Takaaki: New Kid in Town
Takaaki Otomo, Noriko Ueda & Jared Schonig, Jared Schonig, Noriko Ueda
Composer Bernard Hoffer first heard jazz pianist Takaaki Otomo at a restaurant in New York and was impressed by his musicality, dynamic sensitivity, and beautiful harmonic sense. With bass player Noriko Ueda and drummer Jared Schonig, Takaaki selected five originals, four jazz standards plus one Broadway show tune and two novelties from Gustav Holst's The Planets for this recording. Beginning his training as a classical pianist Takaaki switched to jazz when he was a teenager and won first prize in a jazz competition in Japan in 2007. He moved to New York City in 2014. Originally from Japan Noriko Ueda began playing the electric bass, then switching to upright bass at age 18. She is a graduation of the Berklee College of Music where she majored in jazz composition. She has her own trio and quartet and has performed at the Blue Note Jazz Club. She won the Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Prize in 2002. Hailing from Los Angeles, drummer Jared Schonig studied at Eastman where he won seven Downbeat Student Music Awards. A favorite among vocalists, Schonig tours with Grammy Award-winners Kurt Ellling and The New York Voices. He is in demand as a drummer for studio recordings and session work.
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Track Listing
| Title | Composer | Performer |
|---|---|---|
| Evening Glow | Takaaki Otomo | Takaaki Otomo, piano; Noriko Ueda, bass; Jared Schonig, drums |
| New Kid In Town | Bernard Hoffer | Takaaki Otomo, piano; Noriko Ueda, bass; Jared Schonig, drums |
| Django | John Lewis | Takaaki Otomo, piano; Noriko Ueda, bass; Jared Schonig, drums |
| LullWater | Noriko Ueda | Takaaki Otomo, piano; Noriko Ueda, bass; Jared Schonig, drums |
| Repetition | Neil Hefti | Takaaki Otomo, piano; Noriko Ueda, bass; Jared Schonig, drums |
| People | Bob Merrill | Takaaki Otomo, piano; Noriko Ueda, bass; Jared Schonig, drums |
| Mars | Gustav Holst | Takaaki Otomo, piano; Noriko Ueda, bass; Jared Schonig, drums |
| Grandma's Song | Takaaki Otomo | Takaaki Otomo, piano; Noriko Ueda, bass; Jared Schonig, drums |
| In Your Own Sweet Way | Dave Brubeck | Takaaki Otomo, piano; Noriko Ueda, bass; Jared Schonig, drums |
| To You | Thad Jones | Takaaki Otomo, piano; Noriko Ueda, bass; Jared Schonig, drums |
| Rush Hour | Bernard Hoffer | Takaaki Otomo, piano; Noriko Ueda, bass; Jared Schonig, drums |
| Venus | Gustav Holst | Takaaki Otomo, piano; Noriko Ueda, bass; Jared Schonig, drums |
Reviews
- “
"A young piano cat that transplanted from Japan to New York is fitting right in with his adopted town and delivering jazz piano trio work that stands mightily against any comparisons. Blessed with the touch, he leads, writes and plays like a champ that's already arrived. Solid stuff throughout that specializes in hitting all the right notes."
- “
"The three musicians involved here form a high-quality trio that is still able to say its own in a rather fashionable formation thanks to the successes of Keith Jarrett or Brad Mehldau. The Japanese pianist Takaaki studied classical music in his homeland, then he discovered jazz and decided to move to the USA. The same goes for the double bass player Noriko Ueda, also Japanese. To complete the trio, an American musician, Jared Schonig, a rather requested drummer, listening to the album, he understands the reason, so musical and able to interpret the music at best, present and at the same time so empathetic towards others. The fourth man behind the recording is Bernhard Hofler as producer and arranger of some tracks. They did a good job, perfect, no doubt about it. The lineup consists of two pieces of the leader, one of the double bass player, the standards, New Kid in Town and Rush Hour by Hoffer and two themes taken from the orchestral work The Planets of the English composer of the early twentieth century Gustav Holst. Takaaki knows perfectly the mechanisms of the trio, has assimilated the lesson of a Fred Hersch or a Brad Mehldau, to remain among his contemporaries. The album runs all in one breath, are compositions, performances, arrangements, which are perfectly in the lineup, one after the other, here you know the wise hand of the producer. Obviously there are many intense moments emotionally and others more intense rhythmically like the theme that gives the title to the album, but everything is dosed as in a magic alembic, everything in its place, no more notes and not even one less. There is a lot of swing along with beautiful harmonic inventions that make it all worthy of repeated listening."
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