Yoko Miwa Trio - Songs of Joy (February 2021 Ubuntu Music)

Yoko Miwa Trio offers a beacon of optimism during dark times on spirited new album 

Songs of Joy, due out February, 2021 via Ubuntu Music, features the pianist’s longtime trio with drummer Scott Goulding and bassist Will Slater on songs by Billy Preston, Thelonious Monk, Richie Havens and Duke Jordan alongside new original compositions

“Yoko Miwa has been gifted with both extraordinary musical skills and the pure spirit that is necessary for great art. We love her musical gifts and her beautiful spirit as well.” – Ahmad Jamal

"The group dynamic bounces with joy… Oscar Peterson and Benny Green come to mind stylistically, with Miwa’s always engaging melodies dancing around propulsive rhythms." – Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz

“Miwa is a virtuoso pianist with dazzling technique always in the service of interaction and exchange of ideas.”  – Donald Elfman, NYC Jazz Record

2020 was a trying year for all of us, and pianist Yoko Miwa suffered more than her fair share of challenges. Like most musicians during this unprecedented pandemic, she suddenly found herself without the opportunity to perform. The recording of her new album was postponed and her trio’s longtime home base, Les Zygomates Wine Bar & Bistro in Boston, closed its doors for good. Worst of all, her father passed away after a battle with Alzheimer’s Disease.

So Miwa would certainly have been forgiven if her delayed return to the studio had resulted in an uncharacteristically somber set of music. Instead she emerged with Songs of Joy, a welcome dose of optimism and uplift that shines like a ray of hope through the dark clouds overhead. Due out February 12, 2021 via Ubuntu Music, Songs of Joy features Miwa’s longstanding trio with bassist Will Slater and drummer Scott Goulding, along with a guest appearance by bassist Brad Barrett, another regular collaborator. The album combines songs that have provided solace and inspiration to Miwa with five original pieces composed as a means of escape from the lockdown routine.

“Once the pandemic started, I decided to write something every day,” Miwa explains. “I just tried to sit down at the piano and play whatever I felt on that day. Of course I was frustrated, but I tried to stay positive.”

The songs that emerged from this less-than-ideal incubator reflect Miwa’s persevering spirit, her jazz-inspired spontaneity and her classically-trained virtuosity – all characteristics that have been recognized by no less an authority than legendary pianist Ahmad Jamal, one of Miwa’s idols. “At 90 years plus, I have known and heard most of the great pianists, [including] Art Tatum, Oscar Dennard, Phineas Newborn, Nat Cole, Dodo Marmarosa, Johnny Costa, Erroll Garner, and on and on,” Jamal says. “Not to mention the pianists performing the European Classical works that I have followed as well. In Pittsburgh where I was born, and where some of the aforementioned are also from, we had to study both American Classical Music as well as the European Classical forms. Yoko Miwa is the result of both worlds. She is amazing and will continue to grow.”

The Yoko Miwa Trio has been performing together regularly for a decade and a half, with a Saturday night residency at Les Zygomates for much of that tenure. For the past several years they’ve also spent Friday nights at the Cambridge sushi bar The Mad Monkfish. At least once a year they perform there with legendary singer Sheila Jordan, who introduced Miwa to Billy Preston’s “Song of Joy.” The tune, which also inspired the title of the album, is suffused with warmth and deep emotions in the trio’s intimate, reverent rendition. The idea expressed in Preston’s simple, heartfelt song – “With every note I play, I play with love… With all the happiness this melody brings” – provided the guiding spirit of the session.

The album opens with Richie Havens’ “Freedom,” which the singer-songwriter performed at Woodstock (as captured in the famed concert film). Miwa’s thunderous left hand reveals the inspiration of McCoy Tyner, and the tune’s mood channels the ecstatic spirituality of the classic John Coltrane Quartet.

Tyner is one of several formative influences to whom Miwa pays tribute through her original pieces on Songs of Joy. The boisterous swing of Bobby Timmons and Benny Green, two of the pianists whose brilliant sound was forged in the crucible of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, anchors the finger-snapping groove of “Small Talk.” The bright, dancing “The Rainbirds” was inspired by the compositional style of Kenny Barron. And the lush, elegant “Inside a Dream” bears the unmistakable imprint of perhaps Miwa’s most important idol, Bill Evans.

Naturally, Miwa’s compositions couldn’t help but be affected by the times in which they were written. The steely “Largo Desolato” feels haunted yet determined, evoking the unnaturally empty streets of New York City at the height of the pandemic. The gorgeous ballad “The Lonely Hours” is dedicated to Miwa’s father, who spent many of his final days alone due to quarantine conditions. “I couldn't go back to Japan to see him because of the pandemic,” she laments. “He was in the hospital alone; even my family couldn't be with him when he passed away. It was really sad.”

The rollicking “Tony’s Blues” was penned for Miwa by Tony Germain, former assistant chair of the piano department at Berklee College of Music, where Miwa is an associate professor. “Tony wrote this song for me right before the original recording date, and I really liked it,” Miwa says. “He just retired, so this is a great present for him.”

The work of Thelonious Monk is a constant in Miwa’s repertoire, and here she performs a muscular take on one of her favorites, “Think of One.” Sheila Jordan also provided an entrée to the blistering “No Problem,” a piece by the singer’s ex-husband, pianist Duke Jordan, that has become a staple of the trio’s sets. The album ends with a reflective take on the folk classic “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You,” by way of the famous Led Zeppelin version and graced by Brad Barrett’s entrancing arco playing.

Despite a few months of enforced time off, the Yoko Miwa Trio hasn’t lost a step on Songs of Joy, their exhilarating chemistry evident and lively throughout the album’s many moods. Circumstances may have been far from ideal (“This is definitely the first album I recorded with a mask on,” Miwa laughs), but it ends up offering a balm for beleaguered audiences. “When we went into the studio, it had been four months since I’d played with my trio,” Miwa recalls. “I was a little bit nervous, but once we got there I felt so excited and inspired by being together again. That joy and happiness came up from my music. Everything was joy, and I hope the listener can hear it too.”

1. Freedom (Richie Havens)

2. Largo Desolato (Yoko Miwa)

3. Song of Joy (Billy Preston)

4. Small Talk (Yoko Miwa)

5. The Lonely Hours (by Yoko Miwa)

6. No Problem (Duke Jordan)

7. The Rainbirds (Yoko Miwa)

8. Think of One (Thelonious Monk)

9. Inside a Dream (Yoko Miwa)

10. Tony’s Blues (Tony Germain)

11. Babe I’m Gonna Leave You (Anne Bredon)

Yoko Miwa - piano

Will Slater - bass

Scott Goulding - drums

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Yoko Miwa Trio - Pathways (2018)

Pianist Yoko Miwa leads her longstanding, spectacularly attuned trio on Pathways, 

her first new album in five years

“Pianist Yoko Miwa displays unpretentious melodies, elegant phrasing, and the lyrical sensibility of a jazz poet… she’s a remarkably fluent mainstream player with a graceful touch and a self-assured notion of where each tune is headed.” – Ed Kopp, Jazziz

“Miwa plays with the confidence and fluidity of a seasoned jazz musician. She has the enviable ability to play in any context with authenticity, clarity, and spontaneity." – Wilbert Sostre, JazzTimes.com

A jazz musician is by nature an explorer at heart, but it always helps to have a few fellow adventurers at your side. On her new album, pianist Yoko Miwa sets out to navigate a few new Pathways with the help of her longstanding and deeply harmonious trio. With more than a decade and a half together, the Boston-based group showcases the unique ability to wander down diverging trails without ever losing sight of their shared destination.

On Pathways, on Ocean Blue Tear Music, Miwa is joined by bassist Will Slater (with Brad Barrett stepping in for one track) and drummer Scott Goulding. The remarkable telepathy they share has been developed over 15 years and countless hours logged on the bandstand, not to mention the accompanying personal bonds (Miwa and Goulding are married, after all).

“When we play together, it comes out as one sound,” Miwa says. “That’s the best part of working together all the time. I’m very comfortable with these guys because they know my playing and I know them very well.”

It’s been nearly five years since the release of Miwa’s last album, Act Naturally (JVC Victor), but she’s been far from inactive in the interim. On the contrary, she’s one of the busiest artists on the thriving Boston jazz scene, playing regularly at renowned local venues the Regattabar and Scullers as well as venues worldwide. Locally, the trio is a constant presence with three area residencies that keep them busy every weekend they’re at home. On Fridays they can be found at the Central Square sushi bar and jazz club Thelonious Monkfish, where Goulding serves as music director and Miwa helped select the stunning Yamaha piano. Saturdays they play at the wine bar Les Zygomates, as they have for the last 12 years, while their Sunday brunch gig at Cambridge BBQ joint Ryles dates back even further. 

That impressive calendar means that the trio has had plenty of time not only to try out new material but to explore each piece over time. “We play each song a little bit differently every time,” Miwa says. “It really helps develop the music. If we only did concerts once a month in front of big audiences, I don’t think we’d feel the same way or that I’d play the same way that I do now.”

The repertoire that Miwa traverses on Pathways ranges widely, from the classic songs of The Beatles and Joni Mitchell to a pair of rarely (if ever) reprised pieces by legendary Bill Evans Trio bassist Marc Johnson, originally recorded solo. The album’s highlights, though, are Miwa’s gorgeous originals, which combine lively melodies, a delicate touch, and lush harmonies – the same qualities that she brings to her improvisations.

The album opens with the gospel-flavored chords that Miwa uses on Johnson’s “Log O’Rhythm,” and centers on the piano-bass dialogue between the leader and her “favorite bassist,” Slater, who doesn’t play with the trio as regularly since moving to New York City. The reunion here shows that the pair have lost none of their brilliant chemistry. Slater is also featured on Johnson’s other contribution, “After You,” where he agilely articulates the song’s memorably nimble melody. Both tunes have become favorites at the trio’s shows, and have received Johnson’s own stamp of approval.

Driven by Goulding’s intricate powerful rhythms, Miwa’s “Lickety Split” lives up to its title with its brisk pacing and McCoy Tyner influenced forcefulness. Falling on the other end of the sonic spectrum, “Lantern Light” begins with a movingly lyrical solo piano intro, gaining momentum as Goulding and Slater enter, capturing both the warm glow and lonely isolation of a single lamp carried through a dark night. Its fragile beauty is all the more remarkable given the fact that Miwa wrote it quickly, in a sudden burst of inspiration, during a break between students at Berklee College of Music – without a piano nearby.

The playful swing of “The Goalkeeper” was inspired by a frequent visitor to the Miwa household – their neighbors’ cat, who drops in often for a bit of food and play. His flawless ability to bat back a ball thrown by Miwa gave the piece its name, while the adorable feline has become a surrogate pet for her and Goulding following the loss of their own beloved cat. The last of the pianist’s compositions, “Was It Something I Said?” is a sly blues imbued with the wry humor of the waiter whose teasing riposte Miwa borrowed for the title.

“Joni Mitchell’s music is very beautiful and very unique,” Miwa says, two elements beautifully captured in the trio’s version of “Court and Spark,” which luxuriates in the songwriter’s compelling harmonies. The album ends with a melancholy take on the Beatles classic “Dear Prudence,” which features the trio’s current Boston bassist, Brad Barrett. “Everybody knows the Beatles’ songs very well, so you don’t want to change them too much and upset their fans,” Miwa says with a laugh. “’Dear Prudence’ is very simple but very powerful.”

Integral to capturing the heartfelt communication forged by the trio was Miwa’s insistence that they play together in the studio, not divided into isolation booths. Their spontaneity and spark found an ideal setting at Wellspring Sound Studios in Acton, Massachusetts, where they worked closely with engineer Matt Hayes. “It’s almost like a live recording,” Miwa says proudly. “I feel really uncomfortable separated into different rooms where you can’t really see each other. Of course you can’t go back and fix things, but I love the feeling of playing in the same room and our energy together.”

A favorite at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Miwa was chosen to play on “Marian McPartland & Friends” a special concert as part of the Coca Cola Generations in Jazz Festival.  She was also chosen to perform at Lincoln Center's annual Jazz and Leadership Workshop for The National Urban League's Youth Summit.  Miwa also performs regularly at New York's famed Blue Note Jazz Club and has performed and/or recorded with a wide range of jazz greats including Sheila Jordan, Slide Hampton, Arturo Sandoval, George Garzone, Jon Faddis, Jerry Bergonzi, Esperanza Spalding, Terri Lynne Carrington, Kevin Mahogany, John Lockwood and Johnathan Blake among others.  Miwa is a Yamaha artist.

www.yokomiwa.com