Track Listing

1. Moyo [Heart and Soul]
2. Great Romance
3. Into the Night
4. Caricias
5. Evening in Gibraltar
6. When I Close My Eyes
7. After the Rain
8. Allure
9. Black River
10. Old Potch Road
11. Um Novo Dia [A New Day]
12. Marula

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19082 in Music
• Brand: Matsui
• Released on: 2007-04-24
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Album Description
Contemporary jazz icon Keiko Matsui's new album, (Swahili for "heart and soul"), recorded with local musicians in South Africa, Japan and the United States, introduces new sounds and rhythms to her elegant piano melodies and gentle jazz grooves. For this project, Keiko invited other artists into the creative process, including legendary trumpeter Hugh Masakela, sax player Gerald Albright, soprano sax player Paul Taylor, bassist/vocalist Richard Bona, drummer Akira Jimbo and vocalist Waldemar Bastos.

Amazon.com
Pianist Keiko Matsui, a favorite among smooth jazz and crossover fans for her elegant melodic style, breaks new ground on several fronts with Moyo. Having split with her husband Kazu Matsui, who produced her previous albums, she produced it herself, for a new label (Shout Factory), and recorded much of it in South Africa (as well as Japan, New York, California, and Colorado). Moyo has a high special-guest quotient: trumpeter Hugh Masekela, saxophonists Paul Taylor and Gerald Albright, and singer-bassist Richard Bona are featured. But the clean and sometimes spare arrangements allow the personal nature of the writing to come through. When Matsui trusts in the forceful lyricism of her playing, as on the title track (Swahili for "Heart and Soul"), she makes the strongest impression. But even when she employs synthesizer and soprano sax sweetening, the songs maintain their honest expression. The rhythmic thrust of South African-derived songs such as "After the Rain" may well open her up to a new audience. --Lloyd Sachs

Customer Reviews

Looking forward, looking back: a wonderful retrospective
Moyo is a wonderful album for those new to Keiko Matsui as it captures her musical development for the past two decades, from smooth jazz to new age, and the emergence of a new style incorporating a wider range of ethnic influences and a willingness to record in more spontaneous settings.

Following her divorce last year from her personal and professional partner of more than twenty years, Keiko Matsui began exploring new musical directions, a walk into the future punctuated with occasional glances into the past. The result is her first album of original work in two years, music that both looks back and looks ahead.

Her new direction finds Matsui borrowing from the African contemporary jazz scene, not only in compositions infused with African rhythms, but also in her choice of performing and recording mates, including the reigning grandfather of South African jazz, trumpeter Hugh Masekela, Angolan vocalist Waldemar Bastos, and Cameroonian bassist/singer Richard Bona. Matsui also seems to be trying to open up her performing by recording with live musicians in more spontaneous settings, rather than continuing to develop the carefully orchestrated synthesizer work for which she has long been known and at which she excels.

She hasn't abandoned that style altogether. You can find a couple of examples on Moyo, slower numbers based on piano and synthetic strings that will be pleasingly familiar to fans who have made her albums of the past seven to eight years commercial successes. Going back even further, Matsui calls on saxophonist Paul Taylor, a member of her touring and recording band in the mid-to late 90's, and Gerald Albright, who first recorded with Matsui in 1991, to help light up a few smooth jazz memories.

If you've never heard Matsui, Moyo would be a great place to start. If you've been a fan for years, you might find this album a marvelous retrospective.

Ms. Matsui Goes to South Africa
I've been waiting for this release since Matsui first talked about it in her interview with Japanese-American news magazine show JATV News in Oct. 2006.

Now that it's out, I have to say that "Moyo" is a very interesting album. This is her first album in 20 years NOT to be produced by Kazu Matsui (her current marital status is somewhat ambiguous. In the letter she writes in the liner notes, she talks about changes in her life, but doesn't say anything about separation or divorce. At the same time, Kazu is MIA on her offical website & that's now copyrighted to her).

"Moyo" is largely based on her travels in South Africa (the word "Moyo" is not as Swahili isn't spoken in that country), thus there's a strong African favor on this disc. My main issue here is the number of guest musicians, esp. the horn players, which makes the album sound a little like her earlier, Pre-"Whisper From the Mirror" recordings. Some of her fans will be happy to hear that, but I'm one who likes her post-2000 recordings over her earlier material.

Nonetheless, "Moyo" is a good album. Highlights include the title track, "A Great Romance" (with some great albeit brief solos from South African guitarist Grecco Buratto), "When I Close My Eyes" (which reminds me of "Garden" from "Sapphire"), the highlife favored "After the Rain", & "Old Potch Road" (named after a major street in Soweto). The lone vocal track, "Um Novo Dai" is a song that has to grow on you. It's in Portuguese, but don't expect to hear samba, bossa nova, or even Cape Verdean-like music there. Matsui plays behind a string session in the closer, a great way to end the album.

Rather you love her pre-2000 recordings or her later new age/worldbeat material, there's something for all of her fans on this disc.

Keiko making exciting music again
I have loved Keiko Matsui's music for years now and have attended many of her live shows. This album reminds me of her earlier jazzy works as opposed to the more recent "new age" style (although that was beautiful in its own way). This album is definitely a must have as it is a fine work of jazz showmanship and has many exciting world beats. Keiko produced this album herself and she did a masterful job. Great addition to any record collection.