Yuko Mabuchi Plays Miles Davis

In 2017, the Yuko Mabuchi Trio featuring Yuko Mabuchi on piano, Del Atkins on bass and Bobby Breton on drums released their first album on Yarlung. Recorded in Stereo and Multichannel DSD 256, the self-titled debut hit the #1 DSD Best Seller spot at NativeDSD and has been one of NativeDSD’s best-selling Jazz releases ever since.

This year, the trio returned with a special guest – trumpeter JJ Kirkpatrick – to bring NativeDSD listeners a tribute to the music of Miles Davis. The album features 5 tracks composed by Miles Davis plus 3 tributes to Davis penned by Yuko Mabuchi.

Whether you are listening in DSD Stereo (up to DSD 512) or DSD Multichannel (up to DSD 256), the music, performed live in concert, in a treat for any Jazz fan. Wonderful moments abound here from the trio and trumpeter Kirkpatrick seems right at home as well. What can I say? Yuko Mabuchi and her trio plus one have done it again.

Yuko Mabuchi, Bobby Breton, and Del Atkins, oh my! Behind the curtain is the wonderful wizard, himself, Bob Attiyeh, and with JJ Kirkpatrick, the wicked internationally acclaimed trumpet player. Yuko Mabuchi Plays Miles Davis is just like that...much better than superb. It is historic!

I listened to this concert performance over and over. It is compelling. It is lively. It is at times explosive. It is always original and filled with intensely new musical ideas from many old Miles favorites. Yuko Mabuchi plays so powerfully and rhythmically, like she owns this music, feels this music, believes this music. I could go cut by cut, but you understand if you like extraordinary jazz. This is the real deal.

Del Atkins bass is extreme, melodious, and new. He nails it over and over. When he solos you hear experience and love come together in the strings and explode. This is his best-recorded performance I know of. This is Ray Brown and more. I am very, very impressed and you will be too.

Bobby Breton finally cuts loose on Yarlung Records, at least the way I like it. He kicks it up and makes it happen. Finesse, power, and slam, it is all here, and great fun. This trio played at the Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society Gala last December, and I sat a few feet away from them. Breton played exquisitely and rhythmically like a real pro, but here he makes the sun shine and the moon rise. What an artist and musician!

JJ Kirkpatric has matured and bloomed into a world-class trumpeter. His interpretations are 100% his. It is not Miles warmed over, not for a minute. I am a fan. I listened carefully and I buy into his thoughts and personal, heartfelt techniques. This is new, modern, exciting stuff and it will win your head and heart. When you hear these musicians and new interpretations just let it happen and flow.

Lean forward from your perfect listening position and lean into the recording venue. I kid you not. Textural layers have weight, authority, and drive. At a certain volume, try a bit louder or softer than usual, and the performers will pop into your listening space. The imaging is rounded and beyond precise. It is spot on mellifluous.

This is Attiyeh's best jazz recording effort to date. Van Gelder would have approved. It snuggles closely into an analog place, though it is a digital download. The warmth and weight of the instruments are so real, so right, Yuko Mabuchi Plays Miles Davis has become an audiophile jazz lover's reference as far as I am concerned. It is audiophile gold.

Yuko Mabuchi Plays Miles Davis is a winner. I declare it a reference for audiophile performance and musical entertainment. It is a must-own and necessary addition for your library of great recordings and system demonstrations. Probably the best all-around original music download I have ever acquired, period.

NativeDSD.com has Single, Double, and Quad DSD versions for sale and download at their site, in both stereo and multi-channel versions. DSD lovers should go there. Get Yours!

I spent yesterday afternoon listening…. As anticipated, it is superb!

The Lullaby gently relaxes you into the environment of the Cammilleri Hall. Yuko’s sympathetic rendition of ‘So What’ took me a few moments to clue into Miles’ original performance, but when I got there, it was true to him, but with a freshness and energy that Yuko and her team imparted to the performance – wonderful stuff!

The remaining two tracks are a real homage to Miles Davis, but with Yuko’s individuality imprinted on her super compositions.

I purchased Yuko Mabuchi plays Miles Davis in DSD 256 from NativeDSD Music. It is heavenly.

I'm glad I found the NativeDSD Music site. There are some real gems here.