''Live at the Village Vanguard'' was the third album by Japanese pianist
Junko Onishi, released on September 21, 1994, in Japan. It was released on May 2, 1995, by
Blue Note Records.
This album was the first live recording of a Japanese jazz musician at the
Village Vanguard
The Village Vanguard is a jazz club at Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on February 22, 1935, by Max Gordon. Originally, the club presented folk music and beat poetry, but it became primarily a jazz ...
.
Reception
The
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
review by
Scott Yanow stated, "
This is a memorable set. When pianist Junko Onishi performs songs from the likes of
Charles Mingus ("So Long Eric"),
John Lewis
John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...
("Concorde"), and
Ornette Coleman ("Congeniality"),
she interprets each of the tunes as much as possible within the intent and style of its composer.
"So Long Eric," although performed by her trio, gives one the impression at times that several horns are soloing together; in addition, polyrhythms are utilized part of the time, Ornette's "Congeniality" has a strong pulse but fairly free improvising, while "Concorde" sounds both distinguished and full of blues feeling, like John Lewis himself. Onishi's exploration of "Blue Skies" uplifts the warhorse through the use of colorful vamps and an altered melody, she takes the slow ballad "Darn That Dream" as a medium-tempo stomp, and her original, "How Long Has This Been Goin' On," is brooding but not downbeat and swings hard without losing its serious nature.
There is not a weak selection in the bunch and the interplay between Onishi, bassist
Reginald Veal, and drummer
Herlin Riley
Herlin Riley (born February 15, 1957) is an American jazz drummer and a member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra led by Wynton Marsalis.
A native of New Orleans, Riley started on the drums when he was three. He played trumpet through high ...
is quite impressive.".
[Scott Yano]
Allmusic Review
accessed November 11, 2015
Track listing
Personnel
*
Junko Onishi -
Piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
*
Reginald Veal -
Bass
*
Herlin Riley
Herlin Riley (born February 15, 1957) is an American jazz drummer and a member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra led by Wynton Marsalis.
A native of New Orleans, Riley started on the drums when he was three. He played trumpet through high ...
-
Drums
Production
*Executive Producer - Hitoshi Namekata
*
Co-Producer - Junko Onishi
*
Recording and Mixing Engineer -
Jim Anderson
*Assistant Engineer - Brian Kingman, James Biggs, Mark Shane
*Mixing Engineer - Masuzo Iida
*
Mastering engineer - Yoshio Okazuki
*Cover Photograph - Norman Saito
*
Art director - Kaoru Taku
*
A&R - Yoshiko Tsuge
References
External links
Junko Onishi HP*
*
{{Authority control
1994 albums
Junko Onishi albums
Albums recorded at the Village Vanguard