Jazz is a very broad church and sometimes its contributors get lost in the vast numbers of articles and releases that occur throughout any given year. Respected musicians with multiple albums to their names go, for one reason or another, undiscovered. For me, Japanese pianist Makoto Ozone was one such artist: “A globally acclaimed pianist and composer known for his unique approach that transcends the boundaries of jazz and classical music” (makotoozone.com/profile/). Thankfully I subscribe to Qobuz and “found” the album For Someone in my discover feed.
The opening track, Untold Stories, definitely has a “classical music” feel about. The number begins gently with Makoto Ozone leading from the piano with understated support from Ogawa and Kitai. The track slowly builds in controlled intensity before sinking back to the calm of the opening section: a beautiful musical arc. Rolling Tales is more uptempo and bright in playing and feel with deft drumming from Kitai.
Wa is the first of four tracks featuring vocalist Anna Maria Jopek and her performance adds another sound dynamic to the music, which I enjoyed. Banoska opens with Anna Marie and bassist Ogawa with the resulting sound hauntingly atmospheric. Ozone then adds an engaging piano line to this alluring ballad before Jopek opens up and powers through the final section.
Kunitoshi Kitai kicks off Until The Wall Falls with a drummed intro before Ozone arrives with punchy piano lines that even out to something more melodic without losing the energy of the opening lines. Repeating phrases drive this number forward with a vitality not heard in the first four tracks of the album. This takes us on to the album’s title track For Someone featuring vocalist Anna Marie Jopek. The blog There Stands The Glass, suggests that “Polish vocalist Anna Maria Jopek pushes the proggy fusion of the title track over the top”, this is not something I would agree with. I think the balance between vocals, piano, and organ works well across this track.
Pasja translates from Polish as passion and this, for me, highlight track of the album is full of that. The number has a central european jazz feel about it: energetic, cinematic and played with an ardour that demanded repeat listenings: a terrific group number! Pamiętajmy o Aniołach (Let us remember the Angels), a brings a level of calm back to proceedings – though that is not to say that it lacks vivacity. This played as a piano/vocal duet with Makoto Ozone playing melodic lines over-which Jopek weaves her ethereal vocal sound.
Friends has an easy going melody set out by Ozone but it is Ogawa’s bass playing that stands out for me on this track. This is the sort of number I would play for someone who states that they do not like jazz music: accessible but not simple. The album closes with Chasing The Horizon, a delightful slow number where the space between the notes played is as important as the notes themselves. I very much enjoyed this album, I consider it to be well structured, very well presented, with enough variation in style to keep it interesting throughout.
(Turns out I had heard of Makoto Ozone before as he is the painist on the album A Night in Tokyo , released on the Blue Note label in 2013, featuring Brandford Marsalis, Jeff “Tain” Watts and Christian McBride. Whatever, I will be checking out other recording by this excellent trio!)
Tracklist: 01 – Untold Stories; 02 – Rolling Tales; 03 – Wa; 04 -Bandoska; 05 – Until That Wall Falls; 06 – For Someone; 07 – Pasja; 08 – Pamiętajmy o Aniołach; 09 – Friends; 10 – Chasing the Horizon.
Musicians: Makoto Ozone (piano, organ), Shimpei Ogawa (bass), Kunitoshi Kitai (drums), Anna Maria Jopek (vocals).
SimplyJazzTalk 