Chihiro Yamanaka, Ooh-La-La Review

By Jeff Becker

Chihiro Yamanaka is a virtuosic pianist with the musical appetite of a polyglot; she approaches the jazz canon as an archive of raw material that is something pliable, renewable, and rich with opportunity for recomposition. Her latest release, Ooh-La-La, affirms this perspective with striking clarity. Drawing from Brazilian standards, American soul, Japanese pop, and her own original writing, the album functions simultaneously as travelogue, tribute, and thesis on global modern jazz.

Supported by bassist Yoshi Waki and drummer John Davis, Yamanaka crafts a nine-song program that places rhythmic sophistication at the forefront while allowing her pianism to be crisp, articulate, and emotionally buoyant to narrate with lucidity. The album is a model of how to inhabit diverse idioms while retaining a distinctive artistic signature.

The opening statement, “Curumim,” sets the storyboard as a contemporary Latin-jazz feel animated by a melody whose gestures flirt with classical contour and bebop articulation. Yamanaka’s touch is fleet yet grounded; her right-hand lines have the aerodynamic precision associated with a driving rhythmic feel, while her left hand maintains an agile, syncopated counter-voice. The trio’s rhythmic cohesion is superb, with Waki’s bass lines locking into Davis’s subtle polyrhythmic inflections, providing a propulsive foundation. The prevailing emotion is joy, but a joy tempered by refinement as every phrase has intention, every contour a sense of inevitability.

Yamanaka’s performance of “Desafinado” is an enjoyable re-examination. The trio begins with a light, celebratory bossa that develops in a manner that is transparent, buoyant, and never hurried. But the magic lies in the structural pivot with the interlude acting as a rhythmic corridor, gradually tightening energy until it bursts into an up-tempo swing feel. Yamanaka’s crisp eighth-note articulation becomes the driving engine, her lines flowing with crystalline logic. The contrast between the bossa framing and the swing interior is handled with clarity, an inspired model for the trio exploring multi-feel forms.

The Stevie Wonder classic, “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” receives a gospel-inflected, medium-tempo transformation. The trio leans into rhythmic hits and punctuations with gratifying precision, giving the arrangement a subtle Sunday-morning swagger. Yamanaka’s improvisation unfolds patiently as motifs are introduced, repeated, varied, and gently expanded, creating a logical narrative. Waki’s bass solo features his round, warm tone and is delivered with a crisp pizzicato attack that sits beautifully in the mix. The track demonstrates how carefully sculpted dynamics can elevate familiar repertoire.

Switching to Rhodes, Yamanaka opens a new timbral chapter in “Vera Cruz.” The sound world becomes more atmospheric, more spacious; by embracing the electric palette, she invites comparisons to the lineage of post-bop fusion and 1970s lyrical jazz. Davis’s drumming is exceptional, with his layered groove providing forward motion without ever overwhelming the fragile shimmer of the Rhodes. Yamanaka uses space and clever lines as structural devices, allowing every phrase to breathe and resonate. The effect is contemporary and timeless.

“Marionette” situates itself in the aesthetic of European contemporary jazz. The performance is lyrical, restrained, and conversational. The trio functions as a democratic unit where phrases are echoed, extended, and reshaped across the ensemble. Waki’s bass solo is notably lyrical, flowing with a singing quality. Yamanaka’s improvisation is an expression of contour management. Rather than racing through harmony, she reveals it slowly, connecting inner voices in elegant horizontal arcs. For jazz fans, this track offers a compelling example of ensemble phrasing and trio communication.

Rather than accepting the tune’s canonical lilt, Yamanaka infuses “The Girl from Ipamema” with rhythmic mischief. The arrangement toggles between Latin-jazz funk, modal pockets, and more traditional harmonic passages. Each shift opens a different improvisational landscape, and Yamanaka adapts her vocabulary accordingly by leaning into coloristic voicings, sometimes into blues-inflected runs. The bass solo over a funky ostinato is particularly engaging. Davis’ drumming reframes the well-traveled standard with renewed vitality. The trio’s elasticity and stylistic fluency make this version rich and artistically satisfying.

Her original composition—and a rare appearance as vocalist—captures Yamanaka’s playful side. Her light, clear vocal delivery sits atop a gentle rhythmic paddle that mirrors the tune’s whimsical character. Though brief, the track broadens the album’s expressive spectrum and underscores her willingness to experiment beyond pianistic virtuosity.

“Sneaker Blues” is a reinterpretation of a J-POP hit, making it the album’s biggest surprise. What begins as a straight-eighth contemporary ballad gradually blooms into a multi-section form incorporating rhythmic displacement, pop-rock atmospheres, and contemporary jazz gestures. Yamanaka’s exploration of keyboards and synths adds a layer of sound design in the album’s context. Despite the stylistic breadth, the through-line is her structural clarity as each section transitions with organic inevitability.

The album closes with a vibrant up-tempo Latin interpretation of “Tristeza.” The trio moves as a single organism with phrases shaped in unified arcs, driven by Davis’s effervescent drumming work. Yamanaka’s improvisation is animated by rhythmic brilliance, her left-hand patterns weaving counter-motifs against the bass. Davis’ drum solo is melodic with thematic, joyful, and perfectly aligned figures that confirm the celebratory nature of the arrangement. The track serves as an exhilarating final cadence to the album’s global journey.

Ooh-La-La exemplifies modern cosmopolitan jazz pianism. Yamanaka’s playing is deeply informed by the American piano tradition with a lineage traceable to Powell, Peterson, Corea, and Tyner. However, she is equally shaped by Brazilian rhythmic architecture, Japanese melodic sensibility, European lyricism, and contemporary fusion aesthetics. For jazz fans, the album offers a living statement of jazz’s transnational evolution. It provides exemplary models of multi-feel arranging, motivic improvisation, dynamic shaping, and trio communication. And most of all, it delivers the rare combination of technical brilliance and emotional generosity.