Crusin' (Junko Onishi album)

Crusin' was the second leader album by Japanese Pianist Junko Onishi, released on July 21, 1993 in Japan. It was released on April 5, 1994 by Blue Note Records.

Track listing

Personnel

Production

External links

References

Cruisin'

Cruisin' may refer to:

See also

Junko Onishi (musician)

Junko Onishi (大西 順子, Onishi Junko, born April 16, 1967 in Kyoto) is a Japanese jazz pianist; she plays in the post-bop genre.

Early career

After studying at Berklee Onishi moved to New York City, where she played with Joe Henderson, Betty Carter, Kenny Garrett, and Mingus Dynasty. She has also worked with Jackie McLean, Holly Cole, and Billy Higgins, among others, and recorded eight CDs for Blue Note (Somethin' Else in Japan) as a leader.

Although she lists Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, and Ornette Coleman as her primary influences, her playing is also reminiscent of McCoy Tyner and contemporaries such as Kenny Kirkland and Mulgrew Miller.

Onishi appeared in the documentary Blue Note: A Story of Modern Jazz (1997), playing the song "Trinity" ("Quick") from her album Play, Piano, Play.

Hiatus and later career

Onishi stopped performing in the late 1990s, having chosen to study and practise. When Jaki Byard, her mentor at that time, died in 1999, she stopped playing completely for two years: "I felt like I lost everything; I felt like I didn't have any more mentors". She had to redevelop her technique when she decided to return, and started going to a gym to help her cope with the physical demands of playing.