Podaar: Bob James & Keiko Matsui [8.8]
1. Frozen Lake
2. Divertimento
3. Bach Chorale
Lovely, lovely piano playing, absolutely gorgeous. In fact it's the one record I tried to look up to purchase before posting results, unfortunately it's impossible to find a physical copy of this anywhere on the planet, apparently. The conversation between the keyboards and piano on Frozen Lake is delightful - Divertimento is like a playful studious trip down memory lane to my college days - Bach Chorale is a lovely excerpt from a larger Bach piece. All played exquisitely with beautiful sounding pianos. Exceptional.
I'm pleased you enjoyed it. Most of this album was a departure for both Bob and Keiko, IMO.
Most of Bob's output is firmly in the, so called, smooth jazz genre. He's done a couple of stellar albums with jazz guitar great, Earl Klugh. I'd highly recommend you give the albums, One on One, and Two of a Kind, a listen. They're both fantastic.
Keiko has a shit ton of navel gazing, pseudo-spiritual, jazz club albums. Tim would hate them all. You can probably find live DVD's of her and her husband performing, literally, in a room full of rich yuppies eating dinner and sipping champagne.
But, if you ignore all the fluff and marketing around her, you'll hear thoughtfully arranged music, very interesting instrumentation, and exquisitely performed keyboard and piano.
Oh, and of course, I already sent. I think I've sent early for about every round.