Liner notes

Imagination Canvas

At one point in her life, Yumi Koshima wished to be a painter. Visual beauty has always captivated and inspired her, especially when she would take walks along her favorite nature spots. In her words, “seeing the colors, textures, shapes, spaces, the change of the color because of the light, different designs of the sky moving…” have a profound effect on her mood, allowing her to quiet her mind. The other senses are similarly engaged on these walks. She recounts “listening to the sound of my footsteps on the fallen leaves, the sound of leaves moving by the breeze, birds singing, feeling the breeze on my skin, the smell of the herbs, flowers, etc.,” adding, “These elements are something I like to express to let my compositions come alive. I try to activate five or six senses as a human being in nature to compose intuitively. I see the beauty as if it is a new discovery each time. To me, it is art, full of inspiration to create music.” Music, the canvas of her imagination, in sonic form.

Koshima learned to play piano at a young age, but it was at age 19 when she discovered jazz and realized it was the music by which she could most fully express herself. Her biggest musical inspiration comes from saxophonist John Coltrane, who needed some time to truly find both his own artistic vision and purpose in life, resulting in perhaps the most concentrated and prolific decade of musical development in history, beginning with his apprenticeship with Thelonious Monk in 1957 to his untimely death in 1967. Koshima too, hopes to flourish in a short amount of time, marking this album is the beginning of her journey.

When inspiration strikes, she moves very quickly to transform her visions into sound, writing the melodies and harmonies as they come to her, without any thought as to the meter or key. The process is necessarily intuitive for Koshima–if it takes too long for her to fully complete a piece, she will discard it, knowing those incomplete fragments of thought will return to her in the compositions she has yet to write. But what she has written reflects her spontaneous inspiration in ways that are varied and free flowing, yet deep-rooted in structure and form, like slender trees anchored steadfast to a sea cliff, dancing playfully in the ocean breeze.

Similarly, Koshima performs her soundscapes with a fluidity of lyricism in her beautifully improvised melodies that seemingly move in all directions at once yet remain grounded in the harmonic underpinnings of her chordal progressions. She does this with great precision and presence of mind, with balanced control of her pianistic tone, rhythm and phrasing, yet underneath the polish there is an undeniable sense of urgency, an immediate desire to elucidate her thoughts and feelings in what can only be understood as passion.

The two artists who accompany Koshima on Imagination Canvas are well-matched to her musical sensibilities. Tina Raymond is currently one of the most sought-after jazz drummers on the West Coast for her precise and responsive percussive energy. “I love Tina's tones and her orchestral drumming, her large dynamic range, her sensitivity and boldness,” says Koshima of Raymond. Jermaine Paul, at the precious age of 21, has already surpassed many bassists twice his age, both in terms of ability and career, having already performed with world-class musical artists in and out of the sphere of jazz. Of Paul, Koshima says, “I admire Jermaine's internalized groove. I love his solos, his bass is so vivid, alive, and energetic. His bass playing gives me the ideas for my solos.” Both Raymond and Paul demonstrate a great sensitivity to Koshima’s artistry, and she loves how they have interpreted her music. “They played my originals as if they knew what I wanted for the first time,” she said of their recording session together.

The seven compositions penned by Koshima are the epitome of what have given the piano trio format such a unique and essential place within the history of jazz–a richness in harmony enhanced by the sonority of the piano, well-constructed arrangements that navigate to new and unexpected places within the piece, and a simmering kaleidoscope of color and texture from the resonant vibrations of piano, bass and drums. “Soundless Lake” intertwines melodies in both the upper and lower registers of the piano around a syncopated chordal ostinato in the midrange, all of it churning its way toward a distant shore. The relaxed, light-rock backbeat of “Red Leaves” gives way to a driving repeated section, progressing harmonically and emotionally into the solos. Koshima sets the mood for “Monet’s Garden” with an introspective yet expansive solo intro, before establishing the arpeggiated figures that twirl in anticipation over a series of suspended chords in the main theme.

“Dear Chagall” begins ominously and mysteriously on piano, before giving way to a lovely ballad worthy of inclusion in the Great American Songbook. “Cezanne’s Apples” is defined immediately by a propulsive grove in 5/4, with the quick bends of the harmonic path navigated with ease by Paul in his bass solo. The stoic grandeur of “An Old Shrine” is interrupted by quick, asymmetrical rhythmic shifts, before settling back into a rock-infused 7/4 groove. “Impressionist” closes the album with a deepening harmonic descent from an initial lightness of being to darker territories before resurfacing in a splashy display of virtuosity by drummer Raymond.

Every single piece on this album contains shifts of texture, color, and mood more numerous than the flowers one could count on one of Koshima’s nature walks. It is a dynamic record, one that faithfully represents the multi-faceted visions stirring in her mind, striving to escape from her and be known to the world. “Words are not enough to express myself,” she says, “and sometimes I devastatingly need to play the piano to let my feelings out.” The result of that impulse here is a devastatingly poignant work of art, and as we listen our ears become the aural canvas on which have been painted the delights of her imagination.

-Gary Fukushima

Los Angeles, June 2022