Imaginably is the 2nd album of Utopia, NY based duo project formed by Japanese musicians Yuto Mitomi (sax) and Yuto Kanazawa (guitar) who share the same first name.
The first track Karatachi no Hana is written by Japanese composer Kosaku Yamada in 1925, Mitomi originally arranged this piece for his octet and later he started to play together with Kanazawa. Title track Imaginably is the original composition by Yuto Mitomi, other tracks are a collection of jazz standards and pop covers.
First two tracks are played in a similar aesthetic, free improvisation based on the melody and form. It is a similar approach to their influence, the music of Paul Motian trio with Bill Frisell and Joe Lovano. Mitomi and Kanazawa focused on listening to the momentum of each other’s performance and improvised freely along with the flow of the melody.
In contrast to the first two tracks, I Want You Back, Black Bird, Dralice and Isn’t She Lovely have steady rhythms with the styles of Funk, Latin, Country and Brazilian Music. Mitomi and Kanazawa express their respect and love for jazz with Thelonious Monk’s Ugly Beauty and Cliff Burwell’s jazz standard Sweet Lorraine that was written in 1928.
Their unique repertoire was formed while performing gigs in NYC and touring in Japan where they play music for audiences who love all genres of music. Utopia’s intention on this album was to introduce jazz and improvisation to a broader audience with the familiar melodies and cultural music. Mitomi plays tenor and soprano sax and Kanazawa plays Brazilian 7 string guitar on this album.
Their mutual friend pianist Noah MacNeil gave notes to the album inner cover; For both standards and cover songs, there is no limit to what one could imaginably play.
Album Release Date: 3/12/21 on major streaming websites.
Pre-release available at Bandcamp on 3/5/21.
Yuto Mitomi (Tenor & Soprano Saxophone)
yutomitomi.bandcamp.com
Yuto Kanazawa (Brazilian 7 string guitar )
yutokanazawa.bandcamp.com
Recorded by Jason Borisoff
at Conveyor Recording Studio in Brooklyn NY, on January 21st, 2020
Mixed & Mastered by Yuto Kanazawa
Art designed by Yuto Kanazawa,
Special thanks to Noah MacNeil,
noahmacneil.bandcamp.com