Makoto Yotsuba

Sometimes good stuff gets missed, even by the most voracious free jazz listeners. And here I must apologise for all the albums that remain unreviewed. This was one of them, and scanning through all the 2012 lists of albums which did not get reviewed, it got my attention. I listened to it again, and again, and again, and wondered why it never got reviewed. The band is Abelhaï Bennani on tenor, Itaru Oki on trumpet, bugle and flute, and Makoto Sato on drums. Alan Silva joins on synthesizer on three tracks.

Makoto Ozone (piano) with; Kiyoshi Kitagawa (bass) and Clarence Penn (drums).

First Light is the 1981 album by Japanese artist Makoto Matsushita. This is taken from the 1991 remaster reissued by Moon.

Makoto Ozone continues to play an active role on a global scale across genres. While working as a jazz pianist on the front lines since the 1980s, in recent years he has performed with many major classical orchestras in Japan and overseas. As he celebrates his 60th birthday in March 2021, he will release his first complete solo piano album in 13 years.

Makoto Ozone is a Japanese jazz pianist. He began playing organ at two and by seven was an improviser. He appeared on Japanese television with his father from 1968 to 1970. At twelve he switched to piano after being impressed by albums by Oscar Peterson.

Virtuoso pianist Carl Czerny was a pupil and friend of Beethoven in Vienna. His prodigious output as a composer included numerous sets of variations on operatic themes, both with orchestra [Naxos 8.573254] and, as with the Trois Rondeaux, Op. 347 on themes by Rossini and Bellini, in the form of entertaining chamber music. With its cadenza and technical flourishes the Introduction, Variations and Finale, Op. 80 is composed in true concerto style, while the elegance and refined artistry of the Rondoletto and Duo concertant are both characteristic of a Classical master whose works have only recently started to gain wider recognition.

BBE Music presents the fourth release in their acclaimed J Jazz Masterclass Series: Topology by Makoto Terashita and Harold Land. Originally released in 1983 on the cult Aketa's Disk label, Topology captures a surprising yet fascinating and engaging collaboration between a young Japanese jazz pianist and an elder American statesman of jazz.Reissued by BBE Music for the first time since original release 36 years ago, Topology showcases the extraordinary compositional and playing skill of Makoto Terashita, the young pianist responsible for five of the album's six tracks, alongside the confident and seasoned tones of Harold Land, respected US veteran sax player and former colleague of some of the leading jazz artists of the 50s, 60s and 70s including Max Roach, Clifford Brown, Gerald Wilson and Bobby Hutcherson.