This is trumpeter Natsuki Tamura and pianist Satoko Fujii's tenth album, and the musical adventure between this couple of artists and life partners never ceases to flow with a calm and graceful romantic charm. The compositions, all by Tamura, except one, are bits of crisp dialogue and slowly meandering conversations that are a pleasure to experience.

The Japanese aesthetic in jazz is an interesting and difficult one to try to identify and explain, as there are many individual characteristics to every musical artist. But one thing that seems to resonate with this listener is the use of silence, i.e. space (something we all loved about Miles Davis and Lester Young). What is left out is as important as what is said, and innuendo and nuance reign supreme. Not surprisingly, the concept behind this album, Tamura is quoted as saying in the liner notes, is that "the themes are trees standing in clear air." Presumably that is what the titles of the pieces all refer to, and a quick online dictionary search reveals the following about the titles: Ki, spirit, energy or air; Keyaki, Selkova tree; Sugi, Cedar tree; Hinoki, Cypress; Kusonoki, camphor tree; Arakashi, ring-cupped oak; Icho, ginko tree; Kunigi, sawtooth oak.

Inspired by the poise and quiet eloquence of trees, Tamura and Fujii explore the musical parallels. The result is beautiful and soothing duets and solos, as if the music were the result of a breeze through the branches of a tree standing against a sky of fleeting cloud configurations, transporting the listener into some deep mediative states, until the very last track, "Dan's Oceanside Listening Post," cited as a "Bonus Track," gently startles the listener back to consciousness.

Added bonuses are the liner notes by Shiro Matsuo that provide extensive background information, and the beautiful artwork and conceived graphics of the album itself.