with the front line of saxophone, violin, and guitar creates a lush, big band-style sound from the six instruments.

From thrilling and upbeat to smooth and slow, the musicians play together tightly, forming a solid foundation and spotlight for the singer. Listeners can easily imagine Taguchi elegantly standing on stage with a tall mic stand next to her and the Special Sextet decked out stylishly behind her. Taguchi’s delivery is direct but soft, rounded and sincere, verging on husky but always in balance. In particular, the positive attitude of her voice shines like a smile throughout the album.

Like the previous Special Sextet album, The Gift II is straightforward, cheerful, and classic jazz with big band sensibilities. The music emphasizes swing with a fullness of energy and brightness. Perhaps like other albums created during the gloom of the pandemic years, the musicians may have felt added motivation to create and spread joy through their music.

The Gift II abounds in swing and grace with jazz standards including “A Foggy Day”, “Cheek to Cheek”, and “Night and Day”. Other tracks like a dreamy “Misty” and an adventurous “Caravan” build up tension with dynamic changes and a slight sense of mystery. Closing the album, Chick Corea’s always-welcome composition “Spain” is slightly rearranged by Endo with tasteful finesse and performed exuberantly, supplying another exotic and sparkling gem in Rie Taguchi’s bejeweled offering.

Liner Notes

(Translated from the original Japanese liner notes written by Rie Taguchi.)

After five years, a jewel box of spun notes…

Five years since the previous work “The Gift”!

A gift of sounds from the magnificent Special Sextet. After five years of accumulating live concerts and adding wonderful arrangements with each performance, we’ve arrived at repertoire of 40 songs. The universe of arrangements by Seiji Endo tells a story, song by song, each performed by the Special Sextet’s musicians with craftsman-like mastery. The world of the arrangements has expanded even further, unfolding on stage with thrilling excitement. I was thinking that I wanted to release this world on a CD!

Yet with the hurdles in moving forward and the unprecedented events of the coronavirus, the situation prevented us from easily creating music together as musicians on stage… I hit upon the thought that it was the right time to make a CD. After asking for support through crowdfunding, I received a whopping 250 people who graciously supported my idea.

Truly, truly thank you so much! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I truly appreciate everyone who participated in crowdfunding, and to each and every person who supported us in other ways throughout. Please accept this present, this gift of notes and sound.

Rie Taguchi

Audio and Video

• Promotional video for this album:

• Excerpt from track #1: “A Foggy Day”

The arrangements are nice, particularly on the opening track “Moondance” which opens with a deep bass, piano, and vibes setting up a grove for Akimoto to lead the listener through the atmospheric drama of the tune. The decorated arrangements include vocal harmonies with trumpet, flute, and other instruments adding beautiful layers to the music.

After the classy opener, the album continues with the title track “No One Else”, a soulful pop ballad written by Akimoto. The remaining five tracks include three jazz standards: the chaste “I’ve Got A Crush On You”, a sultry “This Masquerade”, and a tender, bossa-flavored “Fly Me To The Moon”. While Akimoto sings in English for most of the album, she chooses to sing in Japanese for two pop songs, “Sentimental” and “Ajisai”, adding to the musical variety and showing us more of Akimoto’s range and affection on her album debut.

Audio and Video

• Promotional video for this album featuring the song “Moondance”:

• Excerpt from track #7: “Fly me to the moon”

The album is a relaxed tour through 11 varied tracks, all arranged by pianist Seiji Endo who backs up the vocalist throughout the disc. Six songs feature Kawamura singing as a duo with the pianist, and more color is added with violinist Noriko Satomi joining on three tracks and guitarist Akira Sekine joining on two others.

Much of the music has a romantic and nostalgic feeling, yet a modern sensibility is included on such tunes as Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed” and a surprising rendition of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”, expressing Kawamura’s poppier side. In addition, the charming Irish folk song “Down By The Salley Gardens” is a sweet highlight, and two Japanese ballads (sung in Japanese) provide extra variety that boosts the album’s charm.

Starting quietly, Endo and Kawamura perform a heartwarming version of “The Rainbow Connection”, the uplifting Oscar-winning classic from The Muppet Movie. The duo is then joined by Noriko Satomi on violin for the next track “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso”, sung in Italian and a definite highlight for its lovesick achiness. Guitarist Akira Sekine then joins on Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” done as a slow rock ballad. The rest of the album continues in this eclectic, wistful manner, with jazz standards including “Route 66”, “Tennessee Waltz”, and “Summertime”, and a lovely version of the Beatles’ “In My Life”.

Audio and Video

• A live version of Ruriko Kawamura singing “Down By The Salley Gardens” in 2011:

• Ruriko Kawamura singing “The Waltz” live in 2011:

• Excerpt from track #2: “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso”

As with his previous albums Sakura Meditations and Circle For Peace, Endo plays his entrancing music alone, freely and beautifully. On this album, the novel’s influence adds layers of exoticism to the dramatic compositions. The result is evocative and mysterious music that strikes the heart.

Endo uses scenes and characters from The Tale of Genji to pull music from the text, from words to sounds (as in the extended title “Echoes of 54 Books: From the Words of Genji, Sounds of Genji”), in music that sounds classical and stately at times, romantic and sweet at other times, and innocent and playful at yet others. Throughout, the twelve songs are set against a backdrop of emotional lyricism, striking an ambiguous resignation between forlorn despair and flickering hopefulness.

Set among these musical facets, the listener may also pick up hints to classical works as well as others of Endo’s compositions, representing his imaginative fluidity while evoking the shaded atmospheres of Genji.

Audio and Video

• Seiji Endo performing his composition “Sun, Moon and Children Smile” (from his “Sakura Meditation” album) in Indonesia in 2014:

• Excerpt from track #1: “桐壺(桐壺更衣)(きりつぼ・きりつぼのこうい) (Kiritsubo (Kiritsubo changing clothes) (Kiritsubo/Kiritsubo no Koi))”

Most of the songs are just three to five minutes long with strains of classical and slightly jazzy influences surface in the music. The music deeply evokes feelings ranging from pretty etude-like sketches to the childlike innocence of a lullaby, to pieces overflowing with romantic drama and emotional depth. Endo’s poetic style and his passion are directly focused through a soft touch and breath-like pulse: simplicity and brevity through understated effectiveness.

Particularly striking are the two longest songs which develop slowly and powerfully. The seven-minute #9 “Requiem and Hope” is a turbulent and profound exploration and plea, while the nine-minute title track #4 “Sakura Meditation” unfolds from a mysterious 5/4 opening, journeying through darkness until ultimately blooming in a graceful and inspiring resolution.

Liner Notes

(Translated from the original Japanese liner notes.)

Poetry of sound rich with color

On August 17, 2006, I was on vacation in New York, and I stopped by a friend’s house to visit and exercise my fingers on his piano when I happened to meet Seiji Endo who was also there at that time.

I heard that he was on a mission, training to become a jazz pianist in his hometown. If that’s the case, I begged him, then please take this opportunity and play something for me, and although he was shy, he steadied his resolve and headed towards the piano. Almost like a young boy taking something precious out of a treasure chest and appreciating the value of the existence of each note, he began to play gently and with grace, and I vividly remember how surprised I was at hearing his poetry of sound rich with color.

Even now as I relisten to this album while trying to write this article, I have no choice but to press the stop button, as I can’t simply ignore the music without ending up being completely absorbed in listening to it.

Shall I call it “instrumental music where you can almost hear words spilling out”?

I once again experienced how the rare expressive person is set apart from the large number of jazz pianists who pursue superior techniques with an emphasis on power, where one mistake could be regarded as violent.

If you are looking for the type of so-called “jazz” filled with the sounds of tense chords constantly, this may be in a slightly wrong direction, with the possible exception of track #3 “Good Luck”.

Personally, track #5 “Mebukatoki” (Time of Budding) especially appeals to me with its relaxed style, and I am incredibly drawn to short pieces such as #7 “Ikirukoto” (To Live).

What about composing vocal works or film music in the future, Seiji? I think it would suit you well.

Incidentally, it seems that at our first meeting I said to him “I think that you may also become a composer” (sorry, but I completely forgot about this). With this one sentence as impetus, he was encouraged to compose, and when I heard that this album was announced, I thought “Might I have the makings of a prophet?!”

I look forward to even more leaps forward, and in addition, I “predict” them. Good luck, Seiji!

ピアニスターHIROSHI / Pianistar HIROSHI

SEIJI ENDO Pianist/Composer

Seiji Endo was born in Nigata in April 1978. He started to play piano due to the influence of his musician father. After an almost ten-year break, while in his fourth year at university, he was inspired by improvisational music and devoted himself to jazz piano. He started working as a musician upon graduating from the department of education at Tamagawa University, including participating in many festivals and events with bands including the Takeshi Inomata Trio and the Tokyo Jazz Quartet.

In 2005, he appeared as himself on the 2005 television program Koi no Jiken (Time for Love) starring Hitomi Kuroki on the TBS drama series Nichiyou Gekijou (Sunday Night Theater) and garnered more attention.

In January 2006, he moved to New York on his own to live in Harlem and start his training from scratch. He was active as a regular performer at jazz clubs, restaurants, and the like. In November he appeared on Manhattan cable television. Also in the same year, he studied music therapy under Clive Robbins of the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Foundation.

In February 2007, he returned to Japan and resumed his activities in Tokyo. In September, his first album My Mind was released on RCC Records.

In August 2008, he co-starred in a double concert with international opera singer Sai Yanguang at Tobu Hotel Levant.

In March 2009, a Seiji Endo Trio concert was held at the Australian Embassy. In April, his second album Angel Eyes was released on Yes Records.

In August 2010, he wrote the theme music “Sun, Moon and Children Smile” as a message of “love and peace” for the children of the world, which became a topic of conversation. This was performed during the opening ceremony of the International Korczak Association 2010 with events held by those who had gathered from countries around the world.

In April 2011, his solo concert series began with the “Seiji Endo Piano Solo Concert, Spring 2011” at Hakuju Hall, continuing to various locations and receiving high praise from many audiences. In September, he played at the Kanazawa Jazz Street 2011 together in Kanazawa with musicians who came from all around the world.

In April 2012, he was invited to perform at the Sakura Festival in New York Sakura Park to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Japan’s donation of cherry blossom trees, where plans to perform his new composition Sakura Meditation there. Around the same time, he will also release his Sakura Meditation Seiji Endo Piano Solo Album with the same composition for the first time.

With his delicate and rich tone colors and performances with a strong sense of spirituality, Seiji Endo’s original works are endlessly fascinating and overflowing with talent. We look forward to his continued activities as a young pianist and composer who transcends genres.

Audio and Video

• Seiji Endo playing “Sakura Meditation”, track #4, live in 2013:

• Seiji Endo playing “Eien no Hito”, track #2, live in 2020:

• Excerpt from track #1: “Sun,Moon and Children Smile”

“Tsutaete Ikou” is the resulting heart-warming anthem, dedicated to strengthening the spirit of survivors and helping to soothe painful memories. The title echoes a stone monument at Ishinomaki high school which promises to tell their story forever. After disasters such as this, one may feel hopeless individually, yet the act of remembering together, passing the message on, and uniting with music does wonders to support the spirit.

The CD contains three versions of the song “Tsutaete Ikou”, and proceeds were donated to affected disaster areas and educational funds for children.

Audio and Video

• Video for the song “Tsutaete Ikou”:

• Solo piano version of the song for karaoke:

• Excerpt from track #1: “伝えていこう (Let’s Tell It)”

Links

• The Tsutaete Ikou project website, with piano score and lyrics

Her sultry voice seems to crack smiles and reminisce on old times as she dips and sways through the music. Popular standards such as “I Wish You Love” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” convey her cheerful energy, hearkening back at times to a type of Las Vegas showroom jazz. Her bright charm describes a sparkling smile, perhaps even a tipsy grin as she gracefully sings the notes.

The album features delightful arrangements by Seiji Endo along with Taguchi’s pop-oriented originals. The music starts in full swing with a riveting “The Lady is a Tramp”, and finishes up the set with a warm “Close to You” followed by the vocalist quietly playing piano and singing her song “Voices”.

Audio and Video

• Television broadcast of Rie Taguchi singing in Tokyo:

• Excerpt from track #1: “The Lady Is A Tramp”

Through sincerity depicted on the album cover and title, the concept is peace and comfort. Accordingly, Endo’s playing is full of emotion: tenderness and sensitivity ring throughout, with some melancholy mixed in, alternately romantic, classical, and soft pop at times. Melodic quotes from his previous album even make appearances. Overall, Endo conveys his personality through his soothing music filled with hope and beauty, calm and peace.

Audio and Video

• Seiji Endo performing “Bara No Sasayaki” (Whispers of a Rose):

• Excerpt from track #1: “Circle For Peace”

Although there are only two tracks here, the music serves to whet the appetite and showcase the sweet, sensitive music crafted with love and care.

Audio and Video

• Promotional video for an album from Hiroco Nagano:

• Excerpt from track #1: “Someone To Watch Over Me”