Haruka Kikuchi, the great young Japanese trombonist who settled in New Orleans in 2014, has been busy both as a record producer and as a player in the last couple of years. She has produced a series of recordings under the general title 'JAPAN: NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION'.
What has happened is this:
several of her Japanese jazzing colleagues have visited her in New Orleans and she has taken advantage of the opportunity to get them into a New Orleans recording studio, together with some of the local musicians, in order to record a few tunes. --- U.K. Ivan in Nottingham
This dream project will be the bridge to the next generation between Japan and New Orleans.

This collection of pieces reflect my passion for discovery through improvisation in different music worlds. Pendulum, Preludio for Chick, and Perpetual Motion were spontaneous improvisations, whereas Endless Fall, Heartbeat and Long Story Short have been composed over the years. Recuerdos de mi Infancia is a homage to my home country Honduras where I grew up singing this song in choir at the conservatory. Other compositions are influenced by my study of classical music while following a structure closer to the jazz tradition, such as Tableau. Siempre is written to the memory of one of the most talented musicians and dearest friend, Jose -a beautiful human being that left us way to soon in 2020.