DISCOGRAPHY
More Mood (2017) is a natural progression of Southerton’s onerous vision of the group – hard, aggressive and rocking. Featuring arrangements that were honed through the continuing live performances and scat filled drives to and from gigs. Any inhibition has been removed from Ito’s playing, allowing for Southerton and Tachibana to further express their musical exuberance.
As the title suggests, the album is an exploration of emotions and dynamics – the heavier material really ‘rocks out’ whilst the softer tracks convey mood as well as feeling, and all delivered with excellence. Once again recorded at Ito’s ‘Kiss Musique’, More Mood features a lot more of the group’s collectively written material. An album that is both poignant and raging, and sometimes in equal measure.
Tachibana Yoichi – Piano
Tom Southerton – Double Bass
Ito Kooryo – Drums
01 More Mood
02 Everyone Get Over
03 What’s the Usual?
04 Beside of Show Windows
05 Rounding Score
06 Cycles of Square
07 Changing the Blood
08 The Aspect
09 So Bright
10 It’s So!
Clear Speaking (2016) started out life opportunistically as a ‘scat’ sang by Southerton, which Tachibana managed to transcribe in real-time at a late night diner meeting. The trio continued to develop their exclusively original set, and their interplay, during a string of gigs in and around the live jazz scene of Fukuoka, Japan.
Once the group were satisfied with their new sound – a fusion of melodic piano lines, purposeful bass grooves supported by intricate yet ferocious beats – they began to record their debut album at Ito’s ‘Kiss Musique’ studios in Fukuoka. A journey through a range of styles; swing, funk, ballad, latin and rock – ‘Clear Speaking’ is the beginning of something unique and exhilarating.
Tachibana Yoichi – Piano
Tom Southerton – Double Bass
Ito Kooryo – Drums
01 Etude 1
02 The Impulse
03 Cycles of Trio
04 New Breathing
05 Hip Hop New
06 A Hunch
07 Tom Tom
08 Shifting of Time
09 The Open
10 Clear Speaking
Make Time (2018) is an exploration into the realms of both improvisation and dynamics. Some of the material was written whilst the band performed their debut UK Tour in March 2018, with the title track ‘Make Time’ being penned during a visit to Stonehenge. Whilst previous albums acted as stepping stones towards their collective vision, the track ‘The Door to Next’ symbolises the band’s arrival at the next stage of their evolution.
Leaving off from where More Mood finished, this album delves deeper into the real-life experiences of the band – reflecting on events that are both emotional and meaningful. The album was once again recorded at Kooryo’s ‘Kiss Musique’ and extensive time together in the studio and touring has resulted in Cycles of Trio finest hour yet.
Tachibana Yoichi – Piano
Tom Southerton – Bass
Ito Kooryo – Drums
01 The Door to Next
02 The Reality Shift
03 A Ray
04 Speed Blues
05 Ballade
06 Sweet Devil Blues
07 The Circulation
08 Flying Freedom
09 Endless Night
10 Make Time