Chie Ayado - Forever Young

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:52
Size: 133,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:28)  1. Forever Young
(3:30)  2. Minnie the Moocher
(2:30)  3. Big Spender
(3:37)  4. Delta Lady
(2:51)  5. A Foggy Day
(4:40)  6. That Lucky Old Sun
(2:27)  7. Sway
(3:27)  8. Shenandoah
(2:21)  9. Cotton Fields
(3:50) 10. That's Amore
(3:09) 11. Cycles
(4:49) 12. For the First Time
(3:36) 13. Yesterday I Heard the Rain
(4:03) 14. My Way
(4:17) 15. Forever Young
(4:09) 16. One For My Baby

Influenced by her parents' hobbies, Chie has been surrounded by jazz and Hollywood movies from an early age. She first studied classical piano but soon began to swing, and grew up as a kid that always preferred gospel to psalms. When she was 17 years old, she scraped together all money she had saved with part-time jobs, and left for the land of dreams: the US West Coast.

After moving her bases to NYC, Chie was invited by a record store owner to "visit a church and listen to some gospel". She agreed, and became a member of church's choir on the spot. She married a fellow choir member and gave a birth to a baby , but later she got divorced.

In 1991, the mother and the son returned to Japan, she began to sing in a jazz club in Osaka, and thanks to the quickly spreading rumors of her vocal performance she soon made a name for herself in the local jazz scene.

The June 1998 release "For All We Know" marked Chie's debut as a professional jazz musician at the age of 40. Since then Chie has been touring regularly across Japan in fall and winter, and with the help of fans spreading the word via the Internet
managed to establish a reputation as an outstanding female singer. Soon her concerts were sold out as soon as they were announced. Also her third album "Life" made a big hit in 1999, this her 'standard' album has been sold over 250,000 copies.

In March 2001 Chie received the 51st Ministry of Education and Science Cultural Promotional Award. Harboring an aversion against settling for one thing, Chie has been exploring territories outside the realm of jazz. Her repertory extends 20's swing
jazz to the rock, pop standards.

Chie has released 14 albums, 2 compiled "BEST" albums and 5 DVD-Videos. The number of total sale reaches almost 2,000,000 copies. 

https://www.hdtracks.com/index.php?file=artistdetail&id=9283

Forever Young

---

Chie Ayado - Chain of Life

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 73:02
Size: 169,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:56)  1. Georgia On My Mind
(3:46)  2. Fever
(5:32)  3. Mr. Bojangles
(4:16)  4. Stormy Monday
(4:04)  5. Spinning Wheel
(4:35)  6. Trouble In Mind
(6:02)  7. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
(4:16)  8. God Bless America
(3:50)  9. I Can't Stop Loving You
(2:30) 10. Blue Skies
(1:40) 11. Oleo
(4:06) 12. Caravan
(5:39) 13. With a Little Help From My Friends
(4:50) 14. Wonderful Tonight
(4:20) 15. Get Into My Life
(5:54) 16. Take Me Home, Country Roads
(3:39) 17. The Way We Were

Influenced by her parents' hobbies, Chie has been surrounded by jazz and Hollywood movies from an early age. She first studied classical piano but soon began to swing, and grew up as a kid that always preferred gospel to psalms. When she was 17 years old, she scraped together all money she had saved with part-time jobs, and left for the land of dreams: the US West Coast.

After moving her bases to NYC, Chie was invited by a record store owner to "visit a church and listen to some gospel". She agreed, and became a member of church's choir on the spot. She married a fellow choir member and gave a birth to a baby , but later she got divorced.

In 1991, the mother and the son returned to Japan, she began to sing in a jazz club in Osaka, and thanks to the quickly spreading rumors of her vocal performance she soon made a name for herself in the local jazz scene.

The June 1998 release "For All We Know" marked Chie's debut as a professional jazz musician at the age of 40. Since then Chie has been touring regularly across Japan in fall and winter, and with the help of fans spreading the word via the Internet
managed to establish a reputation as an outstanding female singer. Soon her concerts were sold out as soon as they were announced. Also her third album "Life" made a big hit in 1999, this her 'standard' album has been sold over 250,000 copies.

In March 2001 Chie received the 51st Ministry of Education and Science Cultural Promotional Award. Harboring an aversion against settling for one thing, Chie has been exploring territories outside the realm of jazz. Her repertory extends 20's swing
jazz to the rock, pop standards.

Chie has released 14 albums, 2 compiled "BEST" albums and 5 DVD-Videos. The number of total sale reaches almost 2,000,000 copies. https://www.hdtracks.com/index.php?file=artistdetail&id=9283

Chain of Life

---

Chie Ayado & Junior Mance - Chie Ayado Meets Junior Mance Trio Live

Size: 102,9 MB
Time: 44:26
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2010
Styles: Jazz/Pop/Blues Vocals, Standards
Art: Front

01. Stormy Monday (Live) (6:54)
02. I'm Walkin' (Live) (3:53)
03. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You (Live) (4:48)
04. Sunny (Live) (3:58)
05. Summertime (Live) (5:04)
06. Autumn Leaves (Live) (4:06)
07. Route 66 (Live) (5:28)
08. It Don't Mean A Thing (Live) (3:22)
09. Georgia On My Mind (Live) (5:51)
10. Happy Birthday (Live) (0:57)

Influenced by her parents' hobbies, Chie has been surrounded by jazz and Hollywood movies from an early age. She first studied classical piano but soon began to swing, and grew up as a kid that always preferred gospel to psalms. When she was 17 years old, she scraped together all money she had saved with part-time jobs, and left for the land of dreams: the US West Coast.

After moving her bases to NYC, Chie was invited by a record store owner to "visit a church and listen to some gospel". She agreed, and became a member of church's choir on the spot. She married a fellow choir member and gave a birth to a baby , but later she got divorced.

In 1991, the mother and the son returned to Japan, she began to sing in a jazz club in Osaka, and thanks to the quickly spreading rumors of her vocal performance she soon made a name for herself in the local jazz scene.

The June 1998 release "For All We Know" marked Chie's debut as a professional jazz musician at the age of 40. Since then Chie has been touring regularly across Japan in fall and winter, and with the help of fans spreading the word via the Internet
managed to establish a reputation as an outstanding female singer. Soon her concerts were sold out as soon as they were announced. Also her third album "Life" made a big hit in 1999, this her 'standard' album has been sold over 250,000 copies.

In March 2001 Chie received the 51st Ministry of Education and Science Cultural Promotional Award. Harboring an aversion against settling for one thing, Chie has been exploring territories outside the realm of jazz. Her repertory extends 20's swing
jazz to the rock, pop standards.

Chie has released 14 albums, 2 compiled "BEST" albums and 5 DVD-Videos. The number of total sale reaches almost 2,000,000 copies.

Chie Ayado Meets Junior Mance Trio Live    

---

Chihiro Yamanaka - Lach Doch Mal

Styles: Piano Jazz 
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:18
Size: 124,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:01)  1. Quand Biron Voulut Danser
(3:58)  2. Sabot
(5:41)  3. Serenade To A Cuckoo
(3:54)  4. RTG
(4:25)  5. The Dolphin
(2:51)  6. Night Loop
(4:14)  7. One Step Up
(0:45)  8. Lach Doch Mal
(5:35)  9. Liebesleid
(4:54) 10. Mode To John
(7:06) 11. What A Diff'rence A Day Made
(5:49) 12. That's All

Chihiro Yamanaka is an internationally renowned, hard-swinging jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader, whose fluid, athletic technique has drawn rave reviews and very favorable comparisons to legends such as Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum. She is based in New York. Yamanaka was born in Kiryu, in Japan's Gunma Prefecture, in 1976. At age four she began formal piano studies. While she began with classical music and still practices it, she shifted her focus to jazz studies in high school. After graduation she attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston as part of the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead residency program. She played with a wide range of musicians in Boston and in New York before heading back home to Japan after she graduated from Berklee in 2000 with honors and took first place in Down Beat's Outstanding Performance Award competition.Temporarily returning to Japan, she began her recording career there in 2001 with Living Without Friday, the first of four annually released titles issued by the Japanese label Atelier Sawano. Nonetheless, Yamanaka's long-player gained notice immediately from critics and radio stations. Her 2002 follow-up, When October Goes, hit the top rungs of the Japanese jazz charts, and word began to spread among fans and critics across the Pacific back to America. Yamanaka had reached the level where she could tour not only in her home country but also Europe and select U.S. dates. During this time she was also a member of DIVA, the all-female big band led by drummer Sherrie Maricle. Yamanaka also performed with the DIVA spin-off quintet Five Play, who backed Marlene VerPlanck on her 2003 album It's How You Play the Game, all while continuing to tour and release her own recordings.

In 2005 she signed a worldwide deal with Universal's Classics and Jazz division and issued her North American debut with the trio effort Outside by the Swing, recorded in New York City with drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts and bassist Robert Hurst. Yamanaka immigrated to the States and issued the audio-video package Lach Doch Mal in 2006 with Larry Grenadier and Jeff Ballard. While neither record made the jazz charts in the States, they reached the Top Five in Japan and upped the pianist's reputation to the degree that she became a global nomad, touring in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Arriving in 2007, Abyss was her first recording to feature drummer Kendrick Scott and bassist Vicente Archer, who became her working trio. She broke the trio mold with 2009's Runnin' Wild, where her piano fronted a sextet. On 2010's Forever Begins, bassist Ben Williams replaced Archer in her trio. The following year saw the release of Reminiscence, which placed a live performance at the Iridium in New York with a studio album that featured Yamanaka in three different trio settings. In 2012 Yamanaka released the first of two tribute albums, Because, a loving nod to the Beatles on which she backed by a quartet played not only piano but synthesizer, organ, guitar, ukulele, and harmonica. 

Because was followed by the standards releases After Hours and After Hours 2. In 2013, she offered her tribute to classical music with Molto Cantabile. In 2014, Yamanaka moved from Verve to the Universal-owned Blue Note label just in time for its 75th anniversary. Her debut, Somethin' Blue, was a sextet offering, and in addition to originals offered striking renditions of Bud Powell's "Un Poco Loco" and Herbie Hancock's "I Have a Dream." It reached into the Top Five on the jazz charts. She followed it the same year with Syncopation Hazard, her tribute to Scott Joplin. Yamanaka returned to the trio format for 2016's Blue Note-issued Guilty, which placed her original compositions alongside select pieces by Hoagy Carmichael. Near the end of 2017, Yamanaka produced and arranged Monk Studies. She played acoustic and electric piano, synth, and Hammond B-3 organ in an almost exclusively Monk program backed by drummer Deantoni Parks and bassist Mark Kelly. ~ Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/artist/chihiro-yamanaka-mn0000283696/biography

Personnel: Chihiro Yamanaka(piano).

Lach Doch Mal

---

Akiko Tsuruga - Equal Time

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:59
Size: 108,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:57)  1. Mag's Groove
(5:09)  2. Orange Coals
(5:32)  3. Osaka Samba
(6:42)  4. A Baptist Beat
(5:08)  5. Moment's Notice
(6:25)  6. Lion's Gate
(4:59)  7. I Remember You
(7:03)  8. This Could Be The Start Of Something Big

These three are all leaders of their own bands in different places. Here they combine to form what used to be called a super group. The music is all in the blues and bop domain, with easy swing, crisp, inventive solos and a solid rhythmic pulse throughout. Ms Tsuruga and guitarist Dechter play in solo mode and quickly revert to rhythmic duties when their own solos end. Hamilton is the only one whose duties are solely to provide a solid beat on every track and this he does handsomely. His own solos are well structured with attention to the contours of each piece of music. The three kick off with a solid blues, Mag’s Groove, that gives all three players a chance to shine. Orange Coals is a faster blues written by Dechter. He takes the first extended solo with the other two in full flow behind him. Akiko provides stimulating Hammond organ solos and also manages to keep a solid bass line going at all times, whether she is in the spotlight or not. The Osaka Samba is an attractive line from the organist, a sort of Japan embraces the samba but it all sounds very Latin and has a cracking beat. Still on the blues and gospel trail the trio next tackle A Baptist Beat, Hank Mobley’s funky line. Taken at much the same tempo that Hank used in the 60s, the piece is very downhome. Dechter manages an original solo spot here; this is very much his own take on the material. Akiko digs in too and there is much of the American bop and blues flavour in her solo and virtually nothing Oriental. There is a personal approach to Coltrane’s Moment’s Notice although the trio keep very much to the spirit of the composition in their straightahead, uptempo reading. Lion’s Gate is a gentle ballad by Akiko with singing guitar and organ and drums offering flowing rhythm. The set finishes with two hardy standards. Hamilton kicks off I Remember You with crisp brushwork and keeps it moving throughout in the same manner. Fine, well thought out solos from Dechter and Tsurugo follow on. Finally we have This Could Be The Start Of Something Big and who knows, maybe it can at that. ~ Derek Ansell https://jazzjournal.co.uk/2019/08/11/akiko-hamilton-dechter-equal-time/

Personnel: Akiko Tsuruga -organ; Jeff Hamilton - drums; Graham Dechter - guitar

Equal Time

---

Akiko Tsuruga - So Cute, So Bad

Styles: Jazz, Hard Bop
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:38
Size: 132,4 MB
Art: Front

( 6:51)  1. So Cute, So Bad
( 5:28)  2. The Lady Is a Tramp
( 6:32)  3. Face to Face
(10:02)  4. Frame for the Blues
( 7:41)  5. You Don't Know What Love Is
( 7:36)  6. Peachie
( 6:27)  7. Tanabata
( 6:57)  8. Pretty Please

“Akiko's playing is like watching a flower blooming, a bird spreading her wings in the music world. Akiko is here to stay.” ~ Legendary organist Dr. Lonnie Smith

Hammond B3 organist Akiko Tsuruga has been a regular on the New York jazz scene since her arrival in 2001. Almost immediately, she began working with artists like Jimmy Cobb, Frank Hess, and Lou Donaldson, whose quartet she joined in 2007. As a bandleader, she has toured internationally and released several acclaimed albums, garnering extensive radio play and “rising star” designations in DownBeat reader’s polls. Tonight, she celebrates the release of her latest album, featuring Graham Dechter and Jeff Hamilton. Dechter is an up-and-coming musician, making a name for himself as a straight-ahead jazz guitarist, and Hamilton is a veteran drummer and bandleader who will soon be headlining Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola again for a two-night run. Check them out at the club before Tsuruga’s new album takes over the airwaves. http://www.jazz.org/dizzys/events/182104/akiko-tsuruga-trio/

Personnel:  Akiko Tsurunga-hammond B3;  Jeff Hamilton-drums;  Graham Dechter -guitar.

So Cute, So Bad

---

Kazumasa Akiyama - Dig My Style

Styles: Piano Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:48
Size: 99,6 MB
Art: Front

(7:50) 1. I Believe in You
(4:48) 2. Summer Dreamer
(3:46) 3. Got That Feeling
(4:34) 4. Keep on Loving
(6:10) 5. Dig My Style
(5:14) 6. Gettin' on
(4:05) 7. Shining Guitar
(4:16) 8. Mother Eyes - Estate

Kazumasa Akiyama Tokyo, 1955 is a Japanese fusion and jazz guitarist. Kazumasa Akiyama played in the Tokyo jazz scene from the 1970s, including with Isao Suzuki's sextet, with whom he also made his first recordings. He also collaborated on recordings by Mikio Masuda, Noriko Miyamoto and Yasuaki Shimizu. In 1978 he made his debut album Dig My Style (Flying Dog) with Yasuaki Shimizu, Mikio Masuda, Masanori Sasaji, Kazuya Sugimoto, Hideo Yamaki and Tatsuji Yokoyama. In 1979 the fusion record Beyond the Door followed, in which Masanori Sasaji, Motohiko Hamase, Akira Doi, Noriko Miyamoto and singer Jimmy Satoshi Murakawa participated. In the 1980s and 1990s, Akiyama worked with Yasuko Agawa, Tatsuya Nakamura, Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, Chin Suzuki, Mari Nakamoto, Chie Ayado and the Kosuke Mine quintet, among others.

According to discographer Tom Lord,the jazz and fusion guitarist participated in 21 recording sessions between 1976 and 1998. He also worked as a studio musician on recordings by, for example, Noriko Miyamoto and Lisa Ono. More recently, he played in a quartet with Hikari Ichihara, Koichi Inoue and Nori Shiota, as well as in a sextet by Hironori Suzuki (with Shota Watanabe, among others). He also recorded Quiet Storm (2005) and Dr. Rain (2008).Translate By Google https://www.wikipe.wiki/wiki/nl/Kazumasa_Akiyama

Dig My Style

---

Yoko Miwa - In the Mist of Time

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:30
Size: 138,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:48)  1. Fragmented Memories
(9:14)  2. The Deep End
(4:55)  3. I'm Okay
(8:07)  4. Alice
(7:51)  5. In the Mist of Time
(8:12)  6. When will 'it' Happen
(6:48)  7. Promise
(5:26)  8. Oak Square Blues
(3:05)  9. Red Dragonfly

An internationally recognized jazz pianist, Yoko Miwa plays with a lyrical, yet still harmonically sophisticated style, deeply rooted in the acoustic post-bop tradition. She first gained wider attention after moving to Boston in the late '90s, and backing artists like Kevin Mahogany, George Garzone, Jerry Bergonzi, and others. Influenced by players like Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, and Herbie Hancock, she has issued a handful of warmly rendered trio albums, including 2004's Fadeless Flower, 2017's Pathways, and 2019's Keep Talkin'. Born in 1970 in Kobe, Japan, Miwa started out early on the piano taking classical lessons (as well as voice lessons) from age four. After high school, she attended the Osaka College of Music where she first met and studied with jazz organist/pianist Minoru Ozone, father of noted pianist Makoto Ozone. Under Ozone's guidance she became increasingly interested in jazz and gained valuable experience working at his Kobe-based nightclub and music school. After the 1995 Kobe earthquake destroyed Ozone's establishments, Miwa enrolled at Japan's Koyo Conservatory of Music where she focused full-time on jazz. The following year, she won a scholarship to Boston's prestigious Berklee College of Music. While at Berklee, she studied jazz theory and performance, and developed a lasting creative partnership with vocalist and teacher Kevin Mahogany.

Upon graduating college in 1999, Miwa joined the Berklee faculty and continued to work alongside Mahogany (until his death in 2017). She also began playing locally, leading her own trio and working as the pianist in the house band at Cambridge's Ryles Jazz Club. Her first album as a leader, In the Mist of Time, was released in Japan on the Tokuma label in 2001. It found her working with drummer Scott Goulding, bassist Massimo Biolcati, and tenor saxophonist Tim Mayer. Her second album, 2003's Fadeless Flower, found her paring down to a trio with Goulding and bassist Greg Loughman. Along with studio sessions, Miwa has kept a busy live schedule, appearing regularly at festivals and New York's Blue Note Jazz Club. She has performed with an array of luminaries, including George Garzone, Sheila Jordan, Jerry Bergonzi, Esperanza Spalding, Terri Lyne Carrington, and others. In 2005, she released another trio effort, Canopy of Stars, which again found her working with Goulding, as well as bassists Biolcati and Bronislaw Suchanek. The concert album Live at Scullers Jazz Club appeared in 2011, followed in 2017 by the studio effort Pathways. In 2019, she was named the Boston Music Awards Jazz Artist of the Year, as well as the Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll winner. She issued her fifth trio album, Keep Talkin', the same year. ~ Matt Collar https://www.allmusic.com/artist/yoko-miwa-mn0000540283/biography

Personnel: Piano – Yoko Miwa; Bass – Massimo Biolcati ; Drums – Scott Goulding;  Tenor Saxophone – Tim Mayer (tracks: 2, 6, 8)

In the Mist of Time

---

Yoko Miwa - Canopy of Stars

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:13
Size: 120,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:37)  1. La Estacion
(5:28)  2. Canopy of Stars
(5:09)  3. Solitude
(5:51)  4. Borders
(5:09)  5. Waltz for Willy
(4:34)  6. Tango Soledad
(4:39)  7. Appalachian Trail (North)
(3:07)  8. Behind the Clouds
(4:56)  9. Secret Sources
(4:00) 10. The Silver Screen
(4:38) 11. Appalachian Trail (South)

Japanese-born, Boston-based pianist Yoko Miwa follows up her 2004 release, Fadeless Flower (Polystar Records) with A Canopy of Stars, building on her crisply incisive percussive approach that bubbles with warm melodies and an array of colors, whether on the bright Brazilian-flavored opener, "La Estacion," or the melancholic, dark-hued "Solitude," which features bassist Bronek Suchenek bowing the melody. Miwa takes the same tune and remakes it into a tango handling the melody herself on "Tango Soledad." Miwas's more abstract side is displayed on "Appalachian Trail (North)," with a churning, Brad Mehldau flavor, and its sister tune, "Appalachian Trail (South)," that feels a bit more propulsive. "Canopy of Stars" projects an expansive atmosphere. While "Borders" features one of Miwa's prettiest melodies, her piano work underlain by a sizzling, insistent bass/drum rhythm, Miwa's keyboard work dances with effusive energy. "Waltz for Willie" adds a contemplative mood to the musical proceedings, as does "Behind the Clouds," while "Silver Screen" projects an expansiveness similar to that expressed by the title tune. Miwa writes attractive melodies and plays with a mixture of delicate grace and percussive energy. Canopy of Stars, her third CD release, shows an artist who is clearly coming into her own. ~ Dan McClenaghan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/canopy-of-stars-yoko-miwa-self-produced-review-by-dan-mcclenaghan.php

Personnel: Yoko Miwa: piano; Massimo Biolcati: acoustic bass; Scott Goulding: drums; Bronek Suchanek: acoustic bass (3, 4).

Canopy of Stars

---

Keiko Matsui - Echo

Styles: Piano Jazz 
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:47
Size: 102,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:36)  1. Unshakeable
(4:14)  2. Moon Over Gotham
(4:15)  3. Echo (feat. Marcus Miller)
(5:53)  4. Esprit (feat. Kirk Whallum)
(3:51)  5. Marlin Club Blues (feat. Robben Ford)
(4:17)  6. Invisible Rain
(4:57)  7. Spirit Dance (feat. Gretchen Parlato)
(3:11)  8. Now Is The Moment
(4:21)  9. Viva Life
(5:08) 10. Return To Eternity (feat. Kyle Eastwood)

If name-dropping were a crime, keyboardist Keiko Matsui would have a helluva time promoting Echo. The album features a string of well-known artists, including guitarist Robben Ford, saxophonist Kirk Whalum, vocalist Gretchen Parlato, bassists Marcus Miller and Kyle Eastwood, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, and percussionist Luis Conte. Suffice to say, Matsui never wants for good company here, and not just the household-name variety. Trumpeter/flugelhornist Wayne Bergeron, for example, scores high marks on a series of horn charts that enhance the album’s brassy vitality and soulful allure. Which brings us to keyboardist Randy Waldman. The chief architect behind eight of the album’s 10 arrangements, Waldman makes the most of the assembled talent by avoiding tacked-on solos and routine cameos. Matsui shows a similar flair for arranging on the Brazilian-tinged “Spirit Dance,” a sensuous, multi-layered showcase for Parlato’s lithe voice and a reminder of Matsui’s often overlooked stylistic reach. Of course, Echo resonates with spiritual themes and interludes, a Matsui trademark, as the focus shifts between electric and acoustic textures. Yet she and Waldman keep things moving, sometimes pitting horns against percussion during funk excursions, sometimes exuberantly accenting Latin polyrhythms. Guitarist Ford’s input on “Marlin Club Blues” is typical of the guest turns concise and expressive and the same goes for Miller’s sinuous bass turn on the album’s title track. ~ Mike Joice https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/keiko-matsui-echo-shanachie/

Personnel: Piano – Keiko Matsui; Alto Saxophone – Brandon Fields; Bass – Jimmy Johnson; Drums – Vinnie Colaiuta; Guitar – Paul Jackson Jr.; Keyboards, Programmed By [Programming] – Randy Waldman; Percussion – Luis Conte; Trombone – Nick Lane; Trumpet – Walt Fowler

Echo

---

Yoko Miwa Trio - Live at Scullers Jazz Club

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 76:55
Size: 176,7 MB
Art: Front

(11:07)  1. This Could Be the Start of Something
(12:03)  2. Wheel of Life
(11:23)  3. Mr. B.G.
( 5:06)  4. Seasons of Wither
( 8:00)  5. Who Loves the Sun
( 9:36)  6. Silent Promise
(10:25)  7. Mox Nix
( 9:13)  8. A Festa

Is live always better? Does the no second takes, out-on-a-limb aspect of playing in front of a live audience, and feeding off its energy result in the best recordings? It seems to work that way for Boston-based pianist Yoko Miwa on Live At Scullers Jazz Club, a mix of tunes from The Great American Songbook and the world of rock, shuffled in with her own outstanding compositions. An original pressing of a hundred copies of the show done as a memento for the audience members this particular night garnered such a positive response that Miwa decided to have the music remixed and mastered for a general release. Miwa displays an impressive stylistic range. Opening with a rousing take of Steve Allen's "This Could Be the Start of Something," the pianist and her trio mix a bouncy elegance with a full-bore forward momentum. Miwa treats the melody with reverence, riding a inexorable rhythmic wave supplied by bassist Greg Loughman and drummer Scott Goulding. Virtuosic but unrelentingly accessible, the pianist stretches out, taking eleven minutes to explore this Great American Songbook gem with glorious grace.  Miwa, in the manner of fellow pianist Brad Mehldau, is no jazz snob. She doesn't limit herself to the standards. She covers Steven Tyler's (of Aerosmith) dark toned "Seasons of Wither," giving the tune sparkle, and turns in a pensively beautiful rendition of Lou Reed's Velvet Underground song, "Who Loves the Sun?," featuring the trio at its most interactive. Miwa adds three of her own top-notch compositions to the mix. "The Wheel of Life" rises and falls to mirror the vicissitudes, struggles, joys and sorrows of human existence. "Mr. B. G." is a nod to pianist Benny Green and, through Green, his mentor Oscar Peterson, with an ebullient groove and Miwa's exquisitely succinct touch. Trumpeter Art Farmer's "Mox Nix" shows off Miwa's ability to get deep into the blues and play with a muscular left hand percussion married to a lightning fast right hand, before ending with vocalist Milton Nascimento's "A Festa." It's a saucy closer, with the trio immersing itself in a gorgeous Brazilian groove to wrap up a stunningly spontaneous live set, Miwa's best recording to date. ~ Dan McClenaghan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/live-at-scullers-jazz-club-yoko-miwa-self-produced-review-by-dan-mcclenaghan.php

Personnel: Yoko Miwa: piano; Greg Loughman: bass; Scott goulding: drums.

Live at Scullers Jazz Club

---

Karen Aoki - By My Side

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:30
Size: 114,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:00)  1. By My Side
(4:05)  2. We've Only Just Begun
(4:07)  3. Sam the Samba Man
(3:56)  4. Dreams
(4:03)  5. It's All Right with Me
(4:24)  6. Each and Everyone
(4:18)  7. Coming Home
(4:56)  8. Breezes from the Sea
(5:44)  9. Trigger
(4:57) 10. The Paris Match
(4:56) 11. Feel Like Makin'Love

By welcoming Czechfani of Jazz Life Sexstat to sound producer Paulo Scotti of the club and jazz world presiding Norma Blu as a producer, and pursuing thorough quality such as full recording of Italy recording full-length, the highest grade "Italian club jazz" of completed. In addition to pop songs with popular jazz with light horns, cover works such as EBTG masterpieces "EACH AND EVERYONE", "SAM THE SAMBA MAN", "FEEL LIKE MAKIN 'LOVE". Bright and light sounds and arrangements are rolled out, finished in a popular work that is easy to hear. Translate by Google http://www.rambling.ne.jp/artist/karen/information/archives.html

Personnel: (Tenor sax) Alessandro Farrisell; (Trumpet, Flugelhorn) Stefano Serafini; (Trombone) Federico Tassani; (Flute) David Di Gregorio; (Percussion) Luka Florian;  (Bass) Dario Rosuglione;  (Piano) Massimiliano Rochetta; (Drums) Lorenzo Tucci

By My Side

---

Tsuyoshi Yamamoto - Life

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1976
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:29
Size: 93,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:49)  1. Green Dolphin Street
(5:14)  2. When I Fall In Love
(4:05)  3. Someday My Prince Will Come
(5:43)  4. If You Could See Me Now
(6:37)  5. Billysam Blues
(5:14)  6. What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life
(7:44)  7. Come Rain Or Come Shine

Yamamoto Tsuyoshi, born 23 March 1948  is a Japanese jazz pianist and composer. Yamamoto was largely self-taught as a pianist, although he did have piano lessons as a child. He attended Nihon University. As a student there, he played professionally, first as an accompanist to pop singer Micky Curtis; they toured Europe in 1967. In 1974, he became house pianist at Misty, a Tokyo jazz club. He also made his recording debut as leader that year. He played major international festivals in the late 1970s. He also "lived in New York for a year, when he performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Carmen McRae, Sam Jones, Billy Higgins, Elvin Jones, and Sonny Stitt, among others." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuyoshi_Yamamoto

Personnel:  Piano – Tsuyoshi Yamamoto;  Bass – Sam Jones; Drums – Billy Higgins

Life

---

Noriko Ueda Trio - Debut

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:18
Size: 108,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:36)  1. Bohemia After Dark
(5:11)  2. Blue Sunset
(4:28)  3. Just in Time
(5:12)  4. Forget Me Not
(5:39)  5. Double Vision
(3:59)  6. Parisian Thoroughfare
(5:58)  7. The Loop
(5:38)  8. For All We Know
(5:33)  9. The Touch of Your Lips

Born 14 March 1972, Osaka, Japan. From the age of 14, Ueda studied classical piano and two years later began playing electric bass. Her piano studies continued until she was 20, and in the meantime she had also begun to compose. During the last two years of these studies, she concurrently studied classical singing at Osaka College of Music. It was at this time that she made the change to playing the acoustic double bass, which thereafter became her principal instrument. After leaving Osaka College early in 1992, Ueda began playing at the city’s jazz clubs, work that provided an opportunity to accompany visiting jazz musicians such as Kenny Barron, Joe Chambers, Benny Green, Roy Hargrove, Jimmy Smith and Grady Tate. In 1994, she joined pianist Kiyoshi Takeshita for a year and then went to the USA to study at the Berklee College Of Music, where she majored in jazz composition. While at Berklee, she appeared on the 1997 BMG release Summa Cum Jazz: The Best Of Berklee College Of Music. From 1996, she led an all-Japanese, all-female trio, Groovin’ Girls, which has recorded in the studio and also appeared on Black Entertainment Television’s Jazz Central. With her in the group are pianist Takana Miyamoto and drummer Masumi Inaba. Ueda has composed extensively, often for big bands. Several of her pieces were used on Live At TUC, a 2001 radio broadcast on FM Tokyo. In 2000, 2002 and 2003 her compositions were performed at the BMI Annual Showcase Concerts. Her ‘Castle In The North’ won her the 2002 BMI Foundation’s Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize and the following year her ‘Power Of Spring’ was played at the BMI Annual Showcase Concert. This same composition was selected for the BMI Jazz Composer’s Workshop and was performed at the IAJE (International Association for Jazz Education) Annual Conference in January 2004. Ueda is a member of DIVA, the all-female big band, led by drummer Sherrie Maricle, and she also plays as a member of the DIVA small group, Five Play. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/noriko-ueda-mn0000119737

Personnel:  Noriko Ueda (bass) Ted Rosenthal (piano) Quincy Davis (drums).

Debut

---

Naoko Terai - The Standard II

Styles: Violin Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:23
Size: 157,2 MB
Art: Front

(6:03)  1. Charade
(5:02)  2. California Dreamin'
(4:37)  3. Beautiful Love
(5:05)  4. Overjoyed
(5:33)  5. A Taste Of Honey
(4:51)  6. A Boy Named Charlie Brown
(3:40)  7. Pick Yourself Up
(5:19)  8. Daydream Believer
(4:27)  9. Twilight Time
(3:45) 10. Are You Lonesome Tonight
(6:01) 11. Going Out Of My Head
(5:22) 12. The Summer Knows
(3:59) 13. South Of The Border
(4:32) 14. All The Way

Naoko Terai ( Japanese, Terai Naoko , born May 1, 1967 ) is a Japanese jazz violinist. Naoko Terai studied the violin when she was four years old and began working in the Japanese jazz scene in the 1990s. In 1995 she participated in the album Things Unseen by pianist Kenny Barron ; In 2000 she was honored as Newcomer of the Year by the magazine Swing Journal . She played since then u. a. with Herbie Hancock , Wayne Shorter , Michael Brecker . In 1996 she presented her debut album Thinking of You ; her third album Princess T was produced by Lee Ritenour . At All For You (2005) Richard Galliano was a guest musician. Terai, who works with her own quartet of Naoki Kitajima (piano), Kunio Tanaami (bass) and Go Nakazawa (drums), performed in 2012 with Richard Galliano in the context of the Paris exhibition Jazz en Japan. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naoko_Terai

The Standard II

---

Naoko Terai - The Standard

Styles: Violin Jazz
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:07
Size: 166,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:27)  1. Night And Day
(6:16)  2. Fly Me To The Moon
(3:59)  3. Devil May Care
(6:28)  4. What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life
(6:08)  5. It's All Right With Me
(6:42)  6. Soul Eyes
(4:46)  7. Samba de Uma Nota Só
(6:38)  8. Yesterdays
(5:31)  9. Bluesette
(5:47) 10. Golden Earrings
(4:33) 11. Les Feuilles mortes
(5:17) 12. Nardis
(5:29) 13. Blue Velvet

Born in Kanagawa Prefecture. Began playing the violin at the age of 4 and appearing at the age of 6 at NHK Educational TV "Keiko no Violin". When I was 12 years old, I received an encouragement prize at "Student Music Competition East Japan Convention" sponsored by the Mainichi Newspaper Company. Received again at the age of 14. In 1988, he debuted professionally as a jazz / violinist. Since being co-starred with Kenny • Baron who came to Japan in 1995, he was invited to guests of his album "Things unseen" and recorded for the first time in NY. In 1998, the first leader work "Thinking of You" was announced. In the blink of an eye, it gets notice as a heroine of the jazz world. In January 2001, he won the Jazz Disc Grand Prize "New Star Award" sponsored by Swing Journal magazine. In August 2002, I participated in my 1st "Tokyo Jazz 2002" in my band. The overwhelming performance of becomes a topic. Herbie Hancock invited me to join his session. In February 2003, EMI (now Universal Music) first release "Anthem" was announced. Became a big best seller and received the Japan Gold Award Grand Prize . December, announced the second transfer "Jazz  Waltz" announcement. Jazz disc award "Jazz Award" won by swing journal magazine. In April 2004, in the swing journal magazine reader popularity vote, he won three divisions , . Become a top artist in the jazz world with both name and reality. From this year onwards until 2009, serve KINCHO mosquito coil TVCM character. (I will be in charge of music continuously after that) In January 2008, received the 33rd Nanri's Fumio Award. In March 2010, the Agency for Cultural Affairs received the Prize for Art Scholarship Minister Entry Science Minister's Newcomer Award (Grand Prize Division). From May, serve as the first regular personality in the BS - TBS program "Cinemagic Café" (~ 2012). In September 11th, "Tokyo Jazz" celebrating the 10th anniversary, she appeared on the stage entitled "Astor Piazzolla Project" with world accordionist Richard Galliano and performed again etc. The stage live record "Libertango in Tokyo" is also reputed. In January 15, the regular band was renewed for the first time in 12 years, and the latest work "Hot Jazz" was announced. (Translate by Google) https://www.universal-music.co.jp/terai-naoko/biography/

The Standard

---

Sadao Watanabe Sextet - Bossa Nova '67

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:43
Size: 79.5 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz, Bossa Nova
Year: 2007/2013
Art: Front

[2:34] 1. The Girl From Ipanema
[2:44] 2. Meditation
[3:20] 3. Black Orpheus
[2:54] 4. O Grande Amour
[2:12] 5. Bonita
[3:58] 6. Dindi
[2:20] 7. Mas Que Nada
[3:04] 8. The Shadow Of Your Smile
[2:15] 9. Fly Me To The Moon
[2:47] 10. A Man And A Woman
[3:31] 11. So Danco Samba
[2:59] 12. She's A Carioca

Sadao Watanabe is not only Japan's best known alto/soprano saxophonist and flutist, he has also made a name for himself in American jazz scene. In 1962, he came to the USofA to study music at Berklee School of Music in Boston. In 1995, he received an Honorary Degree from the same college for his notable contributions to music. He has been recording since 1961 as a leader and a prolific sideman along with talented musicians such as Hank Jones, George Benson, Dave Grusin, Lee Ritenour, Chick Corea, Ron Carter, Hubert Laws, Christian McBride, Romero Lubambo, Cyrus Chestnut and many others.

"Bossa Nova '67" by Sadao Watanabe Sextet is like a canvas painted artistically in colorful hues of blue as in "Meditation," red as in "Fly Me To The Moon," pink as in "A Man And A Woman," black as in "Black Orpheus" and purple as in "The Shadow of Your Smile." They are relaxing, smooth, lovely Bossa Nova music. The musicianship is unflawed. The sonic is super! There's no reason to whine about it. The all-Japanese skilled musicians who are responsible for the beauty of this recording are Sadao Watanabe (sax/flute), Masabumi Kikuchi (piano), Sadanori Nakamure (guitar), Isao Suzuki (bass), Masahiko Togashi (drums), and a String Section to complete the line-up.

Greatly influenced by Charlie Parker's style, Mr. Watanabe's most remarkable recordings have been featured in these compilation CDs: Most Romantic Jazz in the Universe and More of Most Romantic Jazz Music in Universe with some of the greatest jazzers like Kenny Burrell, Sonny Stitt, Marian McPartland, Toots Thielemans, Bobby Hutcherson, Cannonball Adderley, Eliane Elias, Houston Person and others. ~Rebecca 'rhapsodyinblue'.

Bossa Nova '67 mc
Bossa Nova '67 zippy

---

Chihiro Yamanaka - Utopia

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:45
Size: 128,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:51)  1. Utopia
(4:16)  2. La Priere D'une Vierge
(4:40)  3. Mambo
(3:25)  4. Rhapsody In Blue / Strike Up The Band
(6:44)  5. Le Cygne
(5:34)  6. Piano Sonata No. 4
(5:35)  7. Orchestral Suite No. 2 - Badinerie / Ricochet
(5:57)  8. Arpeggione Sonata
(3:13)  9. I Loves You, Porgy
(4:00) 10. Shinda Otokono Nokoshita Monowa / Hope For Tomorrow
(2:39) 11. Hungarian Dance No. 5
(5:45) 12. Songs My Mother Taught Me

Chihiro Yamanaka is an internationally renowned, hard-swinging jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader, whose fluid, athletic technique has drawn rave reviews and very favorable comparisons to legends such as Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum. She is based in New York.Yamanaka was born in Kiryu, in Japan's Gunma Prefecture, in 1976. At age four she began formal piano studies. While she began with classical music and still practices it, she shifted her focus to jazz studies in high school. After graduation she attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston as part of the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead residency program. She played with a wide range of musicians in Boston and in New York before heading back home to Japan after she graduated from Berklee in 2000 with honors  and took first place in Down Beat's Outstanding Performance Award competition. Temporarily returning to Japan, she began her recording career there in 2001 with Living Without Friday, the first of four annually released titles issued by the Japanese label Atelier Sawano. Nonetheless, Yamanaka's long-player gained notice immediately from critics and radio stations. Her 2002 follow-up, When October Goes, hit the top rungs of the Japanese jazz charts, and word began to spread among fans and critics across the Pacific back to America. Yamanaka had reached the level where she could tour not only in her home country but also Europe and select U.S. dates. During this time she was also a member of DIVA, the all-female big band led by drummer Sherrie Maricle. Yamanaka also performed with the DIVA spin-off quintet Five Play, who backed Marlene VerPlanck on her 2003 album It's How You Play the Game, all while continuing to tour and release her own recordings. In 2005 she signed a worldwide deal with Universal's Classics and Jazz division and issued her North American debut with the trio effort Outside by the Swing, recorded in New York City with drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts and bassist Robert Hurst. Yamanaka immigrated to the States and issued the audio-video package Lach Doch Mal in 2006 with Larry Grenadier and Jeff Ballard. 

While neither record made the jazz charts in the States, they reached the Top Five in Japan and upped the pianist's reputation to the degree that she became a global nomad, touring in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Arriving in 2007, Abyss was her first recording to feature drummer Kendrick Scott and bassist Vicente Archer, who became her working trio. She broke the trio mold with 2009's Runnin' Wild, where her piano fronted a sextet. On 2010's Forever Begins, bassist Ben Williams replaced Archer in her trio. The following year saw the release of Reminiscence, which placed a live performance at the Iridium in New York with a studio album that featured Yamanaka in three different trio settings. In 2012 Yamanaka released the first of two tribute albums, Because, a loving nod to the Beatles on which she backed by a quartet played not only piano but synthesizer, organ, guitar, ukulele, and harmonica. Because was followed by the standards releases After Hours and After Hours 2. In 2013, she offered her tribute to classical music with Molto Cantabile. In 2014, Yamanaka moved from Verve to the Universal-owned Blue Note label just in time for its 75th anniversary. Her debut, Somethin' Blue, was a sextet offering, and in addition to originals offered striking renditions of Bud Powell's "Un Poco Loco" and Herbie Hancock's "I Have a Dream." It reached into the Top Five on the jazz charts. She followed it the same year with Syncopation Hazard, her tribute to Scott Joplin. Yamanaka returned to the trio format for 2016's Blue Note-issued Guilty, which placed her original compositions alongside select pieces by Hoagy Carmichael. Near the end of 2017, Yamanaka produced and arranged Monk Studies. She played acoustic and electric piano, synth, and Hammond B-3 organ in an almost exclusively Monk program backed by drummer Deantoni Parks and bassist Mark Kelly. ~ Thom Jurek https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/utopia/1384328786

Utopia

---

Sadao Watanabe - Jazz Samba

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:35
Size: 86.1 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 1967/2013
Art: Front

[3:44] 1. Samba De Orphee
[4:23] 2. It Might As Well Be Spring
[4:05] 3. The Watermelon Man
[2:20] 4. Frevo
[3:08] 5. Lobo Bobo
[3:42] 6. She Loves You
[2:19] 7. Four-Leaf Clover
[1:49] 8. Surf Board
[4:04] 9. Sunny
[3:11] 10. Spring Samba
[2:27] 11. Fried Bananas
[2:17] 12. Berimbau

Sadao Watanabe - Alto Saxophone, Flute; Masabumi Kikuchi - Piano; Masanaga Harada - Bass; Masahiko Togashi - Drums.

Born in Tochigi Prefecture in 1933. Moved to Tokyo after graduating high-school. In 1962, moved to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music after participating in many band sessions as a alto saxophone player. Representing as a top Japanese musician, also know as a talented photographer, publishes six picture books. As an Executive Producer of the Japanese Government Exhibition Project for the 2005 in Japan, advocates the message "World Peace" through music.

Jazz Samba mc
Jazz Samba zippy

---

Sunao Wada Quartet - Blues, Blues, Blues

Size: 99,0 MB
Time: 43:14
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1977/1989
Styles: Jazz Blues
Art: Full

01. Nothing But The Tonic ( 6:56)
02. Ocha-Ocha ( 7:33)
03. Local Men's Blues ( 6:47)
04. Blues Men ( 4:38)
05. Blues In The Closet ( 6:17)
06. A Good Deal Of The Blues (11:00)

Personnel:
Electric Guitar - Sunao Wada
Bass - Isao Suzuki
Drums - TetsujiroObara
Organ/Piano - Masaru Imada

Self-taught musician, Sunao Wada began playing the guitar at the age of 11, and at an early stage of his career decided to become the "No. 1 blues guitarist in Japan." Now he says that there's no "No. 1" in music, but many people in Japan agree that he did become just that.

Blues, Blues, Blues

---