Ther Light at The Edge of The World

Japanese outfit Asturias started out as the solo project of multi-instrumentalist and composer Yoh Ohyama. He started writing material for an album in 1987, and in 1988 the debut album Circle in the Forest was issued on King Records, one of the major record labels in Japan. The sophomore effort Brilliant Streams followed in 1990, and the third and eventually last installment in this series of solo albums were Cryptogam Illusion issued in 1993…

For the past two decades pianist Aaron Goldberg has crisscrossed the globe, spreading his music and absorbing local knowledge along the way. True to the jazz mentality, he learned to embrace serendipity as an artistic muse. Five years ago this month, in an historic chateau at the exact geographic center of France, Goldberg was reunited with an early influence. Soon a new project began to take shape. Goldberg’s latest recording, At The Edge of The World, documents this recent collaboration with drummer and percussionist Leon Parker, a brilliant innovator and performer, in a new trio along with the gifted bassist Matt Penman.

Juke Joint At The Edge Of The World is a record that reflects the freedom my
bandmates and I have found playing together in the last few years. Some of the places we play are like the old juke joints where people dance and shout - from these people and places we’ve found the energy we need to be free to shake the music up. Now, when we improvise we know it’s going to take us to a new and better musical place. Time listening and working together has given us that. The result is that this record has more of a “live in the studio” feel to it. It’s also rooted more in the soul and R&B dance music I grew up listening to and playing. Less thinking and more playing. Less analyzing and more fun.