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Ken Rangkuty
MAYUMI KANEYUKI WITH GOLD COMSTAR
"Game of Seasons" is a seven track mini album which dedicates four of its songs to each of the year's seasons. The album opens with the track "Who You Are", a jazzy number which showcases Mayumi Kaneyuki's fantastical lyricism along with her soft spoken colorful song-writing skills. The second track "Odoru" meaning "Dance" in Japanese opens the main theme of the album. "Odoru" is a relaxing and swinging little affair between Gold Comstar's piano playing and Gabriel Noel's bass chops. It is simple in its approach and at the same time exuberantly energetic, creating an untainted and youthful picture of spring. "Ryo" meaning "cool" features Yumiko Kato on flute, giving the track a summery and far away feel. Mayumi's lyrics tell about the longing feeling for the summer sea and create a glistering picture of careless summer days spent with a tinge of melancholy. "Urei" ("melancholy"), a slow boss nova number depicts the growing sense of change and onset of sadness and reflection of fall that invariably follows summer. Gold Comstar's heartfelt piano playing stands out especially in the solo section, creating a sense of heaviness. "Yuki" ("Snow") might be the most intimate track on the album as it is not only the part in the cycle that is "winter" but it is also the most intimate interplay between Mayumi's sultry vocals and Gold Comstar's piano playing. A calm and introverted ballad "Yuki" perfectly closes the cycle of seasons. For the next track Mayumi and Gold Comstar re-imagined Chopin's famous "Nocturne". The addition of Mayumi's lyrics and the jazz waltz arrangement give "Nocturne" a reflective but hopeful feel. It reminds, in a way, of something that marks the end of chapter while brightly looking forward to what is to come. "O Que Sera Que Sera" is the albums final track and just as the title suggests its message brings a perfect closing to the album- Such is life. Just like the seasons we are part of the cycle.
