Chihiro Yamanaka - Lach Doch Mal [Just Laugh] (2006)

Pianist Chihiro Yamanaka’s thrilling series of jazz albums continues with her fifth audio release Lach Doch Mal, released in 2006 on Verve with twelve tracks at just under an hour’s runtime. Like Yamanaka’s previous albums, Lach Doch Mal contains a mix of originals and covers rearranged in her creative style. Fans of her previous four albums know that her amazing piano improvisation and technique are a feature of her albums, and this release is no exception. While her contemporary jazz and bop trio sound is the primary recorded sound, Yamanaka adds some additional layers with some light guitar, extra percussion, and groovy electric keyboards on a few tracks as well. Yamanaka’s piano technique is exciting and powerful as always, racing through the shifting jazz terrain like a high-speed vehicle dangerously hugging the curves along cliffside roads. About half of the songs on the album feature Yamanaka as the main improviser, playing the song melodies and intensely improvising and quoting jazz phrases while Larry Grenadier on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums provide the solid musical framework and addictive rhythms. ~ Extract by Brian McCrory, jazzofjapan.com. 

Verve Records, UCCJ-2052, 2006
Recorded 14th & 15th June, 2006 at Eastside Sound, New York City 

Musicians:
Chihiro Yamanaka - Piano, Arranger
Larry Grenadier - Bass
Jeff Ballard - Drums
John Carlini - Guitar (#1,5), Banjo (#3)

Tracks:
01. Quand Biron Voulut Danser {Traditional} (4:00)
02. Sabot {Chihiro Yamanaka} (3:57)
03. Serenade To A Cuckoo {Roland Kirk} (5:41)
04. RTG {Geri Allen} (3:54)
05. The Dolphin {Luiz Eça} (4:25)
06. Night Loop {Chihiro Yamanaka} (2:51)
07. One Step Up {Chihiro Yamanaka} (4:14)
08. Lach Doch Mal {Chihiro Yamanaka} (0:45)
09. Liebesleid {Fritz Kreisler} (5:35)
10. Mode To John {McCoy Tyner} (4:54)
11. What A Diff'rence A Day Made {Maria Grever, Stanley Adams} (7:06)
12. That's All {Alan Brandt, Bob Haymes} (5:51) 

Total Time: 53:17 

Credits:
Producer - Chihiro Yamanaka
Executive Producer - Hiroto Furuya, Tomohide Ishikawa
Recording & Mixing Engineer - Tim Conklin
Recording & Mixing [Assisted] - Marc Urselli
Mastering Engineer - Greg Calbi
Art Direction - Mikihiro Takeuchi
Photography - Koji Akita, Osamu Yokonami, Sakutaro Imaizumi

LINK

One Step Up [Video]