プレスリリース Paris Transatlantic magazine review: The New York City borough of Bronx isn't exactly somewhere you'd expect to find tanned curvaceous beach volleyballers sipping batida de coco, so a Bronx-based Bossa Nova band isn't exactly something you're likely to forget about in a hurry ﾐ especially since none of the musicians is Brazilian. Bassist Todd Nicholson is American, but California's a long way from the Bronx. And Japan's even further away; guitarist Eiji Obata hails from Kyoto, percussionist (and vocalist) Tatsuya Nakatani comes from Kobe. They got together to form Yukijurushi in 2001, and Mott Haven is the follow-up to last year's eponymous debut. Reviews of that disc described it as "surprisingly unsurprising", but there are a few odd postmodern twists and turns on this one. For a start, Nicholson pens three compositions, Obata one, and the standards are interspersed with field recordings for local colour (Mott Haven, by the way, is the South Bronx neighbourhood where Nakatani set up his H&H ﾐ that stands for "Heaven & Hell" ﾐ music and dance studio in 2003). Compared to the meringue-light classic Joao Gilberto version, Dorival Caymmi's "Doralice" here sounds rather torpid, though the trio's take on Vinicius de Moraes' "So Danso Samba" (the reason I'm giving you all this composer info is that it's not on the disc, and it should be), complete with thumping bass drum offbeats, is more authentically samba than the version you probably know on Getz - Gilberto. The reading of the old chestnut "The Girl From Ipanema" is more skewed, starting half way across the bridge and never really getting to the other side, while the other Jobim tune on the disc, "If You Never Come To Me" (which also goes by the title "Useless Landscape" and if anyone can tell me the name of the album where Ella Fitzgerald sings the song I'll be eternally grateful because I've lost my old cassette copy and love it to death), is played straighter, but Nakatani's percussion still sticks out rather wonderfully. 　　 Review in Downtown Music Gallery YUKIJURUSHI: THE� BRONX BOSSA NOVA BAND [EIJI OBATA/TODD NICHOLSON/TATSUYA NAKATANI] - Mott Haven (H&H 5) This is downtown's finest experimental percussionist, Tatsuya Nakatani's alleged bossa nova band, and surprise, surprise that just what it is. Taqtsuya tells us that this band works a lot more than any of his other bands, so who knows. It consists of Eiji Obata on guitar, Todd Nicholson on upright bass and Tatsuya on drums & vocals. To me this sounds like music that is played at Latin weddings or Jewish bar or bat mitzvahs, very laid back. The trio use ambient sounds in between most of the tunes to give this a natural sorta vibe. The music here is often quite minimal, with some tasty mellow electric guitar, mood music to groove to. Eiji sounds like he is playing lap steel or dreamy, ultra-subtle slide guitar on a few of these pieces. In some ways this is very much like that blend of lounge music and soft surf guitars that was so popular a few years back. If Jim Hall did a session for Martin Denny, it just might sound like this. Are you game?!? - BLG CD� $15 review in The Squid's Ear "The surprise in Yukijurushi, if there is one, is that there isn't one. The trio of young New York improvisors - two Japanese, one all American - play it as straight as can be. Drummer Nakatani is known for drumhead manipulations a la Le Quan Ninh, and Nicholson is omnipresent around the Vision hardjazz scene. But here they play it like they're supposed to - laid back rhythms to support Obata's ridiculously meliflous TK playing. His licks are like candy, and are the reward in the neotraditionalism at play." review in Cadence magazine, October 2004 issue, p39 "Guitarist EIJI OBATA, bassist TODD NICHOLSON, and drummer TATASUYA NAKATANI interpret a brief session of comfortable Bossa Novas on YUKIJURUSHI (H&H 2). The trio's suave, amplified guitar and amplified acoustic bass combination makes for a leisurely program (Wave/ Meditation/ Black Orpheus/ Little Suede Shoes/ Corcovado/ Once I Loved/ Brazil. 35:01. Obata, g; Nicholson, b; Nakatani, d, perc. Date & location not provided). Obata improvises over each theme with a fluid motion that brings each song around naturally, as if sung vocally by a native artist. Bossas are easy to love. In the middle of a fierce winter storm, there's no better company than an album such as this one, to take your mind off on a journey to some tropical paradise. But this performance by obata's trio offers much more than mere escapism. The guitarist softly massages these familiar tunes into shape. He and Nicholson improvise over the structure spontaneously with a deep sense of freedom. "Corcovado" stands out, for the deeply passionate emphasis that the trio has put into its arrangement. Bowed bass and castanet-like percussive sounds waft gently in the background, as obata pursues the melody without meter. As if standing in awe of the beautiful landscape surrounding Rio de Janeiro's harbor, the trio floats its dedication softly and with deep feeling. Elsewhere, the trio's natural interpretation of Bossa Nova and Samba pleasures, and the warm glow they produce, make their humble album a real winner." 　 ホーム