Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio – Blues For K (UHQCD)

Since his impressive debut in 1974 on the legendary label Three Blind Mice, Japanese pianist Tsuyoshi Yamamoto has built a career spanning four decades. On “Blues For K,” the spirit of the legendary “TBM” era can be felt in every note played by his trio: The reunion session, dedicated to legendary TBM sound engineer Yoshihiko Kannari, was recorded on June 20, 2022, at his private studio (Studio Lion) in Nasu, Tochigi. No one else manages to capture the magic of this outstanding trio, which includes Hiroshi Kagawa (bass) and Hisao Osumi (drums), as well as Kannari: On “Blues For K,” the three musicians deliver a rousing performance and demonstrate their unique musical synergy.

The trio knows how to interpret a wide variety of jazz styles with exquisite skills, exuding a timeless elegance that combines melodic sophistication with rhythmic finesse. Every note is full of emotion, transporting the listener to a fascinating world of sound. Of course, it is Yamamoto who pulls the strings and shows that his sense of space and timing has become even more astonishing over the years! For him, it’s never about the material he chooses, but how he brings out the substance of the piece with his trio and how that trio is recorded, which has always been an essential aspect of Tsuyoshi’s recordings in the 1970s.

AudioNautes honors the collaboration between the Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio and Yoshihiko Kannari, who revolutionized the jazz sound, with a sonically outstanding, strictly numbered and limited edition UHQCD that combines the two original vinyl versions, “Blues For K, Vol. 1” and “Blues For K, Vol. 2,” on UHQCD for the first time.

UHQCD stands for Ultimate High Quality Compact Disc and is a joint development of the Japanese CD replication company Memory-Tech and the Audio Quality CD Company from Hong Kong. Unlike conventional CDs, UHQCDs are not pressed from polycarbonate, but cast from a photopolymer and cured with UV light. Another layer of high-purity polycarbonate is applied to the softer photopolymer for scratch protection. The combination results in significantly reduced reflection of laser light inside the CD and an unmatched precise edge transition between pits and lands of the CD. UHQCDs are 100% compatible with standard CD players. Musically, the result is a sound image strongly reminiscent of analog master tapes.

Lista pieselor

1. You Go To My Head
2. The Breeze And I
3. I’m Getting Sentimental Over You
4. Misty
5. Blues For K
6. Blues In The Closet
7. Lovetheme From Sunflower
8. Gentle Blues
9. Midnight Sugar (Take 2)
10. Darn That Dream
11. Midnight Sugar
12. But Not For Me
13. I’m Glad There Is You