Jazz piano plyaers of Japanese origin

I know there are lots of Japanese jazz players active in US jazz scene. Mr. Ozone, is the one and these are the most frequently played pieces at You tube.

We are all alone. Simple chord progression, very basic. It sounds nice. Listening to his balad reminds of a discussion we had in college. That was around 1960, Oscar Peterson, Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Horace Silver, etc & etc. The best year for the so called Modern Jazz.

This is his trio version.

We were arguing whom to follow, Bill Evans or Oscar Peterson.

The LP disks were expensive at the time. The exchange rate was JPY360 to US$1. It is 1/3 now. We had to deversify the budget.

Years passed. Most of them are gone. But here are those new breeds. I am not crilicizing but the Japanese players sound too clean. There's no earthy nor gloomy feeling in there. It makes the whole sound something unrealistic. Well, for me, at least.

This is his solo of same tune.


I feel lucky because I can listen to any of those players on internet. Ozone or whoever it is.