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Euphoria
is a feeling or state of intense excitement and happiness. This joy of
playing runs through the entire album like a red thread.
It is
based on lifelong training achieved highest virtuosity. It goes
without saying that the intended and absolutely achieved playing
result can only be accomplished with the best of the best accompanying
musicians.
Thus, the album features musicians such as Mike
Stern, Randy Brecker, Lalah Hathaway, Gregoire Maret, Kirk Whalum and
Joel Ross among others. An overview of the musicians involved is
provided by the credits.
The album
opens with Steps On The Globe a lively melody that inspires the
listener with its concise energetic vitality and arouses great
interest. Mike Stern is a guitar virtuoso of world renown. The unique
thing about The Choice, however, is not his undiscussable mastery of
the guitar but the special timbre of his guitar, which gives the song
a particular character.
On the
contemplative Prairie Morning, guitarist Tony Pulizzi in noteworthy
contributes to the soul of the piece on acoustic guitar. The Greek Neo
stands for new. Trumpeter and flugelhornist Randy Brecker has his
debut here. The piece gets its special dynamic from Alex Al's
inimitable bass run.
Keiko's special concern is to spread love with
her album. This succeeds particularly expressively with Love And
Nothing Less, which celebrates the singer Lalah Hathaway. Grégoire
Maret's harmonica is the best conceivable complement.
Luminescence
describes the state of a matter that emits in a cold state by glowing.
Kirk Whalum and Keiko are the two protagonists who don't have to hide
their light under a bushel. Keiko takes us to Latin American realms
with the incredibly authentic Tango Rosso Cantabile. The world-famous
percussionist Luis Conte contributes significantly to the
authenticity.
Yaguarón, a town in Paraguay is called the city of
myths and legends. The place name derives from the mythological
creature Jaguarú - "big jaguar". Keiko named the song after this city
after a visit, when she was impressed by the stone testimonies of the
old culture.
Mossy Mountain, a place refers to the West Central
Plains of Illinois, the favorite region of Bud Harner, Keiko's manager
and producer. The piece is orchestrally structured with a pizzicato
intro and bridge. A painterly tonal paraphrase in pastel colors.
Blue Water focuses on jazzy elements, but doesn't lose touch with its
romantic references, which Keiko's music stands for in particular.
The title track shows Keiko's inner need not only to write a song
for the masses, but to tell a story with her music that appeals to the
emotional side. The musicians involved work for the big picture
without standing out individually as virtuosos.
The final New
Passage is also impressive, which would easily be suitable as film
music, but can also stand on its own.
Keiko Matsui's Euphoria is a
reflection of her soul and perfectly depicts the different facets of
her artistic existence, with some tracks targeting the audience's
taste of smooth jazz, Keiko's musical nature ultimately prevails in
all.
Biography
Buy the album in all stores
Album Information
Title: Euphoria
Artist: Keiko Matsui
Year: 2023
Length: 0:58:27
Genre: Smooth Jazz
Label: Shanachie Entertainment
Tracks:
1) "Steps On The Globe" (4:20)
2) "The Choice (Featuring Mike
Stern)" (4:40)
3) "Prairie Morning" (4:37)
4) "Neo
(Featuring Randy Brecker)" (5:57)
5) "Love And Nothing Less
(Featuring Lalah Hathaway/Gregoire Maret)" (4:29)
6)
"Luminescence (Featuring Kirk Whalum)" (4:47)
7) "Rosso
Cantabile" (3:46)
8) "Legend of Yaguarón" (4:34)
9) "Mossy
Mountain" (5:25)
10) "Blue Water" (4:26)
11) "Euphoria
(Featuring Joel Ross)" (6:39)
12) "New Passage" (4:43)
Credits:
STEPS ON THE GLOBE Keiko Matsui - Piano, Melodion; Alex Al -
Bass; Gregg Bissonette - Drums; Tony Pulizzi - Guitar;
Luis
Conte - Percussion; Ron Pedley - Rhodes, Keys; Wayne Bergeron
- Trumpet; Nick Lane - Trombone; Brandon Fields - Saxophone
THE CHOICE (featuring Mike Stern) Mike Stern - Lead
Guitar; Keiko Matsui - Piano; Alex Al - Bass;
Gregg
Bissonette - Drums; Tony Pulizzi - Guitar; Luis Conte -
Percussion; Ron Pedley - Rhodes, Keys
PRAIRIE MORNING
Keiko Matsui - Piano; Alex Al - Bass; Gregg Bissonette -
Drums; Tony Pulizzi - Guitar;
Luis Conte - Percussion; Ron
Pedley - Rhodes; Euphoria Strings
NEO (featuring Randy
Brecker) Randy Brecker - Flugelhorn; Keiko Matsui - Piano;
Alex Al - Bass,
Gregg Bissonette - Drums; Tony Pulizzi -
Guitar; Luis Conte - Percussion; Ron Pedley - Rhodes
LOVE AND NOTHING LESS (featuring Lalah Hathaway & Grégoire
Maret)
Lalah Hathaway - Vocals; Grégoire Maret - Harmonica;
Keiko Matsui - Piano; Jimmy Johnson - Bass; Jimmy Branly -
Drums; Michael Thompson - Guitar; Luis Conte - Percussion; Ron
Pedley - Rhodes; JP Mourao - Acoustic Guitar
LUMINESCENCE (featuring Kirk Whalum) Kirk Whalum - Tenor Sax;
Keiko Matsui - Piano; Alex Al - Bass;
Gregg Bissonette -
Drums; Tony Pulizzi - Guitar; Luis Conte - Percussion; Ron
Pedley - Rhodes, Hammond B3;
Wayne Bergeron - Trumpet; Nick
Lane - Trombone; Brandon Fields - Saxophone
ROSSO
CANTABILE Keiko Matsui - Piano, Melodion; Rico Belled - Bass;
Jimmy Branly - Drums; JP Mourao - Guitar;
Luis Conte -
Percussion; Euphoria Strings
LEGEND OF YAGUARÓN Keiko
Matsui - Piano, Rhodes; Brandon Fields - Flute; Rico Belled -
Bass; Jimmy Branly - Drums; JP Maurao - Guitar; Luis Conte -
Percussion
MOSSY MOUNTAIN Keiko Matsui - Piano; Jimmy
Johnson - Bass; Jimmy Branly - Drums; JP Mourao - Acoustic
guitar (solo); Michael Thompson - Guitar; Luis Conte -
Percussion; Euphoria Strings
BLUE WATER Keiko Matsui -
Piano; Jimmy Johnson - Bass; Jimmy Branly - Drums; Randy
Waldman - Marimba;
Michael Thompson - Guitar; Luis Conte -
Percussion; Ron Pedley - Rhodes; Keiko Matsui & Bud Harner -
Vocals
EUPHORIA (featuring Joel Ross) Joel Ross -
Vibraphone; Keiko Matsui - Piano; Jimmy Johnson - Bass;
Jimmy Branly - Drums; Michael Thompson - Guitar; Luis Conte -
Percussion; Ron Pedley - Rhodes; John Beasley - Synthesizer;
Euphoria Strings
NEW PASSAGE Keiko Matsui - Piano; Rico
Belled - Bass; Jimmy Branly - Drums; JP Mourao - Guitar; Luis
Conte - Percussion; Euphoria Strings
Further reviews:
Biography
Buy the album in all stores
Album Information
Title: Euphoria
Artist: Keiko Matsui
Year: 2023
Length: 0:58:27
Genre: Smooth Jazz
Label: Shanachie Entertainment
Tracks:
1) "Steps On The Globe" (4:20)
2) "The Choice (Featuring Mike
Stern)" (4:40)
3) "Prairie Morning" (4:37)
4) "Neo
(Featuring Randy Brecker)" (5:57)
5) "Love And Nothing Less
(Featuring Lalah Hathaway/Gregoire Maret)" (4:29)
6)
"Luminescence (Featuring Kirk Whalum)" (4:47)
7) "Rosso
Cantabile" (3:46)
8) "Legend of Yaguarón" (4:34)
9) "Mossy
Mountain" (5:25)
10) "Blue Water" (4:26)
11) "Euphoria
(Featuring Joel Ross)" (6:39)
12) "New Passage" (4:43)
Credits:
STEPS ON THE GLOBE Keiko Matsui - Piano, Melodion; Alex Al -
Bass; Gregg Bissonette - Drums; Tony Pulizzi - Guitar;
Luis
Conte - Percussion; Ron Pedley - Rhodes, Keys; Wayne Bergeron
- Trumpet; Nick Lane - Trombone; Brandon Fields - Saxophone
THE CHOICE (featuring Mike Stern) Mike Stern - Lead
Guitar; Keiko Matsui - Piano; Alex Al - Bass;
Gregg
Bissonette - Drums; Tony Pulizzi - Guitar; Luis Conte -
Percussion; Ron Pedley - Rhodes, Keys
PRAIRIE MORNING
Keiko Matsui - Piano; Alex Al - Bass; Gregg Bissonette -
Drums; Tony Pulizzi - Guitar;
Luis Conte - Percussion; Ron
Pedley - Rhodes; Euphoria Strings
NEO (featuring Randy
Brecker) Randy Brecker - Flugelhorn; Keiko Matsui - Piano;
Alex Al - Bass,
Gregg Bissonette - Drums; Tony Pulizzi -
Guitar; Luis Conte - Percussion; Ron Pedley - Rhodes
LOVE AND NOTHING LESS (featuring Lalah Hathaway & Grégoire
Maret)
Lalah Hathaway - Vocals; Grégoire Maret - Harmonica;
Keiko Matsui - Piano; Jimmy Johnson - Bass; Jimmy Branly -
Drums; Michael Thompson - Guitar; Luis Conte - Percussion; Ron
Pedley - Rhodes; JP Mourao - Acoustic Guitar
LUMINESCENCE (featuring Kirk Whalum) Kirk Whalum - Tenor Sax;
Keiko Matsui - Piano; Alex Al - Bass;
Gregg Bissonette -
Drums; Tony Pulizzi - Guitar; Luis Conte - Percussion; Ron
Pedley - Rhodes, Hammond B3;
Wayne Bergeron - Trumpet; Nick
Lane - Trombone; Brandon Fields - Saxophone
ROSSO
CANTABILE Keiko Matsui - Piano, Melodion; Rico Belled - Bass;
Jimmy Branly - Drums; JP Mourao - Guitar;
Luis Conte -
Percussion; Euphoria Strings
LEGEND OF YAGUARÓN Keiko
Matsui - Piano, Rhodes; Brandon Fields - Flute; Rico Belled -
Bass; Jimmy Branly - Drums; JP Maurao - Guitar; Luis Conte -
Percussion
MOSSY MOUNTAIN Keiko Matsui - Piano; Jimmy
Johnson - Bass; Jimmy Branly - Drums; JP Mourao - Acoustic
guitar (solo); Michael Thompson - Guitar; Luis Conte -
Percussion; Euphoria Strings
BLUE WATER Keiko Matsui -
Piano; Jimmy Johnson - Bass; Jimmy Branly - Drums; Randy
Waldman - Marimba;
Michael Thompson - Guitar; Luis Conte -
Percussion; Ron Pedley - Rhodes; Keiko Matsui & Bud Harner -
Vocals
EUPHORIA (featuring Joel Ross) Joel Ross -
Vibraphone; Keiko Matsui - Piano; Jimmy Johnson - Bass;
Jimmy Branly - Drums; Michael Thompson - Guitar; Luis Conte -
Percussion; Ron Pedley - Rhodes; John Beasley - Synthesizer;
Euphoria Strings
NEW PASSAGE Keiko Matsui - Piano; Rico
Belled - Bass; Jimmy Branly - Drums; JP Mourao - Guitar; Luis
Conte - Percussion; Euphoria Strings
Further reviews: