Katori Yoshihiko

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Katori Yoshihiko Jazz Orchestra: Riverside Music Garden

by Jack Bowers
June 1, 1999

Pianist Katori Yoshihiko is apparently one of Japan’s younger bandleaders, and the music he writes for his orchestra tends to mirror that freshly minted point of view. This takes some getting used to, but once one does, Riverside Music Garden, even with its unbecoming veneer of rock, fusion and synth, is more often than not likeable, and there can be no doubt that it is exceedingly well–played. The disc opens with Yoshihiko’s impulsive, off–center arrangement of Branislau Kaper’s “Invitation” and ...