Terry Riley - Standard(s)and: Kobuchizawa Sessions #1 (2023)

Terry Riley, known for his masterpieces such as "A Rainbow in Curved Air" and "in C," currently resides in Japan. His long-awaited new album was recorded in Kobuchizawa, Yamanashi Prefecture, just after his arrival in Japan in early spring of 2008, before he decided to move there. The new album is titled "Terry Riley STANDARD(S)AND -Kobuchizawa Sessions #1-" (SHIGERU-001) and consists of Jazz standards and original compositions, colored with a wide range of sounds of dense and delicate piano and psychedelic synthesizers. This album is a masterpiece that vividly records his essence as an "improviser. Of the ten tracks, six are cover songs and four are original compositions. During his stay in Paris as a young man, he became familiar with Jazz standards, which led him to this cover work. He is 88 years old. We cannot take our eyes off this living legendary artist!

"Really beautiful work from the great Terry Riley – and a set that continues some of the surprising and wonderful shift towards jazz improvisation he's brought to his career in more recent years! If you know Riley, you'll know that the record's not really a jazz album – and instead, it features him improvising and stretching out in his own minimal ways on both standards, and some original tunes – all recorded in a very intimate studio setting in Japan, with Riley playing both acoustic piano and keyboards, often overdubbed. The set includes really surprising takes on "Blue Room", "The Best Thing For You", "Round Midnight", and "Yesterdays" – then also includes original tunes "Ballad For Sara & Tadashi", "Pasha Rag", and "Gotcah Wakatcha" – the last of which has Riley singing along with Sara Miyamoto."

Tracklist
01. Isnt It Romantic
02. Blue Room
03. The Best Thing For You Would Be Me
04. Round Midnight
05. Ballade For Sara & Tadashi Piano
06. Pasha Rag
07. Ballade For Sara & Tadashi Synth
08. Yesterdays
09. It Could Happen To You
10. Gotcha Wakatcha