Masayuki Koito

Masayuki Koito for The Walker’s magazine

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Yelena Eckemoff’s latest work is a gorgeous 2-disc set. Yelena Eckemoff is a pianist from Russia who continues to release top-notch works. In addition to Masaru Koga, a Japanese multi-lead player based in San Francisco, this latest work also features cornetist Kirk Knuffke, bassist Ben Street, and drummer and percussionist Eric Harland. It seems that Masaru Koga, who can play the shakuhachi, was called to express the fish that appears in the title, but the concept of this album is also interesting. The sound of Yelena Ekemoff’s piano and Fender Rhodes is also wonderful. Includes 14 tracks in 2 discs. It is finished as a gorgeous work with a 32-page booklet. [Yelena Eckemoff’s ‘three wishes’ are featured in the opening feature.]
Original Japanese:
Masayuki Koito for The Walker’s magazine
Masayuki Koito for The Walker’s magazine

Masayuki Koito for The Walker’s magazine

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Title: Yelena Eckemoff’s latest two-disc album

Her previous album “Nocturnal Animals” was also an exceptional work, and the latest album by Yelena Eckemoff, a pianist, composer, poet, and visual artist from Moscow, is a 2-CD set containing 11 songs. The title of this album is unique, but the cover, created by Yelena herself, is very special.

In this work, in addition to piano and keyboards, Yelena also plays Fender Rhodes on “Truth in His Heart” (Disk 1,) “The Wine of Astonishment” and “At Midnight I Will Rise” (Disk 2). The last track on disk 2, “Every Beast of The Field,” is a 19-minute epic with an interesting arrangement.

Orignal Japanese:

エレーナ・エケモフの最新2枚組アルバム

前作『ノクターン・アニマルズ』もユニークな作品だったが、モスクワ出身のピアニスト、コンポーザー、詩人、ヴィジュアル・アーティストでもあるエレーナ・エケモフの最新作は11曲を収めた2枚組アルバム。今作のタイトルもユニークだが、エレーナ自身が手掛けたジャケットがとてもユニーク。

本作ではエレーナがピアノとキーボード以外に、disk1の『Truth in His Heart』、disk2の『The Wine of Astonishment』、『 At Midnight I Will Rise』、でフェンダーローズも披露している。Disk2のラスト、アルバムの最後を飾るナンバー『Every Beast of The Field』は約19分にも及ぶ大作でアレンジも面白い。

Masayuki Koito for The Walker’s

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The latest work of Russian-American pianist Yelena, who was born in Moscow. She started playing the piano at the age of four, at the same time she also started to compose music. She studied classical piano at the Moscow State Conservatory. She decides to move to the US when she was 20 because she was fascinated with jazz music. She moved to North Carolina in 1991. In 2010, she released “Cold Sun” and became active in jazz music scene. The newest release is themed based on botany/ plants as shown on her cover art.  She’s focused on natural plants and flowers and expressed the vitality of plants life and their communication. The recording was made in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, with some of the best local players. 18 songs in a 2-disc set were recorded, and the titles of the songs seem to be tied with the perspective of plants and their relationship, and it is interesting to listen to each song and enjoy the sound thinking of the plants.

Masayuki Koito for The Walker’s

Masayuki Koito for Walker magazine

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Moscow-born Pianist Yelena Eckemoff’s New Work
Yelena Eckemoff, a Russian pianist with a perfect balance of jazz and classical elements, is a composer, poet and visual artist. Her new double-album titled “Nocturnal Animals” is a lineup of 14 songs including “Cicada”, “Bat”, “Walkingstick”, “Hedgehog”, “Toad”, and “Fox.” “Fox” has a swinging sound with a walking bass. How Eckemoff uses sound and arrangements to represent each nocturnal animal is very intriguing. The combination of piano, bass, and both drums and percussion is also unique.

Masayuki Koito for Walker magazine
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