Yoshiko Kishino Trio

Live at Body and Soul
January 30, 2001

Yoshiko Kishino—piano
Mitsuaki Furuno—bass
Tommy Campbell—drums

Yoshiko Kishino trio packed in a full house at Body and Soul. Seats left open during intermission were filled again with new arrivals, while other customers were being continually turned away at the door. Jazz lovers know this trio is one of the most dynamic in Tokyo. On both fast-paced and meditative pieces, the trio kept a wide-open flow that had the crowd mesmerized.

Kishino’s piano has moved beyond the pristine care and delicate lyricism of her past playing. She played with greater power and a wider range than ever before. Using the whole keyboard, she slipped from passion to subtlety, and back again, with ease and grace. Long flourishes and complex runs of notes kept the texture variegated but always circling back to the melody.

 
Both Furuno and Campbell lead their own bands, so they know the importance of interaction, but pursue it in slightly different ways. Furuno keeps Kishino grounded, freeing her up to flow freely according to her own impulses. Campbell, though, pushes her towards faster, wilder playing, and then pulls back to give her wide, open space. Kishino could hardly ask for better backing.

Of the songs, the most striking were Kishino’s originals. The melodies were pretty, but with many harmonies to improvise on. She has recorded many of these on her CDs, but live, you can hear more of her total conception of the song. Her solos on her own songs felt personal, intimate and expressive. Also impressive were the arrangements of tunes like “Scarborough Fair” and “Imagine.” Taking both of these at a slow, even pace, the trio fully entered into the spirit of the songs, and delivered them with heartfelt sadness. “Scarborough Fair” became a strikingly lyrical meditation. Adding a wide variety of harmonic variations, Kishino seemed to be able to mine the song for endless melodic ideas and deeper and deeper emotionality.

“Imagine,” too held a fragile beauty that unfolded into continually lovely lines. In the middle of the tune, the beauty of Furuno’s arco bass solo in the middle brought chills to the collective spine of the audience. With the lyrics in mind, one couldn’t help but think of the world at the brink of war, and this song with such delicate power holding back the worst instincts, or calming them into a thoughtful, unharmful responses. Maybe the band wasn’t thinking of making any anti-war statement exactly, but they certainly made a powerful argument for the importance of imagination in music and in life. The trio backs up their imagination with wonderful jazz.