Yutaka Shiina

Live at Art Club Strings
January 16, 2002

Yutaka Shiina—piano
Teiji Sasaki—bass
Junji Hirose—drums

Given the intensity and quality of the many piano trios throughout jazz history, undertaking another example must make even the most confident pianists a little hesitant. Most pianists safely stick to groups where they can fade into the background from time to time and let a horn player take the spotlight. Yutaka Shiina will have none of that. He places his piano center stage and draws the bass and drums into a taut unity. The trio ripples with rhythmic interactivity and harmonic ideas. The small size of Art Club Strings leaves no space to hide. Customers line up along the curve of the piano or sit on high stools, with a clear view and an unmiked intimacy. Fortunately, none of these pressures seemed to affect Shiina’s playing. If anything, he thrives on the challenge, choosing a well-rounded set of tunes that showcase the many facets of his piano chops and the trio’s cohesion. The opening tune, “Softly as in a Morning Sunrise,” requires a steady-handed tempo. Played too fast, the tune comes out jumpy; too slow, it can be dull. The trio kept the focus perfectly, showing their control and taste. Fats Waller’s “Jitterbug Waltz” is one of those tunes that sounds easy, but has notoriously difficult two-against-three rhythms. Again, the trio nailed it, so well that even Shiina, who a year ago never smiled during his live shows, grinned broadly and shouted encouragement during the solos. The last tune of the first set, “Never Let Me Go” evoked the desperation and pleading of the tune’s lyrics with elegance and a particularly lovely solo by Shiina. “Fascinating Rhythm,” the classic knucklebreaker, loosened all three up to a faster tempo that was great fun. Hirose took ever-longer and more intricate drum solos that complemented Shiina and the small club atmosphere perfectly. Shiina also included two of his originals which showed he has steeped himself not only in the history of piano trios but of compositions as well.