Bellflower [CD]

Whether it's his Japanese heritage, or his having lived in various culturally specific cities around America, it's no wonder that identity, landscapes and cultural influences reside so strongly in trumpeter Jun Iida's music. "Bellflower" is largely the reflection of his move 3 years ago from Seattle to New York, the music played, relationships made and the many roads traveled up to that time. With a band of new friends who developed this program of mostly originals over the course of a West Coast tour, Iida offers a nod to the resilience of Pittsburgh through the opener, "Rivers and Bridges." "Hotaru Nights," provides views of Japan, but it's groove is from the Texas-born sound of the late Roy Hargrove. "Marco the Phoenix" draws inspiration from the beloved anime One Piece, while "Chasing Peace" echoes the sophistication of a classic ballad while yielding something undefinably richer. "Bellflower" offers songs that are meant to move people and to be enjoyed, wrapped in a collage of sounds that only Iida's personal journey could furnish. "perfectly calibrated, beautiful, intelligent, and one simply allows oneself to be carried away, thinking that with this musician, we are certainly only at the beginning of delightful surprises." PARIS MOVE