6th March 2026: Kazuki Yamanaka’s ‘Humanity’ available for pre order today – CD / DL / LP – featuring Billy Mintz, Cameron Brown & Russ Lossing.
The debut Whirlwind release from Kazuki Yamanaka is available for pre order from today (out May 1)
Click Here to visit the album page, where you can also listen to the first single and pre order on CD / DL / LP.
ABOUT THE ALBUM
Some of the most essential jazz recordings were made in response to world events; others reflect the personal inner journeys of their creators. Humanity is the new album from saxophonist and composer Kazuki Yamanaka that bears powerful witness both to the circumstances of its creation and to his own inner response. It’s music that contains both turbulence and tranquility, freedom and discipline, an embracing of uncertainty with a deeply spiritual sense of resolution.
The recordings were made in a single day in New York City with a team of extraordinary musicians. He’d already established a firm creative partnership with bass legend Cameron Brown and award-winning pianist Russ Lossing over the past year during their time as recording artists in NYC, and he renewed his fruitful association with outstanding drummer Billy Mintz (Lee Konitz, Charles Lloyd, Alan Broadbent) to complete the quartet. These three have been vital to Kazuki’s compositions that tell the story of his enforced absence from the scene during the pandemic and how he sought to center himself in the midst of the disruption through contemplation and the development of an inward strength. “I had much more time to be reflective. My life changed in quiet but significant ways, particularly in how I think about human life, relationships with others, and what I wanted to pursue and express going forward.”
Each track complements the next, alternately celebrating the deep jazz tradition and pushing hard
at its boundaries, allowing each member of the quartet to display their extraordinary musicianship while creating a harmonious whole. ‘Awake’ is performed as a single through-composed piece with no improvisation: “the harmonic movement is unpredictable and difficult to blow over,” laughs Kazuki, and showcases the beauty and delicacy of his tone and his total commitment to performance. ‘Flare’ is a contrafact that evokes the spirit, if not the direct influence of Lee Konitz with its insistent swing providing the springboard for an astonishing piano solo from Russ. “He has an amazing tone on piano, so big and deep, and his improvisation is always fearless.” For ‘Inner Space’ Kazuki created a simple slowly moving melody over a beautiful set of harmonic changes as a basis for a calm, centered set of improvisations.
The three-part miniature ballad suite of ‘Finding Peace’ moves through a series of moods and textures towards a lambent resolution of shimmering chords and deep arco bass that still leaves a question in the listener’s mind that only persists through the free-form of ‘Amalgamator’ where all four players embark upon a journey into the unknown with Kazuki’s clear-toned alto leading the way. He switches for soprano for the stunning ‘Tears of Hiroshima’ and its plaintive voice provides the perfect exposition for his meditation on his first visit to the site. “I wanted to reflect grief, silence and the enduring will of survivors to live with strength, peace and hope.” By contrast, ‘It May Happen’ is a confident, angular post-bop contrafact, alive with wit, humor and an NYC swagger that culminates in a series of trades that’s like overhearing a fast-paced witty exchange between veteran raconteurs. “Cameron’s approach is so dynamic and melodic in any musical situation, and Billy’s drumming is always exactly where it needs to be.” Finally, ‘Humanity’ and ‘Divinity’ are two explorations of the same theme. ‘Humanity’ is a hushed ballad of hope and compassion, its theme rising over bell-like chords, while ‘Divinity’ is a free-form exploration of the same melody as it moves to transcend its own harmonic implications and set itself free.
Humanity is a remarkable document from a unique composer and master improviser, supported by a world-class trio of musicians, that confidently creates its own space where both introspection and ebullience have their place. “Humanity is my third studio album, but for me, it feels like the first album I made after getting to a clearer sense of myself. The music comes from an inner place, but I think of it as something to be shared—music that points toward connection and unity.”