Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Shu Nakamura: A Day of Dreams

Shu Nakamura: A Day of Dreams

By Mark Redlefsen
November 2, 2012
View read count

Hailing from Nagoya, Japan, Brooklyn, New York-based Shu Nakamura plays guitars, keyboards and percussion on A Day of Dreams. Shu also displays his ability to compose, arrange and sing. Through learning, working, and teaching a variety of different kinds of music from his youth in Japan, Shu is more of a world musician than one existing in any single genre. A Day of Dreams features an eclectic, aurally expansive mix of music ranging from the celestial ambience of Sigur R��s to the sound patches of Radiohead, dropping back to terra firma, at times, with some heartfelt Japanese folk music, and some blues with a tinge of jazz chords.

The mesmerizing instrumental opener, "East to West," finds Shu playing in front of a curtain his own overdubbed post-rock guitar layers, as he plays a repeating squirreling riff to which he taps his foot. "Train Song," one of two songs sung in English, lays out simple positive lyrics over an acoustic rhythm guitar with a late 1960s feel. "Dunnet Head" bounces with a little more of a Ray Davies storytelling style, with eloquent mandolin picking all along the way. The other two songs that Shu sings in Japanese, "Ima Koko Ni"and "Lion and Mary," are more melodic; accessible enough so that some whistling can also be heard in the background.

The other instrumentals center from Shu's guitar playing. One possible influence or touchstone, because of the overall variety of guitars used, would be

Yes

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">Yes guitarist

Steve Howe

guitar, electric
b.1947

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Howe. The title track has a very gentle, European independent film soundtrack quality, with strumming, bells and an accordion-like sound creating a melody perhaps, indeed, worthy of dreams. Bearing no resemblance to the original song of the same name, "Ave Maria" was written by Hikari ?e, son of Nobel laureate and Japanese author Kenzabur�� ?e. As one of the most peaceful and pastoral songs on the CD, Shu synthesizes Hikari's use of bird chirping and overall brand of original chamber music with his own original stamp. The closing "The Other Side of Memory" vacillates between atmosphere and countering ominous riffs that circle around like dark clouds trying to disturb a nice day of dreams.

Nakamura plays one man's version of world music that is sure to reach a wider universe.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

East to West; Train Song; Mountain Dreams; Ima Koko Ni; A Day of Dreams; Dunnet Head; Ave Maria; Lion and Mary; River; Rain Drops; The Other Side of Memory.

Personnel

Shu Nakamura

Shu Nakamura: guitars, keyboards, percussion, vocals; Mansanori "Tacobow" Honda: percussion (8).

Album information

Title: A Day of Dreams | Year Released: 2012 | Record Label: Shu Nakamura

PREVIOUS / NEXT

The Nows
< Previous

John Dankworth: What The Dickens! / ...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.