Koh is a charming singer and here she collaborates with Satoko Fujii on piano and Ted Reichman on accordion. On the opening piece, “Sola”, Satoko plays mostly inside the piano with some objects as Koh stretches out her notes pure and clear. Satoko’s piano is rich, melodic and quite haunting. Koh is singing in Japanese and it sounds as if she is singing a touching ballad. Satoko’s lovely piano and Ted Reichman’s eerie, yet melancholy accordion both surround and support Koh’s precious voice just right. The songs seem to come from an older tradition with their quaint, Broadway-like melodies. Koh reminds me at times of Laura Nyro, perhaps a bit more quirky. Since I don’t know what she is singing about, the feelings and emotions in her voice do still come through. What I find most amazing is that this disc brings out something quite different from Satoko Fujii than we’ve ever heard, her playing is just so warm, exquisite, rich and touching it is hard to believe that she also spars with master drummer Tatsuya Yoshida. — Downtown Music Gallery Continue reading →