Flashback Friday: ai kuwabara trio project - from here to there (2012) Review

"THE SIXTH SENSE" US Tour Promotional Picture

A few years back I was lucky enough to attend ai kuwabara trio project's concert at the Los Angeles Theater Center as part of their US Tour supporting their second album "THE SIXTH SENSE". I was blown away by their playing and by Ai's skill on the piano as well as that of bassist/producer Yusuke Morita. Shintaro Imamura was also present that night on drums, who played on their second album and would eventually contribute some drums on their third. Anyway, I couldn't just leave this concert at that so I picked up both of their albums released up to that point, the aforementioned "THE SIXTH SENSE" and their first CD "from here to there". For this Throwback Thursday we will take a look at that first CD and cover a genre of music that we have not yet at A-To-J Connections; jazz

"from here to there" (Live 2010)

"from here to there" was recorded and released independently in April 2012 and picked up for re-release in November that same year by ewe records. The line-up on the disc featured three different drummers to accompany Yusuke and Ai and I at first thought that this would hurt their sound as the cohesiveness usually found in jazz trios might not be present. This thankfully didn't turn out to be true and the members play together as tight and natural as if they'd been playing together for decades. Like any jazz worth its salt it's the playing here is what really shines through. Ai's playing style is really hard to pin down. Their is a definite progressive jazz feel here, and her playing is very unique and seems to never quite be what you expect. Depending on the song her style is fast and frantic or slow and calm, sometimes both. Yusuke's bass playing complements this greatly as he can cover many speeds and styles interchangeably with ease. His handling of the rhythm is perfect and his solos and fills make you take notice. Even though there is no one voice here on drums, they always serve their purpose well and are perfectly in unison with Ai and Yusuke. Perhaps due to the fact that there is no one drummer here, none of the tracks on this album contain any drum solos. All compositions are done by Ai Kuwabara herself and it is yet another testament to her skill as a musician that all of them are excellent and are quite unique to each other.

Ai Kuwabara

Yusuke Morita

Shintaro Imamura

Now onto the tracks themselves. I mentioned the fusion of styles in the playing earlier and because many tracks pull together different elements, it's hard to group them together in any sort of set, but I will try to be succinct here. "BET UP" is a strong opener with a catchy main melody that comes complete with some incredible bass fills. Rhythm leans towards funk during the solos and some really frantic playing brings us back to the main theme. A definite standout track that features its own music video. "3=log²(8)" has more of a traditional jazz sound, but manages to keep the Ai Kuwabara sound. It also features a name that I can't begin to say out loud. Both these first songs serve to showcase some of the styles you will hear in the rest of the album and both are a moderate enough length that they can be listened to relatively easy on their own. Jazz fan or not.

BET UP

The title track "from here to there" clocks in at over eight minutes and when this song played during my first listen to the album I was glad that all the songs weren't going to be short versions of tracks that I'm sure go on for much longer when performed live. Fans of other jazz albums are familiar with this kind of track shortening though. Back to "from here to there". This one starts out slow and builds up to a very frantic pace before it drops off again. The song has a bit of a lounge feel at parts, but the almost whisper-like quality that follows the frantic end of the solo sections is stunning and is amazing to hear live. The next  track is "Edit typos." This is my personal favorite track on the album and is very upbeat with some funky sounding bass and rhythms. To be honest, it was this track that made me want to pick up their music. I heard a very long twenty-minute rendition of it at their LA show and I simply couldn't believe what I was hearing. The version on the CD is of course reined in a bit for time, but it is nevertheless still a very amazing composition. Watch the video for it too. Everyone seems to be having an awesome time in it!

Edit typos.

"Chronometer" features some synths towards the end, an addition that they would incorporate more in later releases. It's main melody is backed by a steady rhythm that once again brings me back to the point that even though there is no singular drummer here, the percussive elements are spot on. "mind blindness" comes in slow and laid back, a nice calming track to counter the wild, frenetic energy we've heard in the previous ones. While it is slow, the composition and playing ensure that it never becomes boring and the solos here, while subdues, are still worthy of a listen. "Circuit River" is another longer track that brings back some of the frantic pacing and playing from earlier. Everything is upbeat here, but my one slight complaint on this track is that the drums seem weakest on this track. The other tracks feature drumming that perfectly accompanies the playing, here it is simply there to keep time. "Portrait of an old man" is a slow piano solo piece which originally was the album closer when this was an independent release.

3=log²(8)

The version you most likely will find now, and the one I own, is the re-release on ewe records which features two more tracks. The first of these, "Riverdance", is a longer piece that has some cool pacing and rhythm complete with percussive elements not heard on any other song on this album. As the name implies it is based on the popular Riverdance shows and borrows some rhythm and melodic elements. The album closes with "HiCCups!" the most upbeat, happy song on the album by far and a nice close to an excellent album. Similar to "Chronometer", this track's main melody is backed by some awesome rhythms, not just from the drums. Ai's playing here is quite different than the other songs on the album and I'm glad that this was included in this re-release. This was also another standout track for me from their LA performance.

Original April 2012 Release Cover

November 2012 ewe Re-release Cover

I am a huge fan of jazz, and especially of any of fusion styles. Ai Kuwabara gives us an amazing debut here that is explored in great length on her continued works, the most recent of which is 2015's "Love Theme". Be sure to check her out!

-Manuel (alavic_222)

For More Information:
Ai Kuwabara Homepage: http://3shimai.com/ai/
Website: http://www.aikuwabaratrio.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aikuwabaratrioproject/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aikun_4649
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSJOIAYp1e6Klyy2mCseU3Q