jazz2love

Album:  Epicycle Artist:  Yuto Mitomi Label:  Self-Released Website:  https://yutomitomi.com   The improvised prose penned by saxophonist-composer Yuto Mitomi gives his new recording Epicycle character and depth, keeping the dynamics of the tracks fluctuating and shapeshifting.  The title of the recording "refers to a geometric model used to explain the variations in speed and direction of the apparent motion of the Moon, Sun, and planets," states Mitomi's electronic press kit, giving the listener a vision of his motivation. The arrangements are created by seaming polyrhythms, harmonic forms and melodic patterns, making tangential musings that wrap around one another then return to a middle ground where all the musicians come together.  Joining Mitomi on this expedition are Takahiro Izumikawa on piano, Moto Fukushima on six-string electric bass, and Keita Ogawa on drums and percussion. The improvised flutter and flare of Mitomi's sax emotes an organic...

Album:  Follow Up Artist:  Eric Lilley Label:  Goat Music Website:  https://ericlilley.com From Latin salsas to funky grooves, slinky bop-infused struts and free-style ruminations, pianist Eric Lilley travels through a gamut of jazz-inspired patinas on his latest release Follow Up .  Supported by Mark Diamond on bass and Dru Heller on drums, the trio create a lively banter that demands listeners to simply sit back and let the music fill in the empty spaces of their lives.   The traipsing stride of Lilley's keys glinting along "The Weston Walk" are layered by the taut pulse of Mark Diamond's bass and the frolicking drumming of Dru Heller.  The trio form a plush thickness across the melodic progressions that continues to take centerstage through the prancing ripples of the bass clinging to the frenzied statements made by the keys in "The Hollow Way," delivering a hardcore bop-bent in the trio's spontaneous prattle.   Lilley's free-style leanings in ...