Miu

Yoriyuki Yarada plays a variety of instruments here - piano, clarinet, bass clarinet, and soprano sax - with an unusual vibe that mixes modern jazz with some of the 80s arty touches you might guess from the cover! The approach is a bit like some of the more creative sounds coming from the New York downtown scene of the time - maybe imagine an avant jazz album on a label like Ze or Celluloid, although without any sort of gimmicks or tricks - and instead a surprising commitment to unusual combinations of instruments that also include vibes, cello, harmonica, and lots of drums and percussion. And overall, the result of the record is far richer and more pleasing than some of the more dated New York efforts - especially given that the overall approach sometimes gets quite free. Japanese pressing. Columbia Japan. 2015.