YOSUKE YAMASHITA 山下洋輔 — Quiet Memories (review)

YOSUKE YAMASHITA 山下洋輔 — Quiet Memories album cover Album · 2020 · 21st Century Modern Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
snobb
Yosuke Yamashita, who will celebrate his 80 birthday later this month, is one of Japanese avant-garde jazz piano key figures. His trio during the late 60s - mid 70s released a series of excellent high energy impressive technique albums, building a golden fund of the country's creative jazz (incl. cult "Chiasma" and bold, very special atmosphere "Frozen Days", which I really like more, among some others). Yosuke moved towards more mainstream post-bop during 90s, played with big bands and recorded some semi-classical works. "Quiet Memories" is his last to date studio album, a 78 year sold pianist's solo work.

Recorded in a studio in Tokyo, this album contains eleven compositions: three standards, one Corsican folk song and seven Yamashita originals. As one could expect, Yamashita plays his whole life's music from mature, seasoned artist position. Fortunately, the album isn't a collection of sentimental ballads. It builds a very specific atmosphere of lite sadness and understanding that a long-lasting artist's career (and life) is going into the final faze. Unusually (for Yamashita) emotionally colored, it contains some his best songs from his youth (as "Mina's 2nd theme" and "Chiasma"), played more emotionally, than in the original versions. "Thought of Beatrice" is a Corsican ballade of rare beauty. Standards anchoring the album's music, make a tighter connection of Yamashita's own compositions with jazz roots. All the time interchanging the music's tempos perfectly controls the whole album's mood, making it more Zen-balanced, rather than melancholic. And without surprise, Yamahita choses "On the Sunny Side of the Street" for the closer.
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