For those who heard Jazz Guitar Duo's 2008 effort, Chronicle, the velvety caress of Yuichi Tanaka's guitar playing is no longer a secret.
Woefully unknown in the U.S., Tanaka is not a showy guitarist; his skills lie in his ability to convey peaceful beauty with subtle charm. After dazzling listeners as the other half of Jazz Guitar Duo, Tanaka has set off on his own, unveiling a remarkable solo gem with A Hill of the Sun.
Born in Chiba, Japan on April 19, 1982, Tanaka was actually raised in Heidelberg, Germany. By the age of 14, Tanaka's future was already mapped out: He wanted to be a professional guitarist. Influenced by various musical genres including rock, pop, and the blues, Tanaka already began composing songs. The late '90s found Tanaka jamming with a rock & roll band, but he would eventually leave that behind as his affection for jazz started to take priority.
After hearing Tanaka's bewitching guitar work on A Hill of the Sun, it is nearly impossible to imagine how it could have fit within the context of rock. Tanaka's strength is in his ability to weave quietly, to create layers of lovely atmospherics; it's about as far from the brute force of rock as it gets. For example, on “Tune3," Tanaka's guitar playing illustrates the poetic darkness of nightfall. It is the kind of song that should be listened to on headphones on a steamy summer evening; Tanaka's moonlight-drenched guitars transport the listener to a faraway place. The title track, on the other hand, brings the album back home with its giddy Latin feel.
As the summer starts to fade into memory, there is perhaps no other new record available that captures the season's various mood swings than A Hill of the Sun. From the emotional highs of the summer's opening to its melancholic latter days, A Hill of the Sun summarizes what it feels to be alive and caught up in the moment.
Woefully unknown in the U.S., Tanaka is not a showy guitarist; his skills lie in his ability to convey peaceful beauty with subtle charm. After dazzling listeners as the other half of Jazz Guitar Duo, Tanaka has set off on his own, unveiling a remarkable solo gem with A Hill of the Sun.
Born in Chiba, Japan on April 19, 1982, Tanaka was actually raised in Heidelberg, Germany. By the age of 14, Tanaka's future was already mapped out: He wanted to be a professional guitarist. Influenced by various musical genres including rock, pop, and the blues, Tanaka already began composing songs. The late '90s found Tanaka jamming with a rock & roll band, but he would eventually leave that behind as his affection for jazz started to take priority.
After hearing Tanaka's bewitching guitar work on A Hill of the Sun, it is nearly impossible to imagine how it could have fit within the context of rock. Tanaka's strength is in his ability to weave quietly, to create layers of lovely atmospherics; it's about as far from the brute force of rock as it gets. For example, on “Tune3," Tanaka's guitar playing illustrates the poetic darkness of nightfall. It is the kind of song that should be listened to on headphones on a steamy summer evening; Tanaka's moonlight-drenched guitars transport the listener to a faraway place. The title track, on the other hand, brings the album back home with its giddy Latin feel.
As the summer starts to fade into memory, there is perhaps no other new record available that captures the season's various mood swings than A Hill of the Sun. From the emotional highs of the summer's opening to its melancholic latter days, A Hill of the Sun summarizes what it feels to be alive and caught up in the moment.
