Ami Fukui Trio: MCY

Feb 15, 2025

It was a surprise when Ami Fukui released even more new songs and arrangements with her trio on her release MCY (2023) so soon after her previous trio album Nova Manhã (2022). It does fit well, though, when considering the two albums as a set, as if they were a double album released in two parts. In fact, the songs for both albums were recorded during the same two-day recording session in November 2011. It was an opportune time, as the trio had plenty of live experience together, along with a nice batch of Fukui’s original songs to work with.

Almost like a concept album, or parts I and II of a story, the songs for the two albums were divided between them based on the overall effect that each part is intended to have. There is also a common theme of the morning and the relaxed, refreshed feelings that can arise with the sun. In short, the first album’s songs are intended to provide a soothing balm, and the second’s an energy boost, either or both to be used like tonics or medicine to fit the listener’s mood.

Yet the differences between the two collections are not drastic, and the pair could easily be imagined as a double-album release. The songs and arrangements are from Fukui’s hand, delivered through the trio, and during the same two days, so naturally there is a lot in common. Also in common with her previous releases, her music is characteristically groovy and laid-back with stimulating riffs, smooth playing, and subtly novel arrangements. It’s all delivered through the tightly bound rhythms that the three create so nicely together.

Initially, for some songs, there can be the feeling of a gentle playing style filled with cool swing and decorations. Sometimes that softness is misleading, and several songs build to dramatic peaks. As one example, Jobim’s classic “The Girl From Ipanema” starts with the traditional jazz trio sound that regular jazz fans have heard countless times, but Fukui’s clever arranging results in a unique version of this song that carves out its own unique space in the universe of ordinary versions.

It’s a good demonstration of some of the talents of this trio: gossamer piano licks surfing across the thumping bass lines and drum dynamics, climax-building section changes, outro vamps, and drum solos that add the finishing fire to several of the songs.

In addition to her compositions and arrangements, Fukui’s piano solos occupy most of the improvisation space, and there are a few bass and drum solos and interchanges as well. Nonetheless, the music gravitates towards emphasizing the trio’s locked-in, propulsive rhythms, and Fukui’s thought-out arrangements.

Flow-wise, with mid-tempo merges of swing, straight, and Latin beats, the album starts with the energetic swirl of #1 “Voltex”, the soulful groove #2 “morning sun”, and the deep spices of #3 “The Girl from Ipanema”. Track #4 “hammock” is a mid-album rest stop where heartwarming piano lines and a slow sway calm the spirits.

The engines rev up again with #5 “tipsy time”, which bubbles with a fun, light bounce resembling carefree tottering. Track #6 “MCY” excitingly invokes the percussive and chiseled piano playing of McCoy Tyner. The meaning of the album title becomes clear when hearing the sound of this track, but prior to that, other interpretations are interesting, and one case is mentioned in the liner notes. (Another wild guess was that MCY may stand for Music, Cats, and Yoga, as some of her favorite things are known to be.)

The last full song on the album, #7 “Mohito”, is a great update of a popular song from her first album, Urban Clutter, where the electrically charged sound of the Fender Rhodes replaces the acoustic piano. It makes for another version of the thrilling sound of Ami Fukui-style jazz fusion.

The afterword, #8 “Baikin Concert” (a spontaneous and curious ode to Baikinman, a mischievous germ-based antagonist in the comic Anpanman), is a short, friendly postscript featuring her young nephew and his cute original song, only seconds long, but ending the album appropriately with a cute owari—“that’s it, all done!”

Liner Notes

(Translated from Ami Fukui’s original Japanese liner notes.)

To everyone who purchased this album…

To some extent, you may ask “Was this album inspired by, or even made for your nephew?” It’s true, I relied on his help a lot for this album, including on the CD jacket design and with his voice. I have to think about how to store the funds from the profits for him (laughs).

In contrast with my previous album Nova Manhã, this album features more danceable rhythms and emotional content. At the start, the idea was to capture as much as we could, so we recorded a lot of songs over two days in November 2021.

Before starting to record, I was vaguely thinking that it would be nice to release a double album, and in fact, we ended up getting enough good takes for two albums.

The first part became the previous release Nova Manhã. These two works became a two-part series expressing stillness and movement. They’re opposing albums, but one thing they have in common is the keyword morning.

Hopeful strength with invigorating tenderness is expressed through “Nova manhã” [track #1 on Nova Manhã]. The awareness of the power of the morning sun overflowing with vitality inspired “morning glow” [track #2 on this album].

These two songs are at the core, based on the same morning sun but with different perspectives.

On a different topic, I noticed something in common between music and aroma. As aroma drifts through, the atmosphere of a place can be completely changed in an instant. I think that sound has the same effect. The moment that sound flows, it feels like the location’s scenery and your perspective of it changes instantly.

I would love it if you could use this music to lift your spirits, clear your head, relax, or get lost in your thoughts when thinking about something. It is like a tool that can be used depending on your condition and mood at the time.

01 Voltex

It represents a whirlpool. I envisioned the middle of a spiraling whirlpool, being steadily dragged in, and the state of abandoning yourself to the flow. I was listening to Egberto Gismonti a lot around the time that I wrote this song, and I think that also influenced this song a little.

02 morning glow

When I went on a trip to the remote island of Taketomi-jima near Ishigaki, I woke up early to go to the beach and watch the sunrise. The morning glow of the rising sun was so beautiful that I wanted to write a song about it. I wrote this after returning home. Through the successive live performances of this song, the composition as originally created changed with feelings of increased vitality and overflowing strength.

03 The girl from Ipanema

I’m not sure if it’s a good or a bad thing, but I boldly rearranged this famous song by Antônio Carlos Jobim. I got that idea for this song while I was playing a solo piano gig, and afterward, I created this arrangement based on that idea.

04 hammock

I jotted down a song about the memory of a certain important day. It was originally written as a bossa nova and we played it live numerous times as that, but to be honest it never really felt right to me. It has the image of the saudade of the evening. I was thinking about how to give life to this melody, with its touch of floating sadness, and came up with a reggae-tinged groove. I asked Kira to play that and we immediately adopted it! We pulled it off at the peak of the second day of recording in one emotional take.

05 tipsy time

It means being slightly intoxicated. This song was born from the desire to listen to a light, cheerful tune while drinking. It came about while I was casually sitting at the piano, and while I was playing around, the melody came to me. I just kept humming while playing, and turned it into this song.

07 MCY

This is a song I wrote during a time when I was continuously listening to pianist McCoy Tyner. Some have said this is too bright for McCoy and might be closer to Cedar Walton’s style. Either way, please forgive me for transferring it through my own filter (laughs).

One person guessed that the title “MCY” was taken from the initial letters of magenta, cyan, and yellow, the colors used in certain printers. I thought, oh, that would fit the colors for the CD jacket perfectly, and I borrowed a drawing from my nephew that I had originally wanted to use.

P.S.

To those who knew about the Mame Mugi T-shirts: Thank you to everyone who purchased one. When they are all sold out, I’ll be storing the profits for my nephew who drew the original illustration (laughs).

08 Mohito

Named for the cocktail, this is the song “Mohito” which was included on my first album Urban Clutter. Many people like this song, and I often play it with the current trio. I’ve always wanted to record this song on a Rhodes piano, and we finally made this wish come true. This was also a song that we recorded in one take with a lot of energy as we were almost reaching the end of our session time.

08 Baikin Concert

This is an audio file that I recorded as a test during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic when I was thinking about recording music at home. My nephew, who was four years old at the time, held the mic for me while I recorded lots of sounds. I later added my own keyboard notes to make this. It’s a song that my nephew wrote by himself and would sing all the time back then. To NHK, can you use this on Minna no Uta (laughs)?

This album was created with a concept of kineticism, like an energy boost that spreads outwards and lifts the tension slightly. To use Nova Manhã when you want to feel relaxed… To use MCY when you want to lift your spirits… It would be a great honor for me as a creator to have you use them according to your mood at the time.

P.S.

I am always grateful for my two bandmates, who are always listening intently to my sound, and who are warmly supportive yet can also push me strongly at times. This trio’s sound wouldn’t be the same without any one of these musicians. We get wonderful comments about how our sound is the unique result of the three of us playing together. I feel the same, if I can say so myself.

I’m proud and satisfied that we were able to deliver these two albums, Nova Manhã and MCY. At the same time, we remember that these products are only pieces of work. I believe that music is a living thing, and it truly keeps changing in interesting ways with each performance. This is something that I’ve often said since our first album, but it would please me greatly if you could come to a live show and listen to our trio’s changes to hear our current, “as of today” sound.

I also would love to thank all the people who were involved and who lent us their assistance. I hope that this album and Nova Manhã together can continue to be a part of the brightness of your days.

福井亜実 Ami Fukui