AKIKI GRACE

ILLUME

  1/  Looking Glass                              (Grace)                       7.38
  2/  Light and Shadows                          (Grace)                       6.26
  3/  Pacific Wind                               (Grace)                       6.21
  4/  Dream                                      (Grace)                       7.02
  5/  Drift                                      (Grace,Laswell)               5.16
  6/  Departure                                  (Grace)                       5.36
  7/  Whisper Prayer                             (Grace)                       6.59
  8/  Angel Within                               (Grace)                       8.02
  9/  Imagine                                    (Lennon)                      9.17
  10/ Sakura                                     (Grace)                       7.42

          Recorded at Orange Music Studio, West Orange, New Jersey on February 24
            and 28, 2006
          Piano recorded at East Side Sound, New York City on February 22/23, 2006
          Recorded and Mixed at Orange Music Studio by Robert Musso
          Assistant: James Dellatacoma
          Assistant at East Side: Marc Urselli
          Produced by Bill Laswell
          Production Coordination: Yoko Yamabe
          A & R Producer: Ken Komoguchi
          Mastered by Michael Fossenkemper at Turtle Tone Studio, New York City 
          Video images by Petulia Mattioli
Akiko Grace: piano, electric piano, electronic keyboards, voice; Bill Laswell: bass, electronics.

All arrangements by Akiko Grace.

          2006 - JRoom/Columbia (Japan), COCB-53546 (CD)

REVIEWS :

Among other things and other great musicians, Japan offers a long list of outstanding young female jazz and clasically-trained piano players that enjoy a pretty big following in their own country but often also come to New York to soak in and breath in that unique mixture of air made of ambitious sky-is-the-limit entrepreneurial attitude, yellow-cab gas emissions, great musicianship and awesome collaborations. A good example of that is Akiko Grace, who continues to collect praise and kudos from fans mostly in Japan but also overseas and who therefore can afford to collaborate with ground-breaking and genre-defying pioneer musicians and composers such as Bill Laswell, who takes these piano-only recording to a whole new level with his expertise and taste. "Illume"'s ten pieces are enriched by textured layers of rapturing electronics and electric bass parts that sneak into these sophisticated arrangements as if they were part of a greater scheme of things, with the same grace and unobtrusive elegance of all the other ethereal and floating soundscapes constructed around her performances. With the exception of one track where Akiko Grace sings a whispery part, "Illume" is an instrumental record featuring gorgeous piano ballads who fly on the wings of Laswell's ubiquitous electronic approach. A truly beautiful record.

Marc Urselli (courtesy of the Chainlink D.L.K. website)