Makoto Ozone
and
the Trio
is joined by the award-winning saxophonist
Branford Marsalis
on
Pandora
. His trio --
Clarence Penn
on drums and
James Genus
on bass who has replaced
Kiyoshi Kitagawa
-- plays 11 original compositions written by either
Ozone
or
Penn
. Of particular interest is
's performance on
"Pennillium,"
which displays his strong musical personality with excellent piano artistry: arpeggios, authentic cadences, and chord stylings. While
's expertise and sensitive brushwork highlights the harmony of
"Sofi,"
Genus
still has some work to do as far as applying his bass colors to
's piano stylings with the right contrast. However, this can certainly be attributed to his newness with the group. Overall,
is very good due to
Marsalis
' excellence on
"Reunion"
and the title track, as well as the songwriting skills of both
. ~ Paula Edelstein