Himiko Kikuchi -- Sevilla Breeze

We're into June now and the weather in Toronto has been a little cooler, a little fresher in the air. Not a bad meteorological development.

Let's start the month off then with something appropriately summery. I have seen and heard of jazz pianist/keyboardist Himiko Kikuchi（菊地ひみこ）for a few years via YouTube, but this will be her first entry on "Kayo Kyoku Plus". I gotta say that she makes quite a splash with her "Sevilla Breeze", the title track from her 1988 album, and though I couldn't find out who is on the bass, my compliments to the bassist regardless. This is really sunny playing and the type of AOR or fusion that I do like to hear during this time or when things are really cold and I want to feel warm again.

As for Kikuchi herself, according to her biography, she was born in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture but was raised in the city of Shiogama in the same province, and for those anime fans, it's also the hometown for seiyuu Koichi Yamadera（山寺宏一）. She started classical piano at the age of 7, began learning composition at the age of 15 and won the Yamaha Electone Competition at 16. Following that, she performed in the United States, the Philippines, Mexico and other countries before returning home and making the decision to become a professional piano player. Performing alongside other artists such as Takuro Yoshida（吉田拓郎）and Junko Ohashi（大橋純子）, in 1975, she showed great interest in jazz and trained under pianist Sadayasu Fujii（藤井貞泰）. Kikuchi has released 12 albums between 1980 and 2007.

Writing this, I am aware that things have now become extremely tense in America, especially within the last half-hour or so. I have friends and fellow Japanese pop music fans including Rocket Brown, Larry Chan and JTM there so I am hoping that everybody is staying safe and healthy.