Yoko Miwa, Berklee professor and jazz pianist, took the stage on Sunday at the Blue Note as part of the venue's East Meets West Brunch series and blew through some bluesy oldies as well as impressive original compositions. Her bandmates -- Will Slater on bass and Scott Goulding on drums -- provided assistance and contributed in surprisingly egoless ways to Miwa's originals.
The standard part of the set showcased Miwa's fondness for the blues scale. In many instances she sounded like Ray Charles butting through his orchestra for piano instrumental breaks like the one from the classic track "Bye Bye Love". A favorite technique of hers is to play jingly, repeating lines with her right hand while her left does the talking by pounding out imposing bass clusters. From the sound of it her main inspirations are pianists with blues roots, bite, and attitude like Thelonious Monk. She's also no stranger to latin rhythms as was demonstrated by her own samba-tinged original "Pathways".
The song entitled "Sunshine Follows the Rain" was written by Miwa for an independent film and is an endearing ballad that stays away from the typical qualities that make some ballads sappy or without conviction. She understands that the slowness of the tempo and the lushness of the chords should provide an opportunity to impart lyrical wistfulness, not an opportunity for your audience to get some sleep. Indeed, it was her composition skills atop of her relatively conservative playing style that exposed her instinct to serve the song rather than bluster with piano pyrotechnics or -- if you forgive the term -- shred.
Bassist Will Slater utilized tasteful octave-skipping and bellowing vibrato to play intriguing solos. More importantly, however, he often acted as Miwa's left hand, keeping the lower harmony within earshot when the piano began to get adventurous. He didn't play dazzling runs, but his melodic style fit quite well with the rest of the unit. Similarly, Goulding played a supportive role on the drums and never got too "snare friendly" even when in the midst of a solo. The brushing and cymbal crashing was enough to fill out the spaces and give the song sufficient life.
In the end, the set was a pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon. The tunes were bright and peppy and the musicians playing them were elegant and proficient.
