Jazz Articles about Keiko Matsui

Keiko Matsui: Journey To The Heart

by Jeff Winbush
August 12, 2016

Out of pain comes growth and in 2007, Keiko Matsui, emerged from a divorce, record label troubles, and embraced her new singularity by striking out in a bold new direction as she traveled to South Africa, paired up with trumpeter Hugh Masakela and the results gave birth to the adventurous Moyo, one of the brightest and best recordings of a 30-year career. Fast forward nine years and Matsui's at it again with Journey To The Heart, a spirited ...

Keiko Matsui: Live In Tokyo

by Jeff Winbush
November 4, 2015

Most of the time releasing a live album is a good way to mark time between trips to the studio as they are quick and easy cash grabs where a musician sells the fans a cheap ticket to a show they weren't at. The Rolling Stones are masters of this slick tactic with no less than a dozen official live albums in their discography. The fatal flaw with live albums is they are audio representations of a visual ...

Keiko Matsui: The Road...

by Jeff Winbush
March 9, 2011

It's a new year, record label, management, and hairstyle for Keiko Matsui, but her first album since 2007's Moyo (Shout Factory!) finds the Japanese pianist still in fine form. The Road... isn't as radical a shift in direction as Moyo was, as Matsui added African influences to her unique melding of musical styles, but it is a worthy continuation of the journey she began four years ago.“Secret Pond" is another entry in the stately and quiet gracefulness of ...

Keiko Matsui: And The Road...Goes On

by Jeff Winbush
March 9, 2011

Keiko Matsui has been out of the studio but relentlessly trotting the globe since 2007's Moyo (Shout! Factory), her acclaimed South African-inspired recording that featured the Japanese-born pianist/composer/producer collaborating with trumpeter Hugh Masakela, among others. The Road... (Shanachie, 2011) marks the further evolution of her signature sound and demonstrates a new chapter in her artistic growth. “When I started this project I spent a lot of time reflecting on the soul and where it comes from," Matsui explains. “I am ...

Keiko Matsui: Moyo (Heart and Soul)

by Jeff Winbush
June 11, 2007

There isn't a great divide between the life of a musician and the ordinary 9-to-5 Joe. Musicians have to perform on their job or they get passed over. They have dandruff, bills to pay and crabgrass they can't get out of their front lawn.The difference is when a musician undergoes a personal drama there's the outlet of retreating to the nearest studio or soundstage to express his/her joys and sorrows. When pianist Keiko Matsui faced the parting of ...

Keiko Matsui: Heart & Soul

by Katrina-Kasey Wheeler
May 10, 2007

Moyo, Swahili for “heart and soul, is an inspirational release from keyboardist Keiko Matsui. It was recorded on location in South Africa with musicians including Gerald Albright, Paul Taylor, Richard Bona, Akira Jimbo and Waldemar Bastos. The album is a melodic work of art, in which she allows the listener into her experiences, those which she chronicles through twelve poignant tracks. Although she has sold 1.2 million units in the U.S. alone and has sold-out appearances at concert ...

Keiko Matsui: Collection

by Robert Spencer
January 1, 1998

Keiko Matsui's Collection consists of twelve cuts culled from the albums Under the Northern Lights and No Borders. Fans of Keiko's jazz / funk piano and keyboard will want to pick this up if they can't get the earlier discs, but it features no “bonus" or “previously unreleased" cuts to drag in diehard fans.

As for the music, well, my wife walked by while I was playing this CD and remarked, “Sounds like the theme of a Japanese TV show." ...