Miki Hayama: Wide Angle

Miki Hayama establishes an identifiable cadence in her piano language in Wide Angle. Her trio behaves as one organism; Hayama offers the fearless heartbeat.

Hayama composed eight of the ten pieces on the recording. The rigorous tempos, even when moderate, bond the three instruments. The precision with which Hayama addresses the piano demonstrates her fascination with the minutest detail. Her strength lies in the quality of her treble arpeggiation ("What's Next") through which progressions she plants bass chords frequently and out of which she develops phrase posturing and alteration ("Flying Horses"). Her pieces center on moving from the beginning to the end in one fluid motion. Hayama takes many turns, never deviating from the assertion of her direction. The drums and the bass not only stretch her lines into extrinsic timbral regions but also strike amazing unisons with Hayama's bold direct fingering.

Bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa displays instrumental facility on a par with Hayama's pianistic prowess. Drummer Victor Lewis can spring away from the piano's line adroitly with the drum version of how the piano constructs the music, tatting on the snare skin or edge or ornamentally echoing Hayama's notes on the cymbal. His playing is light and a perfect companion for Hayama's refined feminine touch.