Toshiyuki Honda – Modern

Modern is a dreamy experimental jazz album from Toshiyuki Honda, a Japanese saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who worked with Chick Corea, Tatsuya Takahashi, and Kazumi Watanabe in the ’80s. Like most of Honda’s work during this period, there’s a strong “fusion” flavor to the songs on Modern, though it’s all done very tastefully. B3 “Visions (The Other Side Of Moon)” is a favorite out of the bunch with its sparse drum beat and repeating sax refrain that allows for some amazing psychedelic interplay between the instruments. A2 “Tomorrow I Play A Piano” is also quite nice with its light synthesizer and pentatonic piano melodies.

Recommended – B3 Visions (The Other Side Of Moon)