Search Results for: Yuko Mabuchi

Yuko Mabuchi Trio Vol. 1 Yarlung Records 45 RPM Vinyl

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“The Real Deal!” Anthony Kershaw reviews Yuko Mabuchi Trio Vol 1, 180 Gram pressing, 45RPM Diane and Craig Martin, executive producers (Randy Bellous, executive producer for CD) “Mabuchi is a jazz pianist blessed with taste, a gorgeous piano tone… superb improvisational skills and can swing. Unless we’re talking about the greats, many jazz pianists today may possess two or even three of those talents, but Mabuchi has all four. “The recording by Yarlung is an audiophile’s wet dream.” This was a very fortuitous vinyl find during a typical internet search of interesting LPs via Amazon, Discogs, eBay, you know, a basic Saturday morning record search. What’s good out there? What can I afford this weekend? … The 45 RPM mastering on this release was by Bernie Grundmann. So, the gold standard for an all-analogue LP. Japanese jazz pianist Yuko Mabuchi began playing piano at the age of 4. She was Continue Reading →

Yuko Mabuchi plays Miles Davis vol 1

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Yuko Mabuchi – Yuko Mabuchi Plays Miles Davis, Volume 1  By Eddie Carter  Yuko Mabuchi has been making a positive statement on the jazz scene since her 2018 releases, Yuko Mabuchi Trio, Volumes 1 and 2.  She steps into the spotlight this morning to give her second live performance at Cammilleri Hall before an enthusiastic crowd.  Yuko Mabuchi Plays Miles Davis, Volume 1 (Yarlung Records YAR45588-171V) is a single 45-rpm audiophile album offering two jewels from Kind of Blue and two original tunes by the leader.  She’s working again with trio members Del Atkins on bass and Bobby Breton on drums, plus JJ Kirkpatrick on trumpet.  JJ is a member of Sophisticated Lady Jazz Quartet and my copy used in this report is the 2020 Stereo album. Yuko sets the groove for Side One with Miles’ All Blues, her enthusiastic notes on the introduction flowing as naturally as spoken words.  Continue Reading →

“Audiotechnique Magazine” publishes insightful article on “Yuko Mabuchi plays Miles Davis”

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I heard two impressive 45 rpm vinyl LPs [containing the music from Yuko Mabuchi plays Miles Davis] in late 2020. The CD version had been previously released and the DSD version was released on the famous DSD music sales website NativeDSD.com which awarded Yuko Mabuchi plays Miles Davis the Best Jazz Recording of the Year. The American record label Yarlung Records is responsible for the production and distribution of this album.  Yuko Mabuchi plays Miles Davis is one of those albums that can be appreciated just as much for its recording quality as it can for its musical success. The booklet notes mention the use of SonoruS Holographic Imaging Technology in the recording process. In researching the label I learned that Yarlung sets itself apart in three particular ways: 1. Yarlung tends to record live performances. 2. The label records simultaneously in analog and digital media. (The analog chain utilizes Continue Reading →

Jazz star Yuko Mabuchi in Mori Shima’s new book

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Japanese author and music critic Mori Shima included an entire chapter on Yarlung Records and our label’s jazz releases featuring Yuko Mabuchi.  (Notice Mr. Shima’s references to Sophisticated Lady Jazz Quartet.  We await test pressings from lacquers cut by Bernie Grundman in a few weeks.)  Translating from Japanese to English is an art, not a science, and I am grateful to Mori-san himself and to Yuko for helping guide our English language text below.  Thank you both! Many thanks to Cooper Bates photography for our album imagery. We express our special appreciation for Craig & Diane Martin, Randy Bellous, Arian Jansen, Claude Cellier, Merging Technologies and Toyota North America for generously underwriting our first two releases with Yuko in their various formats. –Bob Attiyeh, producer  “Yarlung Records and Rising Star Yuko Mabuchi, from Fukui Japan“ Yarlung Records is a Los Angeles-based boutique label run by its founder, producer and engineer Continue Reading →

“Yuko Mabuchi plays Miles Davis” review: Vinyl and Analog Tape

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Esteemed music and audio critic Neville Roberts writes eloquently in the UK about Yuko’s Miles Davis triumph.  Roberts reviewed the tape and two volumes of 45rpm 180 Gram vinyl separately.  Here are excerpts from both: “As anticipated, the album is superb! In “All Blues the drums in the introduction really make me sit up and listen.  When Mabuchi joins in on the piano with a trumpet playing the melody, the clarity of the sound and instrument focus is fantastic. Blue in Green is a beautiful contemplative jazz piece that has been re-energised by Mabuchi’s performance, and Milestones is sparkling and energetic.  Nardis is a gentle and reflective track that somehow sounds fresh with Mabuchi’s interpretation. “Mabuchi’s Ikumi’s Lullaby… gently relaxes you into the environment of the Cammilleri Hall. This is followed by Mabuchi’s sympathetic rendition of So What. It took me a few moments to clue into Miles’ original performance, Continue Reading →

Yuko Mabuchi Trio, Volume 2 | By Eddie Carter

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I’d reached the end of a very long day and was ready to relax and unwind with some piano jazz. I went to the library and came across Yuko Mabuchi Trio, Volume 2 (Yarlung Records YAR71621-161V). The second LP from the trio’s live performance at The Brain and Creativity Institute’s Cammilleri Hall with bandmates, Del Atkins on bass and Bobby Breton on drums. The concert honored the 25th Anniversary of The Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society, plus President and CEO, Bob Levi’s 70th Birthday.  My copy used in this report is the 2018 45-rpm Stereo Audiophile release. Yuko starts Side One with a trio of solo standards, All The Things You Are by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, Take The “A” Train by Billy Strayhorn, and Satin Doll by Duke Ellington, Strayhorn, and Johnny Mercer.  She begins with a stunningly beautiful interpretation capturing the song’s romanticism. Yuko Continue Reading →

Yuko Mabuchi: Dee Dee McNeil

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Jazz Impresario Dee Dee McNeil reviews Yarlung’s 15th Anniversary release of the iconic “YUKO MABUCHI PLAYS MILES DAVIS” Yuko Mabuchi, piano; JJ Kirkpatrick, trumpet; Del Atkins, bass; Bobby Breton, drums; Bob Attiyeh, Producer. One of the things that always impresses me about Yuko Mabuchi is her ability to transform familiar songs into shiny, new, gem-like pieces.  For example, on her presentation of “All Blues,” (arranged on her tribute to Miles Davis album), she turns the waltz-time upside down by playing the piece in 5/4 and 4/4 time.  It works!  She follows this pleasant surprise with a poignant and heart-felt analysis of “Blue in Green.”  You may remember that Bill Evans and Miles Davis composed this one and it’s a star on the ‘Kind of Blue’ album. This is such an emotionally heavy song and pianist, Yuko Mabuchi, along with JJ Kirkpatrick on trumpet, squeeze out every ounce of beauty.  I Continue Reading →

“Lifeline” and “Yuko Mabuchi plays Miles Davis” win Album of the Year awards!

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NativeDSD does great work.  Founded by recording legend Jared Sacks and his son Jonas, NativeDSD provides the highest quality DSD downloads around the world.  And the golden-eared connoisseurs who judge the best albums in their categories every year know their music. It is therefore a huge honor that Yuko Mabuchi plays Miles Davis and Lifeline: Music of the Underground Railroad won best album of the year in their respective categories.  Congratulations to Yuko, Michelle, Del, Bobby, Quinton, Mike, JJ and Walter for such excellent performances, and sincere thanks to the jury at NativeDSD for choosing to recognize their work in such an important fashion.  Thank you to our generous sponsors and executive directors who made these albums possible.  These musical successes always take a strong team.  Kudos to Toyota North America, Stratton Petit Foundation, Randy & Linda Bellous, Craig & Diane Martin, Ann Mulally, Steven A. Block, Raulee Marcus, Leslie Continue Reading →

Yuko Mabuchi

City of Los Angeles honors “Yuko Mabuchi plays Miles Davis”

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The City of Los Angeles presented Yuko Mabuchi with commendation for her 2019 release Yuko Mabuchi plays Miles Davis, an album she recorded in the Brain and Creativity Institute’s Cammilleri Hall with JJ Kirkpatrick, trumpet; Del Atkins, bass and Bobby Breton on drums.  Tellingly, Albert Edmund Lord III presented this appreciation from the City of Los Angeles at the Catalina Jazz Club gala event supporting SAPPA, the after-school music education program in Watts where Yuko volunteers part of her time as the orchestra pianist and accompanist.  As Mr. Lord explained, Los Angeles appreciates Yuko’s interest in serving the community as much as it appreciates her meteoric abilities as a concert performer and recording artist.  The text of the commendation reads: Congratulations on the release of your album “Yuko Mabuchi plays Miles Davis”.  Your passion and mission to ensure that influential and significant music and artists continue to live on in Continue Reading →

Writing for “The Ear” in the UK, Jason Kennedy gives “Yuko Mabuchi plays Miles Davis” Five Stars, and “Hot Pick”

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It’s unusual to find a pianist creating a tribute to jazz’s most successful trumpeter but you have to give Mabuchi her due; she does a fine job.  Davis tunes are famous because of the way he played them, so an interpretation might be jarring but it’s the emphasis on the keyboard that makes this work.  That and the excellent quality of the live recording, which is dynamic, spacious and natural enough to put you in the moment, then the applause comes and the scale of the venue is fully revealed.  Available on tape, PCM and DSD this could become a hi-fi classic.  –Jason Kennedy Please click here to see the entire page