Down Beat Magazin "57th Annual Critics Pall"

Down Beat Magazin "57th Annual Critics Pall" I placed number 7 of Organist rising star!!!(number 10 last year)

Harlem International Jazz Festival

The Star-Ledger

The Star-Ledger

Thursday July 09, 2009, 2:38 PM

Oriental Express

Akiko Tsuruga

(18th and Vine)

"Oriental Express," Akiko Tsuruga moves from slow and steamy to straight swing to down-home funk.

Manchester, N.J., resident Jack Kreisberg has produced so many albums highlighting Garden State jazz musicians for Portland, Ore.'s 18th and Vine label, that one could be forgiven for believing the company was Jersey-based.

Keeping up with his Jersey thrust, Kreisberg spotlights the Patterson-based organist Akiko Tsuruga on one of two recent productions. The other showcases the veteran Detroit-bred drum master Louis Hayes.

On "Oriental Express," Tsuruga investigates a banquet of moods -- from slow and steamy to straight swing to down-home funk -- with verve, feeling and persuasion. Sharing her affinities in this solidly exploited conceit are four top-end jazzmen, leaders all: guitarist Eric Johnson, tenor saxophonist Jerry Weldon, drummer Rudy Petschauer and congero Chembo Corniel.

Built on enticing riffs, "J's Groove" is an ear-friendly speeder over "rhythm changes." Tsuruga reveals her capacity to play smartly, and with drive and invention. The hearty-toned Weldon scores with characteristically engaging thoughts; Johnson's ringing tones are also impressive. Petschauer adds feisty time.

Petschauer's swaggering back-beat underpins the title track, a head-shaking blues with grit and groove from all hands. "Dreamsville" has a luxuriant, emotive theme, and felicitous statements from Johnson and Tsuruga. "The Sidewinder," a classic foot-tapper, showcases the team's blues acumen. "Frim Fram Sauce" is an old- school swinger, "Bright Eyes" a dancing waltz, "Killing Me Softly with His Song" a robust percolator.