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Jazz Articles about Miki Yamanaka
Saul Dautch: Music for the People
by Jack Bowers
It is always a pleasure to hear a straight-ahead contemporary jazz quintet whose front line consists of baritone sax and trumpet, especially when it is as well-drawn as Florida-bred baritone Saul Dautch's debut recording, Music for the People, on which he shares melodic assignments with trumpeter Noah Halpern and, to a lesser extent, pianist Miki Yamanaka. Music for the People means what it says: stylish yet accessible small-group jazz aimed at reaching the widest possible audience. Seven ...
Continue ReadingMiki Yamanaka: Chance
by Pierre Giroux
Miki Yamanaka's release Chance reflects her depth as a pianist and an interpreter of material from the jazz playbook. Complementing her nuanced lyrical touch with sensitive interplay is her working rhythm section featuring bassist Tyrone Allen and drummer Jimmy Macbride. The album's mix of jazz standards and tunes from the Great American Songbook, alongside work from some legendary jazz masters, is a well-thought-out listening experience. This is all the more interesting as the session was recorded at the historic Van ...
Continue ReadingMiki Yamanaka: Shades of Rainbow
by Jack Bowers
Pianist Miki Yamanaka's working trio (Tyrone Allen, bass; Jimmy Macbride, drums) is very good. Add tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, as she does on Shades of Rainbow, and the results are even better. Besides playing nimble and expressive piano, Japanese-born, New York-based Yamanaka composed and arranged every song on Rainbow, her fifth album as leader. For those who may be inclined to peek inside her head, Yamanaka provides a brief rationale for each tune, from “That Ain't Betty" ...
Continue ReadingRoxy Coss: Disparate Parts
by Mike Jurkovic
Let's just get thing one out into the open right away: Disparate Parts has plenty of balls to spare. Saxophonist Roxy Coss' acute, teasingly biting tone and rich, no boundaries disposition to composing and jamming has placed her high in the generational echelon of new and challenging players. She willingly and unapologetically blends and blurs the lines to suit any and all missives, and the fourteen fireballs heard loud and clear on Disparate Parts broach nothing less. Commandeering ...
Continue ReadingA Posthumous Debut Plus New Releases by Miki Yamanaka, Lena Bloch & Feathery, Brasuka, Teri Roiger and More
by Mary Foster Conklin
This broadcast presents new releases from Miki Yamanaka, Teri Roiger, Lena Bloch & Feathery, new Texas group Brasuka and a posthumous debut recording of Canadian vocalist and educator Shannon Gunn produced by Renee Rosnes with birthday shoutouts to pianists Abelita Mateus, Hyuna Park, Emily Takahashi, trumpeter Pam Fleming, vocalists Melissa Stylianou, Amy Cervini, Lee Wiley, Tania Grubbs and more. Thanks for listening and please support the artists you hear by purchasing their music during this time of pandemic so they ...
Continue ReadingMiki Yamanaka: Human Dust Suite
by Mike Jurkovic
Becoming increasingly known for her light, expressive touch, her solidly crafted, mainstream approach, and residencies at New York clubs like Smalls and Mezzrow, Kobe-born, New York-based pianist Miki Yamanaka brings a decisively more leavened gravity and a growing harmonic interest and prowess on vibes to Human Dust Suite, a seasoned follow-up to her widely recognized debut Miki (Cellar Live, 2018). Perhaps toughened up by her work with the ever-evolving Roxy Coss on the saxophonist's exemplary outing Quintet (Posi-Tone ...
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