Tetsuo

This album is a winner of Swing Journal 2008 Jazz Disc Best Production Award. Swing Journal Gold Disc! On this recording, Rea's piano is slightly placed to the right and Sellani's to the left, but their sounds merge and intersect with each other in the middle. The music they create together is beautiful, lyrical and emotional. What stands out is their "singing" quality which can be attributed to their Italian heritage. The heartwarming interaction of two great souls is captured with marvelous sonics: the pianos sound pure, natural, detailed and warm. This is a wonderful, wonderful piano duo album.

In 1988, the landmark Anime film Akira, by director Katsuhiro Otomo, defined the cutting edge of Anime around the world. By today's standards, Akira remains a landmark achievement in cel animation and retains the explosive impact of its highly detailed animation and its intensely violent saga of power and corruption.

Childhood friends Tetsuo and Kaneda's motorcycle gang encounters a military operation to retrieve an escaped experimental subject. The military captures Tetsuo and conducts experiments on him that unleash his latent psychic ability, but when these new powers rage out of control, Tetsuo lashes out at the world that has oppressed him!

Italian pianist Andrea Pozza admires Wynton Kelly, Hampton Hawes and Red Garland, and his straight-ahead style reflects their influences as well as his own touches of lyricism and sophisticated harmonies. The Japanese label Venus Records is known for finding talent early, and this 2005 recording and his debut CD for the label (reissued here as a deluxe gate-fold paper sleeve edition) is a great example, as Pozza had recorded only one previous album as a leader before this one. Playing a collection of well-known standards, this album served as a perfect introduction of his piano style to the Japanese audience who since then has come to regard Pozza as one of the top Italian jazz pianists. A strong and thrilling piano trio album.

by Paolo Mele (Editor), Tamio Endo (Editor), Shunichi Arisawa (Editor), Chaoyang Li (Editor), Tetsuo Tsuchiya (Editor)

Also known as the New York Jazz Trio, this combo is a studio-only group who specialize in recording classic standards in a straightforward, post-bop style. The New York Trio features three gifted musicians who are firmly established on the East Coast jazz scene. Pianist Bill Charlap is a member of the Phil Woods Quintet, has accompanied the likes of Tony Bennett, Benny Carter, and Gerry Mulligan, and has recorded a handful of well-received albums for Blue Note as a bandleader. Bassist Jay Leonhart has recorded as a headliner since 1983, while also making a name for himself as a vocalist and songwriter as well as backing up Marian McPartland, Louie Bellson, Lee Konitz, and many others. And drummer Bill Stewart had handled demanding gigs with a variety of musicians, including jazz guitarist John Scofield, funky sax man Maceo Parker and R&B legend James Brown. They make this record for the Japanese market.

Renowned jazz pianist Eddie Higgins is joined here by bassist Jay Leonhart and drummer Joe Ascione for a set of standards including "You Must Believe In Spring", "Bewitched, Botherd, And Bewildered" and "Autumn Leaves".