OUT OF SIGHT

Last year our friend from Venezuela Chus suggested Kiyomi Otaka for inclusion, wisely the collabs accepted, but sadly nobody has reviewed any of her albums yet.

Kiyomi Otaka is a very talented musician from Japan, her musical atittudes began when she was a kid, at the age of 6 years she started to play the organ, nowadays we can say she is a really trained organ (and keyboard) player. She has released so far (if im not wrong) 5 albums, being Out of Sight her third effort, and my introduction to her music. Let me tell you that she has played with several better known musicians, an example is that Dave Weckl is the drummer on this album, with that said, i would like to invite you to listen to Kiyomi´s great music, and in particular this album, released in 2001 and which contains 8 songs and a total time of almost 40 minutes.

As you guess (since i mentioned Weckl is in the album), her music is oriented to the jazzy side of prog, but i wouldn´t call it jazz/fusion itself. The album kicks off with #26, as a pure jazzy album the band consists of 3 people, keyboards, drums and bass, since the beginning of this song you will notice the exquisite organ playiing of Kiyomi, and it´s obvious that her keys are what lead us to enjoy the music, of course Weckl´s drumming is exquisite as usual. Still Moment is a soft song that reminds me to some Focus moments (exclude the flute please), the music is really enjoyable, and may put you in the mood, it´s very warm. Bugs is one of my favorite moments here, it begins with the bass jamming of Gary Willis, then Kiyomi and Dave enter simultaneously and create a very cool song, though i wouldn´t say her playing is superb nor call her a virtuoso, it´s not a lie when i say she is a trained musician, you will notice it immediately. Departure starts a little bit heavier, the style within the songs is pretty alike actually, i would say she has found her own style, and that´s a big deal, here we will find great bass playing and a cool interaction between the members. Like a Sandglass the bass is the first you will hear in this song, along with some keys atmospheres at first sight, this song is maybe the softest of them all, Willis´ bass sound is clean and makes the song even better, your ears will feel pleased with it. Central Junction is yet another funky and jazzy song, that again puts you in the mood, the playing of the 3 musicians is excellent, there is an exceptional bass playing here, and Kiyomi´s keys are always in the right place even there are some solo moments that are incredible, it is not a superb thing, but i really like it. Kid´s Doors starts a bit heavier and with a sound closer to the fusion style but then it slows down a bit and makes a sound now closer to the symphonic one, the drumming is excellent, this is also the shortest song of the album. Comodore Funk is the one that finishes it all, the lat song of an album which follows the same style and line in all of it´s songs, there are no weak moments, nor oustanding ones, as the title of this song says this is another kind of funky jazz, it´s nothing new, actually a song alike to the previous one.

I particularly enjoy a lot listening to this album, i don´t feel tired of listening to the same style, on the other hand, the more i listen to it the more pleased i am, with the talent of Kiyomi Otaka, and of course of Weckl and Willis Give a listen to Kiyomi Otaka, you won´t regret, 3.7 stars...so 4 Enjoy it!