The eagerly awaited follow-up to his acclaimed 2021 album, Blues For K, A Shade Of Blue captures Tsuyoshi Yamamoto leading a trio featuring bassist Hiroshi Kagawa and drummer Toshio Osumi, recorded playing live at Tokyo’s Gotanda Culture Center Music Hall. A well-balanced blend of timeless jazz standards (“Misty”), memorable pop tunes (“The Way We Were”) and striking original material (“Speed Ball Blues”), A Shade Of Blue is a stunning showcase for the pianistic brilliance of 76-year-old Yamamoto, who sparkles on up-tempo swingers and achieves a deeply glowing luminosity on his incredible renditions of slow ballads.