Although her press materials since 2000 have trumpeted her two wins as "Best Female Artist" at the National Smooth Jazz Awards, the brilliant Japanese-born keyboardist and composer is secure enough in her genius, spirituality, and vast popularity (1.2 million units sold to date) that she never limits herself to one genre. Her recent Narada albums ...
Narada, one of the most established new age labels, presents a two-disc overview of their 20-year history on Best of Narada: New Age. All of the label's heavy hitters are represented, including Keiko Matsui, David Lanz, David Arkenstone, Jesse Cook, John Whelan, and Tingstad & Rumbel. These artists and many more celebrate the varied styles of ...
Keiko Matsui is the Stevie Nicks of contemporary jazz. In her photos, she always appears pale, out of a mist, like a fairy goddess or angel. Her creative and long popular blend of classical piano, aggressive jazz/funk, orchestral grandeur, and sonic elements from her native Japan allows her to create both poignant ballads and more aggressive ...
Taking a stroll through Keiko Matsui's musical hypnotherapy session Dream Walk is like entering a funhouse where all previous definitions of contemporary jazz are strikingly distorted, and invention walks on the wild side of East meets West. Crisp melodies have always been at the heart of the keyboardist's best work, only here they come at you as ...
Keiko Matsui's last album, 2000s Whisper From the Mirror, was picked up and reissued by the Narada label in 2001, and Narada is also releasing her 12th album, Deep Blue. It's an appropriate match-up for the Japanese pianist, since Narada is known primarily as a new age label, and, though her records are being released on its Narada Jazz imprint, ...
As its title suggests, the double-disc collection 20 Years of Narada Piano gathers highlights from the label's roster of pioneering new age pianists, including Wayne Gratz, Michael Jones, Michael Gettel, and Ira Stein. Jones' "Endings," Gratz' "Dark Eyes," and Gettel's "Orcas" are among the first disc's highlights, along with Mia Jang's "Water ...
Since she emerged in the late '80s, many of the acclaimed Japanese composer/keyboardist's most popular contemporary jazz hits featured either a very prominent sax melody or a great deal of exotic percussion and Eastern-flavored instrumentation. Since signing with Narada Jazz in 2000, Matsui's work has drawn more from her classical piano background ...
As the title suggests, Smooth Jazz Number Ones is a compilation of some of the biggest hits from the light jazz radio format. Highlights include such chart-toppers as saxophonist Paul Taylor's "Pleasure Seeker," longtime Warlock recording artist Kim Waters' "Secrets Told," Keiko Matsui's "Bridge Over the Stars," and Nestor Torres' "Velvet Nights." ...
The spiritual and charitable-minded Japanese keyboardist, who blends ethereal new age textures with a rich soul-jazz sensibility better than anyone, is in top form on her 14th studio release. Like its recent predecessors on Narada Jazz, the CD features songs that are all about the landscape between subtlety and drama, elegant piano melodies and ...
Launched in 1983 with the release of Pianoscapes by Michael Jones and Heartsounds by David Lanz, Narada Records quickly became a new age mecca and trendsetter for other labels in the fast growing genre. Many years ago, when the label released a compilation of its first decade, the songs were mostly acoustic-based, melodic, and atmospheric gems by ...
If we're talking Keiko Matsui, we can expect another impressionistic album cover which belies the often explosive music on the disc. Matsui draws a little more from her heritage this time but textures it with soulful excursions ("Walking on the Bridge"). She once again gives radio a seductive earful while continuing her heightened exploration into ...
If there's such a thing as poetic music, Matsui continues her discovery of it on this effort. For all its beauty ad more aggressive touches, this collection doesn't quite measure up to her previous collection No Borders, but there are moments of fusion in her work here which cook like never before, thanks to Eric Marienthal, Gerald Albright and ...
Keiko Matsui is usually classified as a jazz musician, which tends to mean that she doesn't get very good reviews, since she is reviewed by jazz critics, while her music actually is best described as a hybrid consisting of equal parts pop, jazz, and new age. Matsui can be an impressive keyboard soloist at times, but her recordings consist of ...
KKSF Sampler for AIDS, Vol. 9 continues the San Francisco smooth jazz radio station's charitable benefit album series, featuring contributions from big names like George Benson, Diana Krall, Al Jarreau, Ramsey Lewis, and even Sting (doing his "Sister Moon"). It's a worthy addition to the series and a worthy cause as well. ~ Steve Huey, All Music ...
Collection is a rather unusual CD sampler in that the dozen selections by keyboardist Keiko Matsui are drawn from just two releases: Northern Lights and No Borders. As it turned out, those were Matsui's only MCA sets, and they led to her becoming a major star in the pop/jazz world. The musicianship is excellent on this CD, and the electronics have ...
Taking a stroll through Keiko Matsui's musical hypnotherapy session Dream Walk is like entering a funhouse where all previous definitions of contemporary jazz are strikingly distorted, and invention walks on the wild side of East meets West. Crisp melodies have always been at the heart of the keyboardist's best work, only here they come at you as ...
This pop-jazz recording by Japanese pianist/keyboardist Keiko Matsui is actually better than many comparable contemporary jazz recordings. The melodies are catchy and charming but rather low-key, most of the pieces are quite atmospheric ("1942, From Russia" sounds like a piece from a Hollywood epic), and several unusual moods (for pop-jazz, that ...
This auspicious introduction to the many aspects of the composer's skills finds her surrounded by a slew of L.A.'s top players, some of whom had yet to begin their own solo careers at this point: Grant Geissman, Brandon Fields, Robben Ford, Nathan East, Vinnie Colaiuta, and Jimmy Johnson. Matsui balances a mystic Eastern edge with a lighthearted ...
This auspicious introduction to the many aspects of the composer's skills finds her surrounded by a slew of L.A.'s top players, some of whom had yet to begin their own solo careers at this point: Grant Geissman, Brandon Fields, Robben Ford, Nathan East, Vinnie Colaiuta, and Jimmy Johnson. Matsui balances a mystic Eastern edge with a lighthearted ...
This pop-jazz recording by Japanese pianist/keyboardist Keiko Matsui is actually better than many comparable contemporary jazz recordings. The melodies are catchy and charming but rather low-key, most of the pieces are quite atmospheric ("1942, From Russia" sounds like a piece from a Hollywood epic), and several unusual moods (for pop-jazz, that ...
If we're talking Keiko Matsui, we can expect another impressionistic album cover which belies the often explosive music on the disc. Matsui draws a little more from her heritage this time but textures it with soulful excursions ("Walking on the Bridge"). She once again gives radio a seductive earful while continuing her heightened exploration into ...
KKSF 103.7: Sampler for AIDS, Vol. 10 continues the San Francisco smooth jazz radio station's charitable compilation series in fine fashion, featuring widely varied cuts from Rick Braun, Fattburger, Kenny G, Paul Hardcastle, Dave Koz, David Benoit, Sade, Boney James, George Benson, Grover Washington, and many more. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
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