Peter Broderick/ Takumi Uesaka - Glimmer

I'm never going out on a Thursday again! Wah my heeeed! Coming round this morning to the easy tones of Takumi Uesaka. He does a mellow cyclic wistful folk thing, chock full of longing & hope. I'm quite taken by his easy-going balladeering, it's full of tenderness & feeling with bags of atmosphere! He sets his stall out neatly for his three songs here. I'm no master of Japanese folk but this guy loads his tunes with the heartfelt emotion of a tender lullaby. I bet he treats his loved ones divinely, a true gentle spirit. And to top that, he's given half his CD over to the Scandinavian classical maestro Peter Broderick! Peter does his graceful piano tinkering here probably as beautifully as he does elsewhere. Over his four tunes you get slung from sombre, barren room full of regret into a place where you take a last dance with a past love, then majestically flung into the shimmering, rolling tones of 'It's a Storm When I Sleep'. This particular piece unfurls luxuriantly into a dreamlike opus that has you tingling all over with ecstasy. Turn this baby up & close your eyes. The ivory caressing of a true master! Back on reflective waters for the stately closer "Eyes Closed and Traveling', this is Mr. Broderick at his finest, stirring the notions of love & regret into a subtle tear-duct busting finale. Nice East meets West pairing here, both artists beautifully compliment each other.