A totally fantastic live set from Japanese drummer Yoichi Kobayashi – a musician who's played on the scene for decades, and who has a way of bringing forward all the strengths of those years to his music! The set features appearances from American all-stars, but more on them later – as the core group is great enough to win us over on the first half of the set, with an updated take on a Blue Note-styled groove, but with inventive rhythms that really open things up too – as the drummer works with Yutarao Suzuki on trumpet, Tomonori Sakurai on tenor, Heitetsu Rin on piano, and Koji Yasuda on bass – plus koto from Makiko Goda, who echoes some older jazz Japan styles in a great way. The second half of the set also brings in Eric Alexander on tenor and Vincent Herring on alto – both players who are as strongly soulful as you might expect – on titles that include "Uncle Eddie", "Akita Rap", "Yama", "Eddie Harris", "Peace", "The Gypsy", "Encounter", and "Safari". CD