The Kei Akagi trio is an ongoing phenomenon that gets better with every hearing. The trio has played, toured and recorded together for several years now. And yet, they are so together in all ways that you can’t tell if a song is one they’ve played for years or one they just wrote the night before. The group might better be called a musical mind in three parts. The last night of their 2009 tour showed the workings of that mind.
All of Kazumi Watanabe’s recordings are top quality recordings of his guitar technique, but his latest release, “Jazz Impression” is an especially joyful and pleasing set of tunes. Clearly, he is playing not from experimentation or from experience, but from a delight in his own exploration of jazz forms. On these 11 new tracks, mostly trio-based but with sax added on three cuts, Watanabe is clearly just enjoying playing his guitar. That’s easier said than done, of course, especially after spending as much time on the fret board and accumulating as many guitar tech-tricks as Watanabe has over the years. He seems to be putting all his experience and technique behind him on this CD to just dig into the songs.
(Reginald Veal – bass and Herlin Riley – drums on bonus tack)
Junko Onishi has long been one of the most popular pianists in Tokyo. Her years backing famed jazz masters in the States along with her vibrant attitude to the music have earned her respect and fans. This new release comes nearly a decade after her last one, 1999’s rock groove outing “Fragile.” This recording is entirely different from that one, with several self-penned numbers, three Eric Dolphy tunes and three standards. Recorded in New York, except for a live medley at Tokyo Blue Note, it is a vital new work that finds Onishi’s forceful playing unbridled. The result is much more of her as the accomplished and powerful musician she truly is.
The Zek Trio is an unusual one. They play the music of Led Zeppelin, but as jazz, and a very unique, personal kind of jazz. Many groups have worked through the music of one particular pop composer or rock group before, and others, like Happy Apple or The Bad Plus, have thrown in songs from bands like Nirvana or Black Sabbath, but the Zek Trio goes into Led Zeppelin in tremendous depth. Their intriguing blend of rock music and jazz style was innovative, thought provoking and a whole lotta fun.
Neil Stalnaker - trumpet James Mahone – tenor sax Kenichi Shimazu - piano Jeff Curry - bass Mike Reznikoff – drums
This hard working group digs into the musical repertoire of Horace Silver with gusto. That might sound a bit retro except that Silver’s music is a, yes, Silver mine with plenty of precious value ready to be excavated. Stalnaker and friends get right to work, hauling out what Silver has always offered: juicy leads, exciting rhythms and lots of open space to jam.
Kei Akagi -- piano
Kazumi Watanabe -- guitars
Junko Onishi – piano
Kurumi Shimizu - piano