I have some Masabumi Kikuchi on the way! Others have also recommended him. With so many indicating I should hear is work I am eager to experience his music.
measet said: Miles Davis, Gil Evans , Joe Henderson, Gary Peackock, Elvin Jones, etc.
He kept good company!
Did anyone listen to the track I posted? Reactions?
On a separate matter, I bought some Masabumi Kikuchi. Superb musician, wonderful stuff. I have troubling listening past his unfortunate continual groaning however. 
Hmm. Must have been an understudy of Kieth Jarrett. 
I kinda sorta forgot about the track. Sorry, Mr. Elk. Can I get an extention on my homework? I’m glad you mentioned it. I’ll try to give it a go when I get home tomorrow. 
Unfortunately, his groaning is much more constant than Mr. Jarrett’s and, at least for me, very distracting. Excellent pianist however.
I am curious as to what others think of Mr. Yamamoto, both sound and performance.
Okay Elk, I checked it out.
On System Three (see: I got a system section of these forums) I found the clip to be rather unpleasant. At a reasonable listening level (probably less than you listen to) the piercing overtones of the higher keys made me flinch. When reduced to a more tolerable listening level they mostly just made me grimace. 
I’m glad I didn’t pay to listen to that. I feel like listening to the entire album would be torture.
I find the interpretation to be okay, but nothing exciting. Imaging had plenty of depth (?) but the near wall-to-wall piano seemed a bit unrealistic.
Please temper the above with the fact that I am not a critic and am not very good at talking about music and playback and all that even though I so enjoy listening to (most of) it.
J.P.
wingsounds13 said: At a reasonable listening level (probably less than you listen to) the piercing overtones of the higher keys made me flinch. When reduced to a more tolerable listening level they mostly just made me grimace.
Exactly my experience. The recording does limit one's interest in volume. Again I am surprised as Winston Ma gets so much positive attention in the audiophile press for his recordings.
I tend to listen at volumes well below audiophile approved. I went back and measured. I found I typically listen in the 65dB to 70dB range, roughly the range of a conversation. I expected it to measure louder.
Pretty similar levels to my own preferences. On this track acceptable was somewhat less than conversational levels though. My normal ‘happy zone’ is solo acoustic guitar and voice at about eight to twelve feet and most of my listening is at a similar level.
J.P.
このアルバムはたわごとのように聞こえる
私の耳が出血している
(google translate!)
Because I am travelling, I listened via my Macbook Air, using EMM, direct to a pair of Etymotic ER4Ps. I often listen at around 5-6 bars on the volume control, sometimes a bit higher for something that is well recorded. This recording had me reaching for the volume control and I was back down to 2-3 bars to complete the listening session. The piano has three voices, not coherent, and the top end - wow - talk about hard, hard highs.
Hope you enjoy some of these a bit more.
I saw his trio live with Suzuki on bass and they were amazing.
I hope your cd is an original 3 blind mice. Mine came from Japan and sounds great on my old system.I can dropbox a cut to compare if you want to.
Gordon said: Hope you enjoy some of these a bit more.
I hope your cd is an original 3 blind mice.
I have three of his recordings, including "Autumn in Seattle," and the sound is equally dreadful on each. They are Three Blind Mice. The performances are, let's say, sub par as well.
David said: The piano has three voices, not coherent, and the top end - wow - talk about hard, hard highs.
Exactly. Isn't this an odd, unpleasant way to record piano?
By the way, the "Autumn and Seattle" video Gordon posted well illustrates the incredibly uneven touch; over use of arpeggios, tremolo, and simple block chords; and repetitive playing I previously described. (I didn't listen to the rest.)
Gordon, I am surprised you find the recording is even tolerable, much less "great." Have you listened to them on a system other than your own, or through headphones? The highs are piercingly unpleasant.
Please download the track "Misty" I posted and compare it to yours. As all three recordings I have possess the same sound I doubt mine are different, but it is worth checking.
Well seeing them live perhaps adds to the sauce, however, I often listen to the albums that I own and I do enjoy most of the content.
he does indeed have a different approach that I personally would not classify as "illegal’ and the OMG tonalities are somewhat his style.
I have seen him play and he transmits emotion that {for me] also exists in his expressions on disk.
Many, myself included, perhaps are looking beyond the “technical” and listening less judgmentally.
The footnotes of those who enjoy him are plentiful.
Where there is smoke there is fire.
I posted some cuts that you do not have so perhaps put on a happy face and give a listen.
:-h