Hideaki Kanazawa & Sumire Kuribayashi: Nijuso

Jan 28, 2020

Veteran bassist Hideaki Kanazawa and stellar pianist Sumire Kuribayashi join up for a calm and lyrical jazz duo on Nijuso from 2017.

Using a palette of jazz standards, new compositions, and free improvisation, the duo creates a tranquil mood with songs brimming with warmth. The richly-recorded sounds of piano and bass float in and around the melodies with unhurried timing and free improvisation with vocal-like qualities. Unloosing the emotional core may be the goal as the two musicians work together to create beautiful experiences, a canvas of lullabies and spiritual-like visions.

From the opening Ornette Coleman number “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman”, the drama unfolds slowly as the duo moves soothingly through the songs. Familiar jazz standards such as “Londonderry Ayre (Danny Boy)”, “I’ll Be Seeing You”, and “All The Things You Are” are balanced with deeper covers like Charlie Haden’s “Our Spanish Love Song” and Bill Evans’ “Children’s Play Song”. Four original compositions are included, ballads and sound-spaces drifting like meandering streams, enjoying the moment with a fulfilling patience rather than rushing to a destination.