Steve Kuhn Trio - To and From the Heart (SUNNYSIDE RECORDS 2018)

Having just celebrated his 80th birthday, pianist Steve Kuhn has continued to get to the heart of things with his long-standing trio of bass guitarist Steve Swallow and drummer Joey Baron. The ensemble’s deeply resonant relationship can be heard on their new recording, To and From The Heart, a poignant collection of pieces that showcases these masters’ highly wrought abilities in wringing emotion from the ether. 

The legendary Kuhn has been a notable exponent of jazz’s adaptability and creativity since his professional debut nearly 60 years ago. His early work with the leaders of jazz’s vanguard, including Coleman Hawkins and Chet Baker, along with his forays into the avant-garde with John Coltrane, Gary McFarland and Pete La Roca, amongst many others, have solidified his credentials. 

The past few decades have found the pianist focusing more and more on the expressivity of the piano trio format. Kuhn has worked with a number of different amalgamations of musicians of the highest caliber, including Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette, Buster Williams, etc. But it has been his most recent trio roster that he has found most comfortable over the last two decades. 

Bassist Steve Swallow is a perfect foil for Kuhn, as he can be a supportive part of the rhythm team or highly tuneful solo voice. His remarkable ability as a composer is also highlighted on To and From The Heart, as it features two of his original compositions. Drummer Joey Baron is the heartbeat of this body, as he can be a font of energy or a cool stabilizer. 

To and From The Heart was recorded at the illustrious Sear Sound Recording Studio in New York in September of 2017 with the assistance of producer Artie Moorhead and engineer Katsuhiko Naito. 

The program begins with Swallow’s “Thinking Out Loud,” a bright but introspective piece that allows for thoughtful solos from Kuhn and Swallow. Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newly’s waltzing “Pure Imagination” floats in a tide of nostalgia and calm. Swallow’s “Away” is quietly devastating with its simplicity and beauty. The heartrending continues with Raymond Evans and Jay Livingston’s touching “Never Let Me Go,” which leads to Michika Fukumori’s upbeat and lively “Into The New World.” The recording concludes with a long rumination on two of Kuhn’s original pieces, “Trance / Oceans In The Sky,” providing a sweeping and dramatic close. 

Over his career, Steve Kuhn has fashioned his music into a conduit for emotion. His new recording, To and From The Heart, with his grand trio of Steve Swallow and Joey Baron encapsulates his ethos of wearing his feelings on his sleeve and to express them with the most reciprocative of bandmates.

Steve Kuhn - piano

Steve Swallow - bass guitar

Joey Baron - drums

1. Thinking Out Loud 07:49

2. Pure Imagination 06:15

3. Away 06:00

4. Never Let Me Go 04:38

5. Into The New World 05:29

6. Trance/Oceans In The Sky 16:29

Michika Fukumori - Piano Images (SUMMIT RECORDS 2018)

STUNNING ORIGINALS FEATURED ON NYC-BASED PIANIST MICHIKA FUKUMORI’S PIANO IMAGES SOLO PROJECT PRODUCED BY STEVE KUHN AVAILABLE ON SUMMIT RECORDS

MICHIKA FUKUMORI, a native of Japan, has been living in New York City since 2000. A soulful pianist, she was drawn to the U.S to study jazz and become involved in the New York jazz scene. PIANO IMAGES (Summit Records, June 22, 2018) is her third CD release since coming to States. The CD is a solo project, featuring Fukumori on piano playing mostly stunning original compositions as well as several of her favorite jazz standards.  

Fukumori has played in some of the most prestigious jazz clubs in Manhattan with top New York musicians. She has been honing her chops for 20 years and decided it was time to express herself as a solo artist. According to Fukumori, “PIANO IMAGES is a conversation between me and the piano. It’s the story of my life that I portray through music. It’s a story about where I was born, my experiences growing up, and what I feel about the state of the world. I wanted to express how happy I am to be able to make music in my little corner of the world.” 

PIANO IMAGES was produced by STEVE KUHN, the prolific pianist known for his lyrical and evocative playing. Fukumori has been studying privately with Kuhn since 2001. Kuhn also produced Fukumori’s other CDs, Quality Time (2016), and Infinite Thoughts (2004). “I was a big fan of Steve’s since I started to listen, study and play Jazz in Japan,” says Fukumori. “Studying with him is my dream come true. He’s my teacher, my mentor and my musical hero.” 

Fukumori composed eight of the 13 tunes on PIANO IMAGES. Her compositional style is like her style of playing -- sensitive and inventive with a subtle sense of swing. She opens the CD with “Colors of Blue,” one of her own compositions. “I learned how important the blues is to jazz after I moved to this country, and I fell in love with the form. This is my dedication to this music.” Fukumori infuses the tune with a rhythmic feeling that comes from a Japanese dance style. “Into the New World,” another of her originals, is a gentle swing tune with a light-hearted feel. It represents her hope and prayers for the world. 

“The Seasons” is a suite of four compositions in which Fukumori paints a picture of of Iga, her hometown in Japan. Iga is a small city surrounded by mountains where Fukumori lived until she was 18. These pieces were drawn from memories of her childhood. The first of the suite is “The Answer,” which represents winter and a feeling of anticipation. “The Story I Want to Tell You” represents spring. Fukumori recorded this piece on her previous CD in a trio setting, but because the song for her has such a strong association with Iga, she wanted to record it again in a more intimate context. “The Days We Were Smiling” represents her nostalgia for all the fun she had in summer growing up, hiking, swimming, fireworks and especially family gatherings. “Tomorrow is Full of Promises,” is a happy, lively tune that represents autumn and Matsuri, a kind of lively Thanksgiving festivity. 

Fukumori also composed “Palco (A Little Dancer)” and “My Muse.” “Palco” has a buoyant dance feel that represents Fukumori’s impression of the movie “Billy Elliot,” the 2000 film about a boy who wants to become a professional ballet dancer. “My Muse” is Fukumori’s dedication to Steve Kuhn and represents the joy that music gives her. 

Fukumori is also a fan of Jobim and dedicates “Chovendo na Roseira” to the great Brazilian artist. Fukumori imbues the song with “suadade,” or a deep state of melancholy. She also performs Jobim’s “Luiza,” another piece filled with longing. Richard Rodgers’ “Where or When” is one of her favorite tunes that she’s been playing since before she came to this country, and “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye” is the Cole Porter number that appeals to Fukumori’s romantic, sensitive nature. And in honor of her mentor, Steve Kuhn, Fukumori decided to include one of his original compositions, “Oceans in the Sky,” on which Fukumori and Kuhn perform a lush, four-hand version. 

Fukumori is a superbly sensitive pianist who has fully embraced the jazz idiom but suffuses the music with her own personality and cultural heritage. PIANO IMAGES is a series of musical portraits by an artist with a refined sensibility and the skill to embrace you with her musical vision.

About Michika Fukumori Born on Japan's main island, Fukumori grew up in the city of Mie and began to play piano at the age of three. After studying classical composition at the Aichi Prefectual University of Fine Arts and Music, Fukumori studied with renowned Japanese pianist Colgen Suzuki and began working professionally at a variety of jazz clubs in and around Tokyo. In 2000, Fukumori moved to the United States and began studying with Ron Carter and Geri Allen at City College of New York, earning her Master’s Degree in 2003. While attending CCNY, she also began taking private lessons with Steve Kuhn. Since then, Fukumori has been playing regularly at many of Manhattan's most prestigious jazz clubs, such as The Blue Note, The Garage, Cleopatra's Needle, Arturo's, Antique Garage, and Jazz at Kitano. 

Today Fukumori enjoys a variety of work in the U.S. and takes annual trips back to Japan where she tours extensively, leading various trios and quartets.

Michika Fukumori  piano

Steve Kuhn  piano duet on #11

Arranged by Michika Fukumori; Produced by Steve Kuhn

1. Colors Of Blues  (3:17)

2. Into the New World  (4:17)

The Seasons

3. The Answer Is … (Winter)  (3:52)

4. The Story I Want To Tell You (Spring)  (5:11)

5. The Days We Were Smiling (Summer)  (4:50)

6. Tomorrow Is Full Of Promises (Fall)  (2:21)

7. Where Or When  (2:59)

8. Palco (A Little Dancer)  (4:57)

9. Chovendo Na Roseira  (4:27)

10. My Muse  (3:55)

11. Oceans In The Sky  (5:46)

12. Luiza  (5:00)

13. Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye  (2:47)

www.michika.jp

Jameszoo - Fool (2016) NINJA TUNE

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Jameszoo - Fool (2016)

Described by the producer as "naive computer jazz", despite features from two bona fide legends - namely legendary jazz pianist and bandleader Steve Kuhn and Brazilian composer and arranger Arthur Verocai - it's a record that fits perfectly into the label’s expanding take on the modern evolution of jazz music, following outings by Kneebody & Daedelus, Thundercat and Kamasi Washington. Follow Jamezoo -

BY DEREK STAPLES / consequence of sound

With Fool, the Netherlands’ Mitchel Van Dinther (aka Jameszoo) is challenging the programming of the everyday. “I tried to create something that is both tradition and me fooling around,” explains Van Dinther of his debut full-length effort. Fool is an amorphous 11-track affair that sees the producer dipping into a naïve, infantile consciousness. In true Brainfeeder-fashion, Fool is a narrative constructed through the shared ethos of experimentation in both the left-field jazz and electronic communities. Embracing the fragility of live instrumentation, Van Dinther connected with visionary mentors Steve Kuhn and Arthur Verocai, Brainfeeder’s go-to bassist Thundercat, and a talented cast of classical and jazz musicians to model the figurative Lincoln Logs which Van Dinther subsequently reconfigured.

To embrace this practice, it helps if one joins Van Dinther in this jovial, juvenile state of mind. He reinforces this with the continued use of serene music box tones, first during lead single “Flake”, later during “The Zoo” (a reimaging of Steve Kuhn’s “Pearlie’s Swine”, on which the pianist features), and in a more broken manner during the lead to “Toots”. Although produced by decades of talent, Van Dinther attacks these elements like a series of pots and pans laid in front of a flailing toddler. Each strike or series of accidental rolls reveals a new feeling. As this knowledge grows, so does the pace of exploration — often to unnerving ends. Lacking the standard elements of popular music, emotions are exposed more organically. “Toots”, for example, pushes toward a moment of despair and longing as the noise at its midpoint washes out into momentary oblivion.

Van Dinther’s intuitive ability to control emotions was honed during 15 years as avant-garde DJ, spinning jazz, prog, krautrock, and electronic elements into an array of beat oddities. Those hours spent behind the decks also provided Van Dinther with the aptitude to pull this album’s divergent elements together. From PC Music undertones (“Flake”) to the sounds of a cramped silverware cabinet (“Lose”), 8-bit Nintendo riffs (“Meat”) to the sounds of Star Trek teleportation and a wild bronco (“Crumble”), Van Dinther challenges himself to work nearly every texture available into the free jazz wanderings of the ensemble cast.

As best exemplified by the explosive shrill to closer “Teeth”, Fool is a recording targeted toward the aural masochists hooked into the Brainfeeder family. But just as Van Dinther clears and repacks dance floors with his dynamic live sets, simplistic elements (like the blues-y intro to “Soup”) outline the album as a means to keep even the casual listener cautiously engaged. Once enchanted, the chaotic saxophone ambiance at the tail-end of “Soup” is far more palatable.

Fool does have its stumbles and half-executed ideas. “Wrong” sounds like it was captured by a fly on the wall during a rather frenzied orchestral tuning session. And while “Nail (Skit)” does center on one of the album’s livelier melodies, its placement dramatically lessens the overall shift from “Crumble” to “Toots”. While the vast majority of the album serves its purpose as a re-education of sorts between Van Dither and the listener, these tracks drag with self-satisfying excess.

The very existence of Fool must be credited to the success of Brainfeeder mates Flying Lotus, Daedelus, and the Gaslamp Killer. Without their previous eclectic efforts and curation of a captivated base, its unlikely Van Dither would have been afforded the opportunity to go on this personal artistic journey with the aid of such stellar collaborators. Much the way they challenged Van Dinther, Fool forces all those that imbibe to be better listeners, continuing to infuse fresh blood into the Brainfeeder family.

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Steve Kuhn Trio - At This Time (2016)

Source & Label: Sunnyside Records

Any chance that one has to hear a master musician in his or her preferred setting is a gift. For all the one-offs and ensemble by committee type of gigs that spring up, it is the reunion with familiar collaborators for a stint of a few nights that really becomes integral for the best performances.

On his new recording, At This Time, pianist Steve Kuhn found himself just in the right time and place to record a trio record that feels timeless and truly inspired. The ensemble, which features legendary bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Joey Baron, was happy to find itself in an extended engagement at Birdland Jazz Club in New York in September 2015 and found time to get into the recording studio before heading to Europe on tour.

Of course, Kuhn has been one of jazz’s foremost pianists for over half a century. He has been fortunate to accompany some of the most important voices of his generation, including John Coltrane, Sheila Jordan and Kenny Dorham, but it is his work in the trio setting that has been where he has made his name.

Kuhn’s current trio features a contemporary, and an important innovator of a later generation. Steve Swallow has been at the forefront of contemporary music for decades. Whether performing alongside Jimmy Giuffre, Paul Bley or Carla Bley, Swallow has been one of the most important figures on both the acoustic and electric bass. Though twenty years younger than Kuhn and Swallow, drummer Joey Baron has cemented himself as one of the most well rounded musicians, at home in the most classic of jazz ensembles and in the most raucous of the avant-garde.

The material for the recording came from the recent set lists from Birdland. The songs comprise a good mix of standards and a couple of Kuhn penned originals.

The recording begins with an exuberant rendition of the Arlen and Mercer classic “My Shining Hour,” which is followed by Al Cohn’s “Ah Moore,” tastefully done by the trio. Quincy Jones’s “The Pawnbroker” is a perfect example of nuance in performance, as is Kuhn’s “All The Rest Is The Same,” which also accelerates in a mid tempo Latin bounce. The pianist’s “The Feeling Within” is a rich and brilliant solo piece.

The trio’s take on Duncan Lamont’s “Carousel” is leisurely paced and has a great solo feature for Swallow. Bernstein’s “Lonely Town” is subtle yet poignant, while the Weill chestnut “This Is New” is an upbeat swinger. The program closes with Gil Fuller’s “I Waited For You,” a lush and mellow ballad performed with great beauty.

Fortunately for the jazz world, Steve Kuhn and his fantastic assemblage found the time to record At This Time, a testament to the importance of dynamics within an ensemble and tasteful performance.

01．My Shining Hour   6:28
02．Ah Moore   9:19
03．The Pawnbroker   6:10
04．All The Rest Is The Same   7:33
05．The Feeling Within   5:47
06．Carousel   5:51
07．Lonely Town   5:46
08．This Is New   5:44
09．I Waited For You   6:07

STEVE KUHN (p)
 STEVE SWALLOW (b)
 JOEY BARON (ds)

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