#1536 『上西美帆 :セプテンバー・イン・ザ・レイン／Miho Jonishi : September in the Rain』(2018)

2018年6月30日伏谷佳代上西美帆、Miho Jonishi、矢藤亜沙巳、Asami Yato、September in the Rain

Bonyari Records

上西美帆 (Miho Jonishi/vocal)
矢藤亜沙巳 (Asami Yato/piano)

1. Rain (Miho Jonishi) 2:10
2. Just Squeeze Me (Duke Ellington / Lee Gaines) 4:09
3. The Way You Look Tonight (Jerome Kern / Dorothy Fields) 4:39
4. Just in Time (Jule Styne / Betty Comden, Adolph Green) 2:50
5. Up Jumped Spring (Freddie Hubbard / Abbey Lincoln) 3:22
6. Perfect (Mark Edward Cascian Nevin) 5:07
7. After the Rain (Miho Jonishi) 1:11
8. September In the Rain (Harry Warren / Al Dubin) 4:43
9. Yume-no-Naka-e(Into a Dream) 夢の中へ (Yosui Inoue) 4:58

Total time: 33:18

Arranged by Miho Jonishi (tracks 1-7 and 9)/ Miho Jonishi & Asami Yato (track 8)
Produced by Miho Jonishi

Recorded on July 8, 2017 at Studio TLive
Recorded by Katsuhiro Tajima 田島克洋 (Studio TLive), Mixed & Masterd by Keisuke Mukai 向啓介 (Setagaya REC Studio)
Photos by Jus Vun
Art Direction & Designed by Martin Schluter

上西美帆は北海道出身、現在都内を拠点に活動するヴォーカリスト。コロンビア大学などで研鑽を積み、若い才能をサポートするプログラム” Jazz in July” では、シェイラ・ジョーダンの薫陶を受けた。ジェイミー・クルムも絶賛の新進ピアニスト、矢藤亜沙巳を迎えた本作がデビュー・アルバムとなる。コンセプトである「雨」にまつわる楽曲を織り込み、自作やスタンダード、井上陽水の『夢のなかへ』までを同一線上に結ぶ。ほぼ全曲英語による歌詞であるが、マットな質感、ナチュラルな発声にフィットする自在なアレンジで、誰しもが日常の襞(ひだ)に抱える共感を揺さぶってゆく。我が国で定石となるような女性ジャズ・シンガーの括りに嵌らない、甘さに逃げぬ気風の良さが何より上西の魅力。骨太なスウィング感と触覚を刺激する矢藤亜沙巳のピアノも大器ぶりを予感させる。絶妙なレリーフ感のある録音により、二人の個性を同時に追えるのも楽しい。メロディのもつ含蓄、演奏者の表現力、時の移ろい、雨や夢などの言葉が放つイメージの連鎖が結ぶ像には、粋とメランコリーがバランスよく結集している。ジャズの魅力、デュオという逃げ場のない編成に向き合う真摯さがストレートに伝わる一方、肩肘はらずに楽しめる一枚である。（*文中敬称略。伏谷佳代）

Miho Jonishi is a jazz vocalist from Hokkaido and currently based in Tokyo. She devoted herself to her studies in Columbia University and other institutions, and in the legendary Jazz in July program supporting talented youth, she studied under Sheila Jordan. This is her debut album accompanied by Asami Yato, a budding pianist highly praised by Jamie Cullum. In addition to pieces related to “rain,” the concept of the album, we find her own material, some standards, and even Yosui Inoue’s “Yumenonakae (Into a Dream)”; all are connected on the same line. Almost every piece has English lyrics, but the unrestricted arrangement that fits the matte texture and her natural vocalization evokes the sympathy that everyone has in the shades of daily life. Jonishi does not fit easily into the stereotypical box of female jazz singers in Japan; her open-hearted character, never escaping into simple sweetness, is her most attractive feature. Yato’s piano stimulates a solid swing and tactile sense; a forewarning of her great talent and things to come. Thanks to the recording accompanied by a feel of exquisite relief, the listener can follow the two musicians’ distinctive characters simultaneously, making it greatly enjoyable. The connotation of the melodies, the musicians’ expressiveness, passage of time, and a chain of images unleashed by such words as rain and dream; in a picture connected by all these elements, stylishness and melancholy are brought together in good balance. The sincere way the two women face the harsh reality of any duo with nowhere to hide, and the fascination of jazz are all wonderfully conveyed, but at the same time, you can relax and simply enjoy this creditable debut album. (Kayo Fushiya)