As We Breathe, with nine tracks and about 70 minutes, is the second album out of the six released by the group. Despite the earliness of this and their previous album (their debut Wordless), their concept was already well-defined based on Hashizume’s compositions and musical direction, and the musicians show a cohesive personality with intuitively-linked playing and precise timing.

Over warm tones of electric guitar and fretless bass, the breathy, long notes of the tenor sax push through the air with an ethereal presence. The deep, round anchor of bass is necessary and comforting as active pinpoints of drums and cymbals light up and spark with energy. The sound of electrified strings inhabits the music, submerging and cresting unpredictably with a mesmerizing effect.

Most songs run at about seven to ten minutes, allowing the music to build slowly, confidently, and the musicians to move at their own pace. This is a consistent quality of Hashizume’s wisely crafted music: Things are done subtly but powerfully, melodic qualities change under your feet like shifting sand, and rhythms are often engineered to be atypical but stable. As deep tentacles entwine and pull down, keep in mind, remember as we breathe.

Track #1 “Last Song” is an abstract painting of sound where the saxophone and guitar duet a melody while the bass, drums, and piano paint a dreamy landscape background. Fluid, floating, swirling like liquid and vapor, smoothly merging into abstract shapes. A strong melody statement by the tenor sax pulls the mist and rhythm around in its wake. It lingers in the mind like a recollection of a mysterious dream as smoky drums loosely hypnotize.

#2 “Sakura-Ame” (桜雨, cherry blossom rain) (8:40) is a dark waltz, mysterious and extending the previously established misty feeling. There is some sort of magical tint, a casting of a spiraling spell.

#3 “Sign” is stylish and energetic as jazz drama and rock sensibilities meet. Crisp drums punctuate a simple but memorable theme over progressively intense harmonies and movements.

#4 “Fraise” (French for いちご, strawberry) is tender with the pulse of a rock ballad. The catchy melody plays out with a curiously familiar yet unfamiliar mood, heightened by the slightly offset melodic placements and syncopated offbeats.

The mid-to-uptempo 4/4 jazz/rock #5 “Encore” (9:31) has Orihara’s bass stating the opening and closing theme over piano arpeggios, setting up the dramatic stage for some great improv from the bass and piano (with incredible left-hand/right-hand scene-stealing conversation) before sax and guitar interplay. The drums and bass rhythms really propel things forward with deadly accuracy, as with many of the highlights here.

Track #6 “Keep in Mind” is an exploratory suite-like story, where the slow and poetic opening grows into a lilting song in 3/4 and unwinds midway to a piano solo, free group styling, and ambient sound effects. Here too, again, the feel of scenes set in a Bladerunner world arises with that sci-fi future vibe of neon and grit under the surface.

#7 “Structure” gets the band locked into a 7/4 meter for a suspenseful mood over bass note floors. The electric Fender Rhodes recalls vintage Chick Corea futurism, while the segmented melody (in spacey Jan Garbarek-ish sax with the guitar playing in unison), vibrant chords with subtly morphing tonal qualities, and the moody lower bass riff and drums. The music glides on a cool plane, like surface-skimming spaceships or the Light Cycles of Tron.

#8 “Friends” introduces the album’s prettiest, innocent moments through a tune recited freely, slowly with a subtle meter, playful but quietly yearning.

Finally, #9 “Epilogue” retells the music of #1 “Last Song”, more exploratory, slower, with its unforgettable melody and rich chords moving like clouds in flux through the sky’s invisible currents.

As seen in the track listing, there is an interesting use of self-reference in the song titles. The album starts with track #1 titled “Last Song”, and the last song is track #9 “Epilogue”, which is actually a redone version of “Last Song” (an epilogue, the last song). Also, in the middle of the disc is track #5 “Encore” — a strange place for an encore. Yet if you consider the album as one in-out of a single breath, then the midpoint could be the pause between, marking where the structure folds and loops back to the start (the end), and where it completes the circle to restart the next cycle of breath. (Perhaps a propos, “Cycles” is the title of a track included on both their Wordless and Visible/Invisible releases.)

Audio and Video

• Ryosuke Hashizume Group playing #4 “Fraise” live

• Ryosuke Hashizume Group playing #5 “Encore” live in 2008 (1/2):

• Ryosuke Hashizume Group playing #5 “Encore” live in 2008 (2/2):

• Ryosuke Hashizume Group playing #7 “Structure” live in 2008 (1/3):

• Ryosuke Hashizume Group playing #7 “Structure” live in 2008 (2/3):

• Ryosuke Hashizume Group playing #7 “Structure” live in 2008 (3/3):

• Excerpt from track #3: “Sign”

Links

• Ryosuke Hashizume store

This album captures a directly connected musical conversation between drummer Kazumi Ikenaga and pianist Taihei Asakawa. A duo made up of drums and piano is not a very common format in jazz, but it is a format that really shows how, like with the circular yin-yang symbol, the two musicians fit perfectly together and fill out the space as if thinking, moving, and playing as one.

(As an aside, this duo format also provides a nice complementary subject to follow the previously introduced Yuki Ito bass solo album, as the three instruments complete the customary jazz trio format of piano, bass, and drums!)

Indeed, this drums and piano two-person format does allow for a great degree of listening and reacting by the pair as each player listens intently to the other. This makes the music seem like an extremely tuned-in conversation that naturally expands and flows, centered around each composition like both favorite and improvised topics to speak about.

On NordNote, these topics include seven evocative originals (six by Asakawa, one by Ikenaga) and three simply beautiful covers. Through it all, the overarching theme of nord (north) colors the canvas and directs the flow.

Ikenaga, like drummers Paul Motian and Jon Christensen, has an approach that expands the drumset much beyond straightforward time-keeping and common jazz patterns, turning the use of sticks, brushes, percussion instruments, and the whole set with artful silence and pauses like the negative space between words or in art. This all works excellently for creating substantial textures and upfront ambience through his melodic playing.

With pianist Asakawa, Ikenaga has a complementary and equal partner, one who fills out the songs’ natural melodic and harmonic parts like great lyrical players Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett. (To that point, Asakawa’s recent live solo recording Waltz For Debby summons the spirit of those famous Village Vanguard Bill Evans Trio live albums, and this album’s #9 “In Love In Vain” has the addictive swing feel of the Keith Jarrett Trio version of that song, quite a high bar to match.)

Much like melodic improvisation, the two musicians simultaneously decide how to keep time, play rubato, open up, add shading, pause, or build — a meeting of minds in concentration and creation. The typical roles even seem to be switched at times, when Asakawa’s piano keeps time steady and the Ikenaga’s drums, cymbals, and percussion sounds color in the spaces with softness and delicacy.

This amazing music does speak for itself, and words just scratch the surface of the art here. Suffice it to say it’s captivating music, patient and radiant, ethereal and tender, and a joy to listen to these two musicians create together. The following translated liner notes provide additional context and thoughts from the two musicians.

Liner Notes

(Translated from Taihei Asakawa’s and Kazumi Ikenaga’s original Japanese liner notes.)

I play the piano. I am always trying to create distance from myself. In the space between myself and my alter ego, I gaze upon melancholy and death.

Over there, the much-loved and respected Kazumi Ikenaga is playing the drums. His sound is full of miraculous colors and light.

At first glance, we may seem to contrast with one another. Still, we share a transparent lyricism based on a bedrock that is not just a direction or location, but a spiritual dimension that is north.

Reverence for that which is invisible and sacred. Looking without bias towards all that is creation. The harmonious primal nature of the forests and universe.

North quietens people. A silence that speaks to us from beyond. And we realize. Ultimately we want to become that sound itself.

Taihei Asakawa

There is a photo here.

It’s a picture I took with my iPhone from right beside the drum set after a performance on October 5, 2013. At the time, I was often performing in a bass-less trio (formed of alto, piano, and drums) with a leading Japanese also sax player, Ken Ota. I can still recall some of the scenes from those trio performances vividly through my eyes and ears. Three people created a world of sound that was fresh and absolutely beautiful. It was almost as if we received sacred reverberations from the universe.

The pianist at the time was Taihei Asakawa. And this was our first meeting.

There is something in his piano playing that is not found in others, something so strong that it can instantly be recognized as his own. Raised as the eldest son at the music club “Gin-Paris Sapporo”, he was familiar with chanson from his early years, which undoubtedly had something to do with his upbringing. I instinctively felt that there was something there opposite to me. I didn’t know why but I just had a hunch. If I may say so without fear of being misunderstood, on a surface level it was, basically, “not a good match”.

It could be said that two completely different beings exist somewhere in order to create something. That contrast emerges with a unique three-dimensionality. Since then, that feeling has grown stronger with every shared performance.

In 2014 I formed the quartet The Poetry of Impressionism (tenor sax Ryosuke Hashizume, bass Yasutaka Yorozu, piano Asakawa) and we performed together through 2017. Our duo formation started in parallel from 2016, so this album release has already been four years in the making since conception. Several live recordings were also made, but for various reasons these have not resulted in album releases.

In this case, through the cooperation of engineer Akihiko Goto, we completed this album release on his label Time Machine Record in April 2020. The recording method of using a minimal miking technique (basically only two microphones), along with other releases from his label, has begun to attract attention as a unique presence in recent years. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Akihito Goto for his invaluable contributions.

NordNode is an expression of the shared understanding between Ikenaga and Asakawa, with their connections to the north, to Hokkaido and Northern Europe, and the music that envelops the pastoral spirit and ways of thinking of those regions.

Paired with the rapid increase in productivity and convenience arising from the spread of the internet, it seems that acts of close observation, the time to appreciate art, and even dignity towards people are being neglected. It’s a world where speedy, even instant stimulation is all that is demanded. As an antithesis to a world that tends to overlook spirituality, we the performers want to present a musical outlook that places importance on spiritual-oriented truth.

Thank you for picking up this album. For this occasion, the recording was made using the latest Kaneda DC recording system developed by Akihito Kaneda, engineer Goto’s mentor. I hope you enjoy the recorded sound (different from multi-track recording methods) that maximizes live sound reproduction with perfect sound quality.

Kazumi Ikenaga

*[1. Into the sound] *Composer: Taihei Asakawa

Within oneself, weaving sounds towards the outside of creation. Allow time to flow as it is. The journey begins from here. (Asakawa)

[2. Lady of silences] Composer: Taihei Asakawa

A song inspired by “The silent sister veiled in white and blue”, a passage from T.S. Eliot’s poem Ash Wednesday, which can be said to depict the landscape of purgatory. A white and blue that colors the silence.

As the words of prayer are further purified, they transcend sound and language to become silence. (Asakawa)

[3. Non] Composer: Taihei Asakawa

I composed a melody from memories of my dearly departed cat Non. Non and I were always together. We often listened to Jóhann Jóhannsson’s Copenhagen Dreams together.

The other day, I tentatively opened up Hyakken Uchida’s /Nora Ya /for the first time in a long time, and after reading just two lines, I sunk into depression. It seems that the loss of a pet is a wound that never heals. I’m at a loss for what to do. (Asakawa)

[4. Line] Composer: Taihei Asakawa

Two lines play in space as the tonic and the embellishment constantly switch places. Each independently converses with the other. There is only this moment in time. While recording, the pair’s expressions resembled children in a sandbox. (Asakawa)

[5. Sænk kun dit hoved du blomst] Composer: Carl Nielsen

A song by Danish composer Carl Nielsen with lyrics by Johannes Jørgensen. This work was created in 1902. The title means “Oh flower, lay down your head”. It’s a song of the evening, and looking forward to the coming of a peaceful night.

Nielson grew up in a poor agricultural area rich with nature. In a forest, he noticed that pieces of firewood of different lengths would make different notes when struck, and from there he taught himself to make music. The simple beauty and strength contained in Nielson’s music are rooted in those elemental qualities that are unique to the north. (Asakawa)

[6. Cirkus] Composer: Taihei Asakawa

A song composed imagining the progression in the far north of a circus troupe made up of Nordic animals of the future. A Scandinavian electronica style 19-beat dance in acoustic form. I admire Ikenaga’s energetic solo development, free and lively without straying from the song’s essence. (Asakawa)

[7. May wind] Composer: Kazumi Ikenaga

I often get sick when May comes around, so although it’s exciting when spring passes to summer, perhaps my body can’t keep up with the changes, and the balance of mind and body crumbles.

As I hurried off to work reluctantly, saying “See you later” to my mother who had forgotten herself, a gentle breeze blew by and caressed my cheek. I felt as if my mother from back then was calling to me. (Ikenaga)

[8. Fragility] Composer: Taihei Asakawa

Rather than actual facts, memories are filled with the longings and aspirations of each moment. Humans are fragile beings. Because we cannot arrive there, we must entrust them with expression. (Asakawa)

[9. In love in vain] Composer: Jerome Kern

In between recording sessions, we performed a beautiful posthumous standard by Jerome Kern. Despite the sigh-like lyrics, we decided to set the tempo at a slightly thrilling pace. (Asakawa)

[10. Beautiful dreamer] Composer: Foster

A posthumous piece by the American composer Foster. He completed it a few days before his death, and the manuscript was later discovered at his home.

During the Civil War years, Foster lost his income, his wife passed away, and he became addicted to alcohol. Perhaps he was trying to sublimate his fading life into a beautiful melody, as if to escape reality. (Asakawa)

Recording system used: Original system developed, designed, and manufactured by Akihiko Kaneda

1. Kaneda-style balanced DC current transmission microphone (SCHOEPS MK2) x 2

DPA 4006-TL x 2

2. Kaneda-style balanced DC current transmission recording unit
3. Audio interface RME Fireface UC

Audio and Video

• Promotional video for this album:

• A live version of “Amazing Grace”:

• Excerpt from track #5: “Saenk kun dit hoved du blomst”

Links

• NordNote

The pianists and drummers are all players who perform with the bassist on different albums and at live shows in Japan, and each member adds personal touches and dynamics to the combos. The majority of songs are originals from the bassist, with the balance being in favor of slower tempo ballads and relaxed moods built upon the bassist’s deep, weighty sound and timing. A few uptempo numbers are included, starting with the album opener West Side Story’s “Tonight” which kicks things off with a great swing beat, Yasukawaga’s own joyful “My Bebop Tune”, and an exuberantly wild “Circle III”.

In addition to providing a glimpse into the modern working trio in Tokyo’s current jazz scene, Trios II is also a great standalone package of jazz piano trios performing Yasukagawa’s music for a comfortable, mood-enhancing collection.

Audio and Video

• Daiki Yasukagawa Trio video for Trios II:

• Excerpt from track #1: “Tonight”

The movies inspiring this album span decades, genres, and countries, with American, French, Italian, and Japanese cinema from the 1950s to the 1980s represented. Some of the more well-known numbers feature in movies such as Deer Hunter, Easy Rider, Charade, and Mahogany, whose popular theme “Do You Know Where You’re Going To” is interpreted as dazzling Bach-jazz-rock fusion, one of the album’s catchy standouts.

Other album highlights include music from the Italian classic Cinema Paradiso and legendary film composer Ennio Morricone, beautifully weighty with dramatic significance, played over two album tracks as if a sublime intermission and denouement for this thematic outing.

Audio and Video

• Shinichi Kato and Taihei Asakawa performing live in 2008:

• Excerpt from track #1: “Cavatina”

Although Asakawa performs the thirteen tracks live and in the same order as the original Bill Evans recordings, the pianist artfully avoids performing a simple imitation of Bill Evans. Instead, Asakawa interprets the music in his own style, delicately taking care of each piece, letting the notes breathe and the music blossom patiently. Performed with skill and taste, this is a labor of love and respect, an homage to the Bill Evans albums that so many listeners have admired for years.

Disc one, with five songs averaging between 10 to 14 minutes each, contrasts the light buoyancy of some of the original music (“Waltz for Debby”, “My Romance”) with Asakawa’s somewhat darker and fantastical dream-like style. Asakawa’s interpretations are an effective demonstration of the atmosphere he was aiming for that night: music to carry the listeners away in a meditative calm as he improvised and reflected on the music.

Disc two continues in this vein and adds variation with several brighter mid- and up-tempo tunes, including a Bill Evans-esque “Solar” and “All Of You”, and a fun Keith Jarrett-style jazz riff improvisation on “Milestones”. In particular, a cheery “Gloria’s Step” and mysterious “Jade Visions” (written by Bill Evans’ bassist Scott LaFaro), are most reminiscent of the original recording here, a welcoming tribute.

Audio and Video

• Promotional video for this album:

• Excerpt from track #1: “My Foolish Heart”

The 10 original songs on this album unfold in the emotion-heavy Brad Mehldau vein of modern piano trio jazz. Patient, somber ballads lie alongside straight-ahead compositions thick with melodic effusions, traces of classical influence, and bluesy suggestions as well.

This album also includes free moments which leave the musical structure open compositionally, allowing the trio to slowly create mysterious, sensitive soundscapes, searching and reaching for expression. At times somber and wistful (with the recent death of the pianist’s father being cited as an influence on the music), there is also grace and forward-momentum on this trio’s journey through this comforting, introspective music.

Audio and Video

• Promotional video for this album with album excerpts played live:

• Excerpt from track #2: “Dream Garden”

This modern jazz piano trio album is a fascinating one, balancing moments of furious musical fire, where rapid melodic lines are played as if by electric guitar, alongside slower melancholic moments of pianistic beauty, heavy with emotion.

The 12 original songs on this album range from hot to cool, exploring clever odd-metered structures, modern lyrical European-style jazz, energetic rapid-fire aggression, classical piano sounds, moments of meditative reflection, and even quirky hiphop-influenced jazz pop.

Enhancing the compositional texture of this album is Asakawa’s use of instrumental arrangement. In addition to the typical modern jazz piano/bass/drums trio format on most songs here, Asakawa also employs a spacier, floating piano/drums duet at times, with other songs featuring Asakawa’s moving solo piano to great dramatic effect (“Nostalgia”, “Elegy”).

With virtuosity and compositional strength on display, the care and attention dedicated here, far from being an accidental catastrophe, results in a musical outpouring of creative modern jazz with high repeat-value listenability.

Audio and Video

• Excerpt from “Nostalgia”, track #3 on this album:

• Excerpt from track #1: “The Pioneer”