Toshiko Akiyoshi - Toshiko's Blues

In the 1950s, Toshiko Akiyoshi was a force to behold. Inspired early on by pianist Bud Powell's bop attack and lightning-fast fingers, she grew up in Japan after World War II when her parents moved back to the country from Manchuria, China. She began playing piano at age 7, entertained U.S. troops in Japan and fell in love with jazz after hearing a Teddy Wilson recording of "Sweet Lorraine".

In 1953, under the direction of record producer Norman Granz, Akiyoshi recorded her first album with Oscar Peterson's rhythm section: Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass and J. C. Heard on drums. The album was released as Toshiko's Piano in the U.S. and Amazing Toshiko Akiyoshi in Japan. Akiyoshi then studied jazz at the Berklee School of Music in Boston in the mid-1950s on a full scholarship.

She is perhaps best known for her later small-group collaborations in the 1960s with husband, alto saxophonist Charlie Mariano, and big band recordings with her second husband, tenor saxophonist and flutist Lew Tabackin, whom she married in 1969. But her early work still knocks me out and is a must listen.

Now, Fresh Sound has released a two-CD set of Akyoshi's 1950s work that has been remastered with 24-bit technology: Toshiko's Blues: Toshiko Akiyoshi - Quartet and Trio, 1953-1958. The set includes material from her albums Toshiko's Piano (1953), George Wein Presents Toshiko (1956), Toshiko: Her Trio, Her Quartet (1956), Toshiko and the Leon Sash Quartet at Newport (1957), The Many Sides of Toshiko (1957) and the two tracks from her appearance on TV's The Subject Is Jazz in 1958.

Akyoshi's playing on her first album was a staggering tornado of speed, daring and perfection. "Squatty Roo" is hair-raising, but her solo treatment of the ballad "Laura" is exceptional as well. Her trio on the George Wein Presets Toshiko for Wein's Storyville label features Toshiko (p), Paul Chambers (b) and Ed Thigpen (d). The playlist is a mix of beautiful standards such as "It Could Happen to You" and "Softly As in a Morning Sunrise" and originals that include the meditative "Kyo-Shu" and the peppy "Manhattan Address". Throughout the first album, you get to experience Chambers's beefy-thick bass behind her.

The three trio tracks from Toshiko; Her Trio Her Quartet feature Oscar Pettiford (b) and Roy Haynes (d) playing "No Moon at All", "Pea, Bee and Lee" and "Thou Swell". On the four tracks from Toshiko and the Leon Sash Quartet at Newport, Akiyoshi was paired with her trio Gene Cherico (b) and Jake Hanna (d). Leon Sash was a gorgeous accordionist who played with his own quartet.

The Many Sides of Toshiko for Verve features the same trio playing Akyoshi's compositions and a range of standards, including a marvelous "Bag's Groove", which sounds far removed from the original by Milt Jackson. And finally, two tracks from The Subject Is Jazz, an NBC show in 1958 hosted by Gilbert Seldes. The 3d Movement is a fascinating bop workout.

What you'll notice listening to Akyoshi on this set is the iron power of her left hand and the lucidity of her fingers. And like Hazel Scott and Dorothy Donegan, Akyoshi would probably have been a household name if she had been a man. Such was the state of jazz. And it's a shame she didn't get to play and record with Charlie Parker. One of Granz's shortsighted failures, since both were on his Clef label in 1953. *Marc Myers*

Toshiko Akiyoshi

Toshiko's Blues

Quartet And Trios • 1953–1958

In 1953, during the Japan tour of producer and promoter Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic group, pianist Oscar Peterson had the opportunity to witness the performance of 23-year-old pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi at a Ginza club. Peterson was deeply impressed by her talent and successfully convinced Granz to record her. As a result, Toshiko recorded her debut album in Tokyo, accompanied by Peterson's esteemed rhythm section of Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on double bass, and J.C. Heard on drums. The album was released as Toshiko’s Piano in the United States and Amazing Toshiko Akiyoshi in Japan. Even at that early stage, it was evident that she held a deep admiration for the modernist Bud Powell, a fact that she has never made any effort to hide.

In January 1956, Akiyoshi was granted a prestigious four-year scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston, becoming the first-ever Japanese student to enroll in the school. Her talent and unique background quicklymade her popular among fellow students. Since her arrival  in Boston, Toshiko had the valuable opportunity to collaborate with George Wein, the respected owner and manager of the renowned Storyville club and record label. Under his guidance, Toshiko recorded her first two albums in the United States, marking the beginning of her successful musical journey.

In addition, George Wein served as the director and founder of the Newport Jazz Festival, where Toshiko had the opportunity to showcase her talents in the 1956 and 1957 editions. Previously, in December 1956, she performed at the London House in Chicago, and in August 1957, she embarked on a highly successful two-month engagement at New York's Hickory House, which marked her first extended performance outside of Boston.

The release of these early Norgran, Storyville, and Verve albums, alongwith Toshiko's performance on The Subject Is Jazz TV-show, not only gained recognition from the public but also earned her acclaimfromprominent jazzmusicians. These achievements solidified her position as one of the top pianists in modern jazz. *Jordi Pujol*

*CD 1*

1 - What Is This Thing Called Love?

(Cole Porter)

2 - Gone With The Wind

(Magidson, Wrubel)

3 - I Want To Be Happy

(Youmans, Caesar)

4 - Toshiko's Blues

(Toshiko Akiyoshi)

5 - Shadrack

(R. H. MacGimsey)

6 - Solidado

(Toshiko Akiyoshi)

7 - Squatty Roo

(Johnny Hodges)

8 - Laura (piano solo)

(Raksin, Mercer)

9 - Between Me And Myself

(Toshiko Akiyoshi)

10 - It Could Happen To You

(Van Heusen, Burke)

11 - Kyo-Shu (Nostalgia)

(Toshiko Akiyoshi)

12 - Homework

(Toshiko Akiyoshi)

13 - Manhattan Address

(Toshiko Akiyoshi)

14 - Softly As In A Morning Sunrise

(Romberg, Hammerstein II)

15 - Soshu Yakyoku (Suzhou Serenade)

(Toshiko Akiyoshi)

16 - Sunday Afternoon

(Toshiko Akiyoshi)

17 - Blues for Toshiko

(Toshiko Akiyoshi)

18 - No Moon at All

(Mann, Evans)

19 - Pea, Bee And Lee

(Toshiko Akiyoshi)

20 - Thou Swell

(Rodgers, Hart)

*CD 2*

1 - Between Me And Myself

(Toshiko Akiyoshi)

2 - Blues For Toshiko

(Toshiko Akiyoshi)

3 - I'll Remember April

(Raye, De Paul, Johnston)

4 - Lover

(Rodgers, Hart)

5 - The Man I Love

(G. and I. Gershwin)

6 - Minor Mood

(Clifford Brown)

7 - After You've Gone

(Layton, Creamer)

8 - We'll Be Together Again

(Fischer, Laine)

9 - Tosh's Fantasy

(Toshiko Akiyoshi)

• Down A Mountain

• Phrygian Waterfull

• Running Stream

10 - Bags' Groove

(Milt Jackson)

11 - Imagination

(Van Heusen, Burke)

12 - Studio J

(Toshiko Akiyoshi)

13 - The 3rd Movement

(Toshiko Akiyoshi)

14 - Don't Get Around Much Anymore

(Duke Ellington)

*CD1*

#1 to #8: from the album Toshiko's Piano (Norgran MGN 22)

Toshiko Akiyoshi (piano), Herb Ellis (guitar), Ray Brown (bass), J.C. Heard (drums).

Recorded in Tokyo, November 13 and 14, 1953.

#9 to #17: from the album George Wein Presents Toshiko (Storyville STLP 912)

Toshiko Akiyoshi (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), Ed Thigpen (drums).

Recorded in New York City, 1956 [other source gives Boston, Massachusetts, 1954.]

#18 to #20: taken from the album Toshiko, Her Trio Her Quartet (Storyville STLP 918)

Toshiko Akiyoshi (piano), Oscar Pettiford (bass), Roy Haynes (drums).

Recorded in Boston, Massachusetts, July 1956.

*CD2*

#1 to #4: from the album Toshiko and the Leon Sash Quartet at Newport (Verve MG V 8236)

Toshiko Akiyoshi (piano), Gene Cherico (bass), Jack Hanna (drums).

Recorded live at the Newport Jazz Festival, July 5, 1957.

#5 to #12: from the album The Many Sides of Toshiko (Verve MGV-8273)

Toshiko Akiyoshi (piano), Gene Cherico (bass), Jack Hanna (drums).

Recorded in New York, September 28, 1957.

#13 and #14: from NBC TV-show The Subject Is Jazz

Toshiko Akiyoshi (piano), Eddie Safranski (bass), Ed Thigpen (drums).

Recorded live at "The Subject Is Jazz" TV-show, New York City, May 25, 1958.

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**Extra**

Watch the videos:

• Toshiko Akiyoshi at the "Newport Jazz Festival" playing "Blues for Toshiko", July 5, 1957.

• Toshiko Akiyoshi at "The Subject Is Jazz", New York City, May 25, 1958.

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