PETER LIN AAPI JAZZ COLLECTIVE

IDENTITY

OA2 Records

Peter Lin, trombone; Erena Terakubo, alto saxophone/flute; Mike Bond, piano; Daseul Kim, bass; Wen-Ting Wu, drums. SPECIAL GUESTS: Mŷ Tȃm Huynh, vocals; Brandon Choi, trumpet.

In 2018, Peter Lin convened the AAPI Jazz Collective that features some of the best Asian American and Pacific Islander musicians in the NYC area. This band is a core quintet featuring Lin on trombone.

They open with “Emperor’s Stride,” an original composition by pianist Michael Bond. Bond solos beautifully during this arrangement, showing his power and finesse at the piano and celebrating the generation of his Chinese grandparents when Emperors reigned.  The arrangement starts out a little mournful, but quickly morphs into a straight-ahead groove, up-tempo as they double time the melodic piece into full-blown jazz. In the liner notes they give a nod to Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers as inspiration when they employ the 12/8 interlude.  Erena Terakubo is fluid and tenacious on alto saxophone. Peter Lin is masterful during his trombone improvised solo.

“Alishan Girl” was plucked from a 1949 motion picture score. The film was “Happenings in All Shan” by director Chang Cheh. It takes a look at Taiwan culture and history. It’s arranged by Peter Lin and features his trombone making a royal statement during his improvised solo. In fact, this AAPI Jazz Collective includes another film score in this album.  It’s a waltz titled “A Town with an Ocean View” and it’s from the 1989 studio Ghibli film, “Kiki’s Delivery Service.”  This time, their special guest, Brandon Choi adds his trumpet creativity to the melody and improvises counterpoint to the flute solo by Terakubo.

Erena Terakubo shines on her flute during the collective’s presentation of “Ringo Oiwake,” a classic Japanese song that has been covered in the past by Yusef Lateef and Kenny Barron. Peter Lin presents his own improvisational solo using a muted trombone. He’s followed with a lovely piano solo by Bond.

A song called “City of Sadness” is a Taiwanese folk song celebrating Taiwan’s resilience and optimism for the future. On “Anh Dau Em Do” the vocals of My Tam Huynh are heard singing this popular Vietnam War era song. It tells the love story between a soldier and his lover.  Terakubo’s alto saxophone dances throughout this blues-tinged Viet Nam tune.

“Dahil Saiyo” is a Filipino popular song that features bassist Daseul Kim playing a duet with Bond’s piano. It’s an emotional journey featuring the only bass solo on this entire production.  Another swinging favorite of mine is “Magpie’s New Year’s Day” where Wen-Ting Wu is featured on drums.

This album is a wonderful example of how jazz laces, like a bright red ribbon, through world music and crosses continents. These delightful arrangements add beauty and freedom to songs born in Asia. Using spicy additions of creativity by masterful Asian musicians, and specialized arrangements, they make this music not only entertaining but historically informative. Every song was lovely to listen to, and the personal back stories for each is listed in the liner notes.  This album called “Identity” is an innovative, joyful listen!

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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