Reiko Yamamoto Tempus Fugit “Wilton’s Mood”

(Terasima Records, 2015)

Reiko Yamamoto山本玲子— vibraphone
Taichi Minagawa皆川太一— guitar
Yuta Omino小美濃悠太— bass
Akira Matsuo松尾明— drums

Yamamoto’s sleek, straight-ahead CD kicks off with “Bohemia After Dark” and stays in that cool bop groove for the next ten cuts. The recording lays down robust Saturday afternoon jazz at its best. Each song cranks down into glistening, rounded tones from the vibraphone set deep in the rhythmic pocket. The beauty of the vibes comes out fully on each lead line, but no less so as she accompanies the others’ solos.

Yamamoto’s playing is the center of the work here, though she gets stellar support. Minagawa, Omino and Matsuo are a tight, solid unit that moves with her pristine playing with nimble, hearty energy. Yamamoto and Minagawa take well-considered solos, but especially satisfying is when Yamamoto’s vibraphone and Minagawa’s guitar take off in tandem.

Yamamoto contributes three marvelous originals that feel right at home amidst the standards. Her “In Grand Central,” in the center of the CD, is special. Calm, reflective and unhurried, the tune lets the resonant, rounded beauty of her vibraphone playing come out strongly. But on the more upbeat “Ordinary Day” and “Footsteps,” also originals, her tone is no less the gorgeous center of the sound.

Whether on the bop flights or ballad streams, there’s no hurry to show off or rush through, but rather an unruffled sense of settling down into these great tunes and playing them with passion and a very deep sense of cool. Vibraphone players are fewer in jazz than they should be. Or at least it feels that way after listening to Yamamato’s satisfying and soulful recording.

http://reikoyamamoto.net/music/

October 16, 2015