Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Yoko Miwa: Canopy of Stars

178

Yoko Miwa: Canopy of Stars

By

View read count
Yoko Miwa: Canopy of Stars
Japanese-born, Boston-based pianist Yoko Miwa follows up her 2004 release, Fadeless Flower (Polystar Records) with A Canopy of Stars, building on her crisply incisive percussive approach that bubbles with warm melodies and an array of colors, whether on the bright Brazilian-flavored opener, "La Estacion," or the melancholic, dark-hued "Solitude," which features bassist Bronek Suchenek bowing the melody. Miwa takes the same tune and remakes it into a tango—handling the melody herself—on "Tango Soledad."

Miwas's more abstract side is displayed on "Appalachian Trail (North)," with a churning, Brad Mehldau flavor, and its sister tune, "Appalachian Trail (South)," that feels a bit more propulsive.

"Canopy of Stars" projects an expansive atmosphere. While "Borders" features one of Miwa's prettiest melodies, her piano work underlain by a sizzling, insistent bass/drum rhythm, Miwa's keyboard work dances with effusive energy.

"Waltz for Willie" adds a contemplative mood to the musical proceedings, as does "Behind the Clouds," while "Silver Screen" projects an expansiveness similar to that expressed by the title tune.

Miwa writes attractive melodies and plays with a mixture of delicate grace and percussive energy. Canopy of Stars, her third CD release, shows an artist who is clearly coming into her own.

Track Listing

La Estacion; Canopy of Stars; Solitude; Borders; Waltz for Willie; Tango Soledad; Appalacian Trail (North); Behind the Clouds; Secret Sources; The Silver Screen; Appalachian Trail (South).

Personnel

Yoko Miwa
piano

Yoko Miwa: piano; Massimo Biolcati: acoustic bass; Scott Goulding: drums; Bronek Suchanek: acoustic bass (3, 4).

Album information

Title: Canopy of Stars | Year Released: 2005 | Record Label: Self Produced

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Yoko Miwa Concerts


Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.