In The Spirit of Blues Yuki Arimasa

• 1 Solitary Morning Rain 07:05
• 2 Be-Dookie 05:50
• 3 Soulful Bill 05:47
• 4 MS.A-Blues 02:14
• 5 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover 06:07
• 6 Cubana Chant 04:00
• 7 Georgia On My Mind 07:23
• 8 It's Subtle Without Tea 03:45
• Total Runtime 42:11

Info for In The Spirit of Blues

“Recalling my elementary school days, as I started listening to jazz music, the first thing that entirely attracted me was gospel and blues. It is the core concept of the album this time. Gospel and blues are both black music and they are very personal, and therefore I think it wouldn’t’t mean much if I played the type of blues and gospel.

Inside Japanese, the spirit of blues and gospel resides of my own, and that is the reason why they came into my heart so naturally in the childhood without knowing what is gospel or blues, and the album is structured with such originals.” (Yuki Arimasa)

Normally a well-trusted relationship in the music creation would be referred to the one among the performing artists, but here between Yuki Arimasa and Mick Sawaguchi, firmly built is a well-trusted relationship of artist and recording engineer・producer. I strongly feel it as I listened to the previous album “Dimensions” and the new “IN THE SPIRIT OF BLUES”.

Throughout the album, Mick captures the sound Yuki radiates out to the space in its entirety and its subtlety. And it is not just the sound, but Mick seems to gaze microcosmically on the atmosphere that floats and even the inner pictures within Yuki himself. Such a relationship won’t happen unless each one understands precisely how the other would act. They might have established it through their past solo and trio recording sessions. We have the word in Japanese “A-Un” for such effortless communication ability, and it looks like the exact basis of this recording. It was quite impressive to me.

In Track 1 “Solitary Morning Rain” for example, lively vivid is the hammering of the keys as if we slide up closer to the piano on the stage. Our ears may be totally fooled by the richest ambience spreading to all the directions, but the deeply on the fundamental notes is the solid and sturdy blues that Mick captures. Or in the case of Track 2 “Be-Dookie”, Yuki’s dynamic performance would not have gained so much true-to-life sensation in the plain 2-channel framework. Front-to-back as well as horizontal dimensionality being provided in the space, the front speakers’ axis succeeds in visualizing a realistic image of piano three-dimensionally. What I felt very unique was Track 5, a song by Paul Simon, in which Yuki transformed this pop number gradually in the latter part by the impressive and strong left hand into a gospel tune. Even the background noise was vivid that I wondered if it were the rebound of pedal actions underneath the instrument. Check if your surround system manages to reproduce it in good shape.

Yuki’s unobtrusive and heavily dark spirit for blues and gospel occasionally reveals melancholic expression, but also turns its feeling to blend the unique flavor of Japanese. The passion of such complications Mick catches beautifully with his skills based on his long experience and variety of technological tricks. The excellence of this recording in surround sound has been made possible by “A-Un” that I should say the Japanese Blues Spirit.

Yuki Arimasa, piano

Yuki Arimasa
Born in 1961 in Tokyo. Yuki started piano lessons at the age of three, and was totally enchanted at twelve by the piano performance of Oscar Peterson to drive him studying jazz by himself.

On graduating from Tamagawa University, English literature majored in 1983; he entered Berklee College of Music in the US to study piano and compositions where he won the Award of Hank Jones and the Composition Award of Duke Ellington.

After graduating in 1986, he continued to stay in Berklee for 8 years to teach students as assistant professor, and in 1996 he completed his living in the States to go back home to Japan. The first leader album he produced is “The Bitter Life of Scarecrow”.

In 2000, he opened the class of jazz solfege in Senzoku Gakuen University, and actively educates young musicians. The current activities of his extend to his own trio sessions, compositions and arrangements for various projects.

At Jazz Club UNAMAS, his appearance is not only limited to the regular piano trio but also duet and solo offering versatile styles of expressions. His first piano solo album “FOREST” was released in 2011 by UNAMAS-JAZZ label.

The duet project with Tomonao Hara, the trumpeter, was debuted in 2012. His latest piano solo album [Dimensions] was released 2016-06.

Booklet for In The Spirit of Blues