Motoi Kanamori: The Live
Bassist Motoi Kanamori released his third album The Live in 2023. This is a double CD album with a title that aptly reflects the energy of his group captured in a live concert recording. The two discs are divided between one set from his trio (with pianist Hiroyuki Takubo and drummer Akira Yamada) playing rearranged versions of classic jazz standards, and a second set from his trio with strings, featuring a four-piece string section of two violins, one viola, and one cello.
The first “trio” side features four jazz staples and one original from leader Kanamori. The four standards (“Autumn Leaves”, “Surrey with the Fringe on Top”, “I’ve Got a Crush On You”, and “Recordame”) are enhanced with slight rearrangements and additions but mainly stay true to the core of straight-ahead jazz piano trio versions. The original composition on this half, Kanamori’s “Mingus Stroll”, sounds just like it should, with a bluesy strolling feel that recalls the spirit of Charles Mingus.
Notable in several tracks are the slow to fast and double-time meter and time changes that work to keep the audience (and the band) on their toes while the players’ extended improvisations play on. Drummer Yamada also takes the spotlight on a few songs as he lets loose over vamps on the very rapid tempo “Surrey” and the exciting set-closer “Recordame”.
The second “trio with strings” set features three standards (“Smooth as the Wind”, “Lush Life”, and the encore “What a Wonderful World”), with three more originals from Kanamori. Here, when not doubling or embellishing the song melodies, the strings add a rich harmonic backdrop to the trio’s sound, especially and appropriately lush in the beautiful Billy Strayhorn tune.
Beyond the standard jazz repertoire, the seven-member group spreads its wings further on Kanamori’s originals on side two. The trio with strings paints with more abstract colors for his songs “Invisible World” and “Star’s Duty” in particular, for an atmospheric and storytelling effect. His third original on this side, “Sea & Ocean”, is all Latin rhythms, mid- and uptempo, used dynamically to add new dimensions of energy and flair to the entire concert.
Liner Notes
(Translated from Motoi Kanamori’s original Japanese liner notes.)
This is my third album as a leader. It was recorded on December 29, 2022, at a concert held at Tokyo FM Hall. I’m so happy that I was able to have this musical experience and be blessed with such wonderful musicians. I hope that you can listen to this for a long time.
Disc 1
Autumn Leaves
Originally a chanson, this is a world-famous standard that has been recorded countless times. Not only Frank Sinatra, but Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, and many other jazz musicians have recorded great versions of this song, and it is widely recognized as a jazz standard. Although we must follow in the footsteps of such famous takes, playing our new interpretation of Kareha (枯葉, Autumn Leaves) in the modern day may have resulted in something that has not been heard before. Enjoy the thrilling exchanges between the trio with the dizzying changes of scene.
Mingus Stroll
This is my original song dedicated to the great jazz bassist Charles Mingus. Charles Mingus’s music contains nostalgic, romantic melodies that sometimes surge up with the passion of raging waves. At the time, it gave music new inspiration with free ideas and construction, and it still has that new quality today. The year 2022 marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Charles Mingus, and we performed this song to commemorate the birth of a man who influenced many artists regardless of genre.
Surrey with the Fringe on Top
This jazz standard was originally written for a musical, and we started playing it as a homage to our beloved Ahmad Jamal. Typical of this trio, the tempo is extremely fast, like wheels spitting fire. We use an arrangement with a tempo change in the middle, just as the wheels are shaking wildly and coming off, making for an exciting song. Unfazed by this tempo, Takubo’s piano and Yamada’s brushwork are the very essence of breathtaking.
I’ve Got a Crush on You
This romantic number (meaning “I’m crazy about you”) is a masterpiece from the genius composer George Gershwin, who worked not only in jazz but also in classical music. It’s an exquisite ballad with a beautiful verse, the introductory part that precedes the main part of a jazz vocal song. Check out Takubo’s beautiful touch and melodic soul, and most of all, the romantic and melancholic harmony of the trio performance.
Recordame
This song by Joe Henderson is widely known as a jazz standard and is so cool when played just as written. In fact, this song was requested by a jazz student who is currently enrolled in my former school. This student was coming to my concert, so I asked them if there was a song they wanted to hear. It was a good opportunity for me to arrange a version of this song suited for this trio. I hope you get a real kick out of Yamada’s hidden reserves in the final drum solo, where he navigates complex riffs through to the end with ease.
Disc 2
Smooth as the Wind
This song is a hidden gem said to have been written for the trumpeter Blue Mitchell by the great jazz pianist, composer, and arranger Tadd Dameron. At the time, Dameron was imprisoned for drug addiction and was far removed from the jazz stage (drug use is a theme related to why the jazz genre unfortunately rarely appears in elementary school textbooks). However, Blue Mitchell relied on Tadd Dameron as an arranger who brought out the best in him, so Dameron wrote this song was written for him while incarcerated. His record was completed with this song as the title tune, and it became a beloved work of accomplishment throughout his life. The result is a breezy, melodic song that flows like the wind with the addition of the string quartet.
Lush Life
They say that this song was written by Duke Ellington’s renowned right-hand man Billy Strayhorn when he was about 19 years old. Although the title given in Japanese may be “The Life of a Drunkard”, it’s really an excellent song. This song has long been played by this trio as a feature for Takubo (who doesn’t drink alcohol, incidentally). It was also included in our second album. I hope that the sweet sound of strings gives a fresh view of another side of this famous song.
Invisible World
This was the title tune for our second album, Invisible World, released in 2020. Just as the album was released, the world came to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic. We couldn’t go or perform anywhere, and the way forward looked pitch black. We were plunging forth into what seemed to be an “invisible world”. This song originated from the story of how music can find a small light in the darkness and allow an escape from the gloom. At the end of 2022, it’s with deeply felt emotion that we were able to play this song once again, and to say goodbye to the pandemic.
Star’s Duty
This is a song I wrote with the theme of “Working people all looking radiant.” The story is of a star who wakes up and reluctantly heads to work, but once they start working, they shine brilliantly. The combination of strings and the piano solo expresses the feelings of the star who does not want to go to work. The end of the song illustrates the star beginning to work and shining brightly. It’s a song to listen to when you are tired of the daily routine.
Sea & Ocean
The words “sea” and “ocean” both have the same meaning in Japanese as the word umi (海). This is an original song I wrote with a related theme: “The same thing can appear different as the way of looking at it changes.” Watching the words and behavior of lots of people during the coronavirus pandemic made me feel and think about many things. Depending on the viewpoint, good things can look bad, and bad things can look good. In this song, the same melody appears several times in different forms. Jazz music often has the characteristic of using the same chord progressions and developing on those. For this song, I composed using a new concept of developing the music by continuously changing the scene. I hope that you like it.
What a Wonderful World
It goes without saying that this is a famous song loved not only by jazz fans but by many people throughout the world. We performed this song as an encore for the live concert. I could only think of this song in light of the current situation, not only regarding the coronavirus, but with war, discrimination, and world instability in our modern times. As one who can only express themselves through music, I played this song with hope for a peaceful and beautiful world from now on. I think that the sound and minds of the group came together as one to deliver the best performance. Please enjoy it.
Obi Notes
A combination of daringly dashing piano trio and magnificently sweet strings.
A stunning 2-disc album that captures the stirring concert recorded live in high quality at Tokyo FM Hall!!
The Live by Motoi Kanamori
Motoi Kanamori - bass
Hiroyuki Takubo - piano
Akira Yamada - drums
Taishi Sakurai - violin
Chie Hasegawa - violin
Megumi Ozawa - viola
Atsushi Hashimoto - cello
Released in 2023 on Laplace Records as LPDCD113-114
Japanese names: Motoi Kanamori 金森もとい (Kanamori Motoi) Hiroyuki Takubo 田窪寛之 (Takubo Hiroyuki) Akira Yamada 山田玲 (Yamada Akira) Taishi Sakurai 桜井大士 (Sakurai Taishi) Chie Hasegawa 長谷川智恵 (Hasegawa Chie) Megumi Ozawa 小澤恵 (Ozawa Megumi) Atsushi Hashimoto 橋本專史 (Hashimoto Atsushi)
Related Albums
Shunichi Yanagi Trio: Bubble Fish (2012)
Keisuke Nakamura: Humadope (2014)
Shunichi Yanagi Trio: Slope (2015)
Motoi Kanamori: My Soul Meeting (2018)
Keisuke Nakamura: Humadope 2 (2019)
Seiji Harakawa Quartet: Skipping Down the Street (2020)
Audio and Video
Excerpt from “Autumn Leaves”, track #1 on this album: