Tag: Yuko Mabuchi Trio

Jorge Capadocia reviews “Yuko Mabuchi Trio” for NativeDSD

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Yuko Mabuchi Trio: Some Standards and some nice surprises This live recording starts with What Is This Thing Called Love and Yuko’s playing, along with Bobby’s drum solo, immediately engages the audience. Throughout the album, Yuko is very sensitive and lyrical in her playing and does not go for bombast unless the music demands. When it does though, like in Sona’s Song (a composition of her own), we are in for a real treat: a very intense outburst erupts, breaking a simple delicate melody. Del Atkins and Bobby Breton are supportive in their playing, with… well executed solos. The musical rapport among them is evident in Seriously, in which the ornamented piano playing is executed over a repetitive and rhythmic bass – roles are switched for a moment and the transitions sound very fluid. Other highlights include a Japanese medley that goes from delicate to psychedelic (!) to spirited, and Continue Reading →

Newsletter: Dec 19, 2017

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Dear Friends, Greetings! And Happy Holidays to you! While it isn’t Christmas music specifically, Nostos gets into the holiday spirit with rousing acapella choral repertoire from English, German, Russian, Hanseatic and American musical traditions. Thank you Rob Istad, thank you University Singers and thank you executive producer Leslie Bigos for this fabulous album. We anticipate Nostos will also be available in Stereo, SonoruS Holographic Imaging and Quatro Surround Sound on NativeDSD this week too. Thank you Tom and thank you Jared! Here’s video from the pre-recording live concert of the American Spiritual My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord Great news on the Yuko Mabuchi Trio front: The Trio travels to New York City to be part of the Arts Presenters Showcase in Manhattan mid January. Yuko, Del and Bobby will perform at the mid-town Hilton at 4:30pm on January 13th. Guests are welcome. Also, Yarlung executive producers Craig and Diane Martin have made it possible for us to release our first double 45rpm vinyl album for Yuko Continue Reading →

Michael Lavorgna writes glowingly about Yuko Mabuchi Trio in AudioStream

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Audio Stream’s Michael Lavorgna waxes poetic about Yuko Mabuchi and her trio (December, 2017) However, there is one recent release which is so good in terms of the music, musicianship and sound quality that it deserves a mention on its own… …namely the Yuko Mabuchi Trio recording from Yarlung Records. In the liner notes, Ms. Mabuchi notes that she is a fan of two of my favorite jazz pianists, Oscar Peterson and Monty Alexander, and it shows both in terms of her playing and how she presents the material. Only Monty could pull off making “Feelings” into compelling piece or turn “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” into a stomping jazz swing piece. Ms. Mabuchi does the same thing with my favorite piece here, a fantastic re-imagining of Sara Bareilles’ “Seriously” into a reggae flavored soulful affair. Read more at about the Yuko Mabuchi Trio at AudioStream.

Luxuriating: The Yuko Mabuchi Trio (2017)

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…Yuko Mabuchi takes command of both her instrument and the listener’s ears from the first stroke of the album’s opener, Cole Porter mainstay, “What Is This Thing Called Love” and through all eight live-recorded masterpiece tracks.  Produced by Randy Bellous… the live album is a must-own for piano trio aficionados and jazz lovers of all stripes. A tremendous highlight of the album is… “On Green Dolphin Street.”  Pitched in Bill Evans’ preferred key of E-flat…. Dave Brubeck himself would have applauded the tight interplay of time between one half of the head, presented in a heavy ¾ that alternates sweetly with the straight ‘four-on-the-floor’ 4/4 of the next four bars of the same phrase….  Mabuchi, delicious bassist Del Atkins, and tasty drummer Bobby Breton make it new all over again…. Mabuchi’s right hand is the star of each of her solo flights.  Clean, precise, and crisp like forebears Teddy Wilson, Continue Reading →

Read Jeff Wilson’s review of Yuko Mabuchi Trio in The Absolute Sound

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If the eponymous debut album by the Yuko Mabuchi Trio can be seen as a coming out party, it’s hard to imagine the musicians squeezing anything more out of the event. The nearly hour-long set includes some well-known jazz standards, including a gorgeous On Green Dolphin Street and an exuberant romp through Sonny Rollins’ St. Thomas. During a solo piano medley, Mabuchi’s reconstruction of Take the “A” Train displays a fertile imagination and a confident left hand. A sly reading of Sara Bareilles’ Seriously shows Mabuchi’s ability to spot a pop song that translates nicely into the jazz idiom. Her interpretive skills also surface on a composition by TAS music reviewer Mark Lehman, Waltz Noir; here the trio uses a classical composition as a launch pad for some highly evocative noir jazz. If Mabuchi’s playing can be described as tasteful, economical, and lyrical, it should also be noted that her Continue Reading →