かつて“J-フュージョン界のアイドル”として一世風靡し、いまや“アジアでもっとも美しいサックス・プレイヤー”としてアジア各国で人気が高い小林香織。本作は自身のレギュラー・バンドでレコーディングした9枚目のオリジナル・アルバムであり、セルフ・プロデュース作。J-POPにも通じるメロディ・ラインを持った楽曲はすべてオリジナル曲で、アッパー・チューンあり、バラードあり、サウンドはポップで爽快、春～夏の陽光の中で聴くのに最適。今回チャレンジとなった津軽三味線をフィーチュアした、日本人ならではの音楽性を盛り込んだナンバー《安土桃山》《江戸前》は新境地。
[English Translation]
Kaori Kobayashi (sax) "SPIRIT"
Kaori Kobayashi, the artist once sweeping the world as the 'idol of the J-fusion scene'and today popular all over Asia as the 'most beautiful saxophone player in Asia', releases her 9th original album, fully produced by herself and recorded with her regular band. All tracks are original with some of which melody-lines seems to be attuned to those of J-POP, - some upper-sounding tunes, some ballads, and some with sounds being pop and fresh that would be perfect for listening to in the spring-summer pleasant and bright sunshine. In this album, Kobayashi pushes the frontier with a new challenge by featuring the Japanese traditional instrument, the Tsugaru Jamisen (a three-stringed instrument held like a guitar and played with a plectrum) in tracks such as "Azuchi Momoyama" or "Edomae", a musical characteristic only a true Japanese can conceive of incorporating.
