Chihiro Yamanaka

Chihiro Yamanaka is a Japanese jazz pianist and composer, born in Kiryu, Gunma Prefecture. As of 2012, she is based in New York. Yamanaka studied at the Berklee College of Music and is an alumna of the Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead residency program. She has played and recorded with the New York-based DIVA Jazz Orchestra, led by Sherrie Maricle, but is best known for her small group recordings, which are typically trios and have featured bassists such as Larry Grenadier and Robert Hurst, and drummers such as Jeff Ballard and Jeff "Tain" Watts.

Yamanaka studied at the Berklee College of Music and is an alumna of the Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead residency program. She has played and recorded with the New York-based DIVA Jazz Orchestra, led by Sherrie Maricle, but is best known for her small group recordings, which are typically trios and have featured bassists such as Larry Grenadier and Robert Hurst, and drummers such as Jeff Ballard and Jeff "Tain" Watts.

Chihiro Yamanaka played contemporary jazz for years - not polished anemic European chamber jazz,but groovy American one, closer to good pop-jazz.Her roots are all in bop, and there are no album where this influence isn't obvious. During last some years Chihiro turns more and more towards modern post bop, adding all her pop and rock legacy to it as well. The Sphere is are electro-acoustic trio with electric bassist Dana Roth and drummer Karen Teperberg. Chihiro herself plays piano and some analog keyboards, their music varies from pop-ballads to chamber tuneful songs to groovy post bop and fusion with analog keyboards passages.

This album is performed by Yoshi Waki on bass, John Davis on drums and the Japanese pianist on piano. On this release, the famous pianist also performs Fender Rhodes and Hamond B-3 organ. As many previous albums, the trio format is adopted here. However, the album differs significantly from previous works, and it offers a very introspective experiment. The balance between the different instruments is particularly notable, with imaginative solos from Yoshi Waki and particularly the work of Davis on drums.