Critically acclaimed Japanese Jazz pianist and composer Yoko Miwa's second release. In November 2004 Jazziz Magazine wrote: "Pianist Yoko Miwa displays unpretentious melodies, elegant phrasing, and the lyrical sensibility of a jazz poet on Fadeless Flower

9 MP3 Songs
JAZZ: Traditional Jazz Combo, JAZZ: Bebop



Details:
Second CD by Boston based Japanese Jazz Pianist Yoko Miwa. Pianist Yoko Miwa brings a new grace and lyricism to the classic jazz piano trio on her latest release, Fadeless Flower. Miwa's beguiling style combines a translucent tone, a nuanced touch, and heartfelt lyricism. The album, her second as a leader, features nine varied original tunes. "The songs on the CD don't fit into any one concept," she said in a recent Jazz Life interview, "but as a whole they are important to me because they are born from my life. To me the image of the song dictates what the solo should be, that's why I'm always trying to sing when I play a solo, I mean sing through my piano phrasing."
Indeed, each one of Miwa's song-like compositions on Fadeless Flower creates a vivid image, from their titles to the trio's improvisations. Her delicate touch and subtly of expression enhance an air of beautiful melancholy on "Sorrowful Moon." Grace, economy, and a keen sense of melody make her solo flow effortlessly from the first lyrical phrase to the striking chords at the climax. "Fadeless Flower," a waltz taken at a comfortable tempo, features arresting left-hand figures that add rhythmic excitement. Driven along by Miwa's four-to-the-bar left-hand chords, "Blues in the Cave" combines her artful way of constructing a solo with a down home feeling. This unpretentious sophistication is also a mark of her ballad playing on "Love" and "In My Heart." Miwa and the trio are at home in a variety of settings, handling the beguine rhythms of "Flood of Tears,' and the gospel inflections of "Finding the Sun" with the same graceful assurance as straight ahead swingers like "Momentum."
Born in Kobe, Japan, Miwa studied classical piano from the age of 4. While in college, she began to study jazz with pianist Minoru Ozone, father of internationally renowned jazz pianist Makoto Ozone. She abandoned classical music in 1995 when she entered Koyo Conservatory of Music to study jazz theory and performance. In 1996, she received a scholarship to Koyo Conservatory's sister jazz institution, the Berklee College of Music in Boston. After graduating in 1999, Miwa joined the Berklee faculty, serving as accompanist to vocalist Kevin Mahogany. She recorded with Kevin in his upcoming duets CD release. In 2001, she was honored as a featured performer in Washington D.C. at The Kennedy Center's "Mary Lou William's Women in Jazz Festival" A regular member of the Ryles Jazz Orchestra, whose guests have included Slide Hampton, Arturo Sandoval, and Jon Faddis, she appears on the band's debut CD, Live at Ryles. Miwa's debut CD as a leader, Yoko Miwa "In the Mist of Time" was released in 2001 on the Tokuma Label. In 2003, she lead her own trio on a tour to Japan appearing at major Tokyo Jazz clubs Body & Soul and Alfie. She has also worked with George Garzone and Jerry Bergonzi, John Lockwood, and Mike Turk.
Yoko has appeared on "Eric in the Evening" WGBH Jazz Radio Show with host Eric Jackson. Yoko's CD "Fadeless Flower" has been featured on the National Public Radio Show "Jazz After Hours". Yoko was featured in a live interview on the popular radio show "Voice of America" broadcast in over 250 countries worldwide.
check out yokomiwa.com
Also on CDBaby:check out Yoko's first release "In the Mist of Time"