feature photo: Genya
Much as Grover Washington, Jean-Luc Ponty and Bob James were a bridge to ‘purer’ forms of jazz for young music fans in the ’70s, trumpet player Takuya Kuroda offers that gateway for Millennial and Gen Z listeners today.
Helping him build that bridge is someone uniquely qualified for that job in the 21st century: jazz/hip-hop singer and producer José James. Going back to their days together as students at Berklee College of Music, Kuroda was later instrumental in helping to formulate James’ trailblazing crossover jazz sound in the 2010s with his horn arrangements. James returned the favor in 2014 by producing Rising Son, which put the Japanese-born artist squarely on the map of jazz that’s facilely hybridized with contemporary music forms.
Rising Son wasn’t Kuroda’s first album, it’s actually his third. This is, however, the turning point that put his name on the map as a solo artist, partly because it’s his big label debut (Blue Note Records) and this is where he left behind the acoustic hard bop of his prior two records and fully embraced the modern gumbo of jazz, RnB and hip-hop.
Imbued with a healthy background of bop and big-band and schooled in two world-renowned conservatories, Takuya Kuroda knows how to preserve the integrity of jazz as he stretches far beyond its tradition to make it embraceable for newer generations. It’s apparent in his sharpened chops and his creative compositions.
José James’ crisp production of Rising Son sets Kuroda’s new tone from the opening moments of the struttin’ song of the same name, with the trumpet/trombone combination handling lead lines that’s a part of his signature sound.
Kuroda’s afrobeat side comes to the fore for “Afro Blues” and it even boasts Lionel Loueke on guitar but the jazz and hip-hop elements are finessed in and Corey King offers an attractive trombone solo. “Piri Piri” is a head-nodding update to the venerable funk-jazz, topped off by in-the-pocket asides Kuroda and King.
“Mala” is a ballad Takuya Kuroda wrote in the traditional jazz style and is even accompanied by Kris Bowers’ acoustic piano but with a twist: it rests upon a rubbery, electric bass/drums/percussion rhythm from bassist Solomon Dewey and drummer Nate Smith. “Sometime, Somewhere, Somehow” is also from the less edgy, more lyrical facet of Kuroda, featuring him blowing poetically on the softer flugelhorn. “Call” has a melodic sophistication that sets him apart from the pure riff-based groove crowd, even though he can do riff-based grooves well, too (as with the title track).
Most of these tunes were penned by Kuroda but he tips his hat to another crossover pioneer from a different era with two Roy Ayers covers. The laid-back vibe of “Green And Gold” is brought over but now underpinned by a hip-hop gait and those trumpet licks have an edge that keeps the song from getting too soft. And then there’s Ayers’ best-known number, “Everybody Loves The Sunshine,” which gets reharmonized to the point that Kuroda makes it his own … his and James’, really, as the latter contributes his smooth baritone vocals for the chorus lyrics. A mind-bending ‘Joe Armon-Jones’ remix of that track not on the original album is tacked on the end.
Rising Son has become a collectors’ item of late, as limited quantities have been easily outstripped by demand for these still-fresh jams. That’s prompted UK-based First Word Records to step in and reissue the vinyl early in 2024. Quantities remain limited but if you are quick, you can still procure a copy at Bandcamp.
*** Takuya Kuroda CDs and vinyl on Amazon ***
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