Matsui

Taking a stroll through Keiko Matsui's musical hypnotherapy session Dream Walk is like entering a funhouse where all previous definitions of contemporary jazz are strikingly distorted, and invention walks on the wild side of East meets West. Crisp melodies have always been at the heart of the keyboardist's best work, only here they come at you as part of the mood, rather than the central theme. Only a handful of the keyboardist's tunes follow conventional linear melodic patterns throughout, and even these are so beautifully enhanced by sweeping orchestral and percussive invention that atmosphere and throbbing, raw twists ultimately win out over predictability…

If we're talking Keiko Matsui, we can expect another impressionistic album cover which belies the often explosive music on the disc. Matsui draws a little more from her heritage this time but textures it with soulful excursions ("Walking on the Bridge"). She once again gives radio a seductive earful while continuing her heightened exploration into more challenging orchestral sounds and several impressive, wildly percussive Latin journeys (e.g. "Sail South"). Making perfect use of Lenny Castro's spicy percussion and Clay Jenkins' punchy trumpet flavors, Matsui lets loose. The gospel vocal by Arnold McCuller is a strong one. Other newcomers to the fold are guitarist Jorge Strunz, Jon Clark (recorder) and Sam Riney on sax.

The spiritual and charitable-minded Japanese keyboardist, who blends ethereal new age textures with a rich soul-jazz sensibility better than anyone, is in top form on her 14th studio release. Like its recent predecessors on Narada Jazz, the CD features songs that are all about the landscape between subtlety and drama, elegant piano melodies and improvisations, dramatic flute and sax harmonies, and rich ambiences dense with percussion. Tying in perfectly with her current humanitarian work with United Nations World Food Program (WFP) efforts in Africa (most of her recent albums have tied into some charitable or health cause), the collection features subtle worldbeat threads throughout. "Flashback" features a gentle, classical-flavored piano melody over a gently throbbing bassline, before Matsui does some dramatic improvisations over dense, exotic percussion textures…

Keiko Matsui - Live In Tokyo (2015) {CD + DVD9 NTSC Shanachie 5431}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 440 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 172 Mb
DVD9 -> 5.71 Gb | All Regions | NTSC 16:9 | LPCM, 2 ch | ~ 110 min | ISO Image
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 111 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2015 Shanachie | SHANACHIE 5431
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Crossover Jazz / Contemporary Instrumental / Jazz Pop / Piano

Japanese pianist Keiko Matsui is a gentle person, she grows as an artist to a radiant personality, when she performs live. Tokyo born Keiko Matsui devotes her life to her favorite instrument, the piano. Since her fifth birthday she loves and performs this piece of equipment. Classified as New Age or Smooth Jazz musician, she always expands her work to other genres. Blending Eastern and Western influences she has found her own style presented in numerous solo albums.

Bob James and Keiko Matsui's Altair & Vega is a solo piano album performed by a duo, and for the most part, that means what it sounds like, two jazz pianists seated together at one keyboard playing four-handed parts. On the James-composed title track (which refers to two stars that pass each other only once a year), previously recorded and released on the 2001 James album Dancing on the Water, Matsui takes the upper part of the piano and James the lower part in a piece that sounds more new age than jazz.

New age composer/multi-instrumentalist Kazu Matsui reinterprets the works of Franz Schubert in Tribal Schubert, placing his classical compositions into completely different, refreshing contexts. Matsui introduces and integrates jazz, hip-hop, ambient, Eastern and improvisational elements into Schubert pieces, transcending the formality of the original works while preserving the melodic beauty of the originals. Tribal Schubert also features new age/jazz pianist Matsui on several tracks, adding to the album's diverse mix of classical and cutting edge.

Keiko Matsui personifies an enchanting mixture of Asian charm with distinct virtuosity. Her outward appearance harmonizes ideally with her spiritual music full of emotional power. With more than 35 solo albums she is an integral part of contemporary jazz with a melodious character. Her new album Echo will be released on Shanachie Entertainment on February 22, 2019. This masterpiece belongs to the most rare albums with an unbelievable star cast of illustrious musicians.

Keiko Matsui's last album, 2000s Whisper From the Mirror, was picked up and reissued by the Narada label in 2001, and Narada is also releasing her 12th album, Deep Blue. It's an appropriate match-up for the Japanese pianist, since Narada is known primarily as a new age label, and, though her records are being released on its Narada Jazz imprint, "new age" is actually the best category to place her in. From the start of her career, Matsui has been shelved under "jazz," but that has always been more a marketing ploy than anything else, and never more so than on Deep Blue. Her compositions are melodic tunes, many of which sound like songs without lyrics, while others seem like soundtrack excerpts from a film not yet made.

For those who like a little mysticism and classical influence in their smooth jazz, Japanese-born composer and keyboardist Keiko Matsui has long been the ticket. She was Billboard's number one Independent Contemporary Jazz Artist in 1997 and is the top New Adult Contemporary female instrumentalist of her time. In the early days (she's up to 14 albums now), Matsui did it with a mix of thunderous film score-like sweeps, elegant and jazzy piano command, and a guest sax solo here and there to score some radio hits. On The Ring, she continues her recent trend of all those same elements and gorgeous melodies without concern for pop airplay considerations.