Yuko Fujiyama - Quiet Passion - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Born in Sapporo, Japan in 1954, Yuko Fujiyama started playing piano at the age of four. But it wasn't until a summer morning in 1980 standing on a sidewalk in New York's East Village that she found her calling; someone was playing a Cecil Taylor tape and she was transfixed by the piano sounds. That someone was Taylor's drummer, Jerome Cooper, and that moment opened a door for her to the abstract beauty of music. She has been Inchlooking for musical structuresInch ever since. InchRecently, I've been trying to be free from a feeling of linear time. This album, Night Wave, is the result of my long search.Inch Joining her in this quest are three esteemed fellow travelers in the art of improvisation percussionist Susie Ibarra, violinist Jennifer Choi, and cornet/flugelhornist Graham Haynes InchIt was a joy to play with these beautiful musicians. I appreciate Susie for her earthy but sensitive sound, Jennifer for her beautiful melodies, and Graham for his simple and rich expressions.Inch The album weaves a delicate series of colorful musical glimpses, from aggressive and ominous stories to melancholic flashes of freedom and silence. Listen at night, on a sidewalk, or wherever you might like sounds to arrest you.

Yuko Mabuchi moved to the United States from her native Japan only recently, but when she plays American jazz she speaks the language perfectly. We love Yuko's sense of rhythm and melody, and her improvising feels like she was born in Detroit or New York City. Her technique reminds one of some of Yuko's music idols like Oscar Peterson, Herbie Hancock and Monty Alexander. But beyond her talent for traditional jazz, one can also hear flavors of American R&B, Hip-Hop and Blues, which Yuko loved as a teenager. This album's associate producer and Yarlung special advisor Billy Mitchell describes Yuko's playing as Inchfunky from the heart,Inch and he means that as an enormous compliment. Yuko was born in Fukui, on the west coast of Japan, north of Kyoto. She studied classical music and the piano starting at age four, and continued her studies at the AN Music School in Kyoto, where she was a jazz piano student of Kunihiro Kameda. Yarlung first heard the Yuko Mabuchi Trio at Catalina Bar and Grill in Hollywood and offered to record their debut album the next day. This live concert recording session took place in Cammilleri Hall, the same concert venue designed by Yasuhisa Toyota, where Yarlung recorded Sophisticated Lady jazz quartet in 2014. Jazz pianist and educator Billy Mitchell served as associate producer.

Monsters of Folk - the acclaimed band comprised of Jim James (My Morning Jacket), M. Ward, Conor Oberst, and Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes) - are celebrating the 15th anniversary of their self-titled, one and only album with an expanded new edition, arriving Friday, June 14 via ATO Records on clear vinyl and . Pre-orders are available now