My Hit Parade! Vol.4

[Machine Translation] The pianist, who continues his musical journey from town to town in search of new encounters, has put his heart and soul into this piano pop album for all his fans and those who will become his fans. Finally, Miyaken has released his fourth CD from JIMS Music Productions, a label organized by Jacob Kohler, a jazz pianist whom Miyaken truly respects! The selection of songs for this album was made while Miyaken was on a full-scale national tour, traveling from Hokkaido to Kagoshima, his hometown, and even to Okinawa, deepening his feelings toward the cities and people. The basic policy of selecting songs from the Showa, Heisei, and 2025 eras remained unchanged, but the songs included Motoharu Sano's classic "SOMEDAY," which begins with the lyrics "I can hear the town singing," "LOVE SONG" (CHAGE AND ASKA), which is released on Valentine's Day, and "Inochi no Uta" ("Song of Life and Death"), which takes the idea of human life and death very seriously. The album also includes "Chessboard", "Takamine no Hanako-san", "Sugar Song and Bitter Step", and "Kaiju no Hanauta", which are all Japanese songs with a lot of notes. He has also performed "Takarajima" with Tomoko Asaka and her labelmates at JIMS Music Productions, and "For Elise" with Jacob Kohler and Hibiki Piano, each playing a tango masterpiece "Libertango"-style rhythm.

街から街へ、出会いを求めて音楽旅を続けるピアニストが、全てのファンに、これからファンになる方々のために心を込めたピアノポップ・アルバム。みやけんが心から尊敬するジャズ・ピアニスト、ジェイコブ・コーラーが主催するレーベルJIMS Music Productionsから、いよいよ4枚目のCDをリリース! 本格的な全国ツアーが組まれ、北海道から地元・鹿児島、さらに沖縄まで旅を続ける中で、街、そして人への想いを深めて行く中で、今作の選曲は成されて行った。基本的には昭和・平成・令和からまんべんなくセレクトしていく方針は変えずに、"♪街の唄が聴こえてきて"の歌詞で始まる佐野元春の名曲「SOMEDAY」、バレンタインデーにリリースされる今作ゆえの「LOVE SONG」(CHAGE AND ASKA)、人の生き死にを真剣に捉えた「いのちの歌」(竹内まりや)・「会いたい」(沢田知可子)なども丁寧にカバーし、音数の多い令和楽曲の「チェスボード」「高嶺の花子さん」「シュガーソングとビターステップ」「怪獣の花唄」も見事なアレンジでピアノソロに落とし込んでいる。JIMS Music Productionsのレーベルメイトたちとは、朝香智子と「Takarajima」を、そして、ジェイコブ・コーラーとヒビキpianoとは「エリーゼのために」を、タンゴの名曲「リベルタンゴ」風のリズムで、それぞれ息の合った連弾を聞かせている。