New York. The places we live leave a deep imprint. In the case of drummer and composer Rintaro Mikami, it was life on the small island of Kuchinoerabu in the south of Japan that inspired his debut release as a leader, First Fish. For two years during childhood, Mikami gained life lessons on Kuchinoerabu that he likely wouldn’t have in his native Tokyo.
First Fish refers to Mikami’s earliest experience living on the island, a memory that would guide him as he matured and developed his own artistic sensibility after returning to Tokyo. Later he pursued music studies for seven years in the great music capital of New York, and grew to become the fine drummer and creative, well-rounded musician that we hear now. All nine tracks on First Fish weave together the story of Mikami’s journey, from the island to this day.
The album begins at a slow and restrained tempo with “Arrival,” during which we hear not only Mikami’s playing but also his speaking voice. Reciting an original poem in Japanese, he mentions the sound of a ship’s whistle — a harbinger of momentous change on the morning when he bade Kuchinoerabu farewell. “Arrival” and the lively 5/4 piece “The Whistle” are contrasting scenes or perspectives, Mikami calls them, relating to that significant morning of departure.
At this point in the album, the depth and sophistication of Mikami’s drumming is abundantly clear, as is the sky-high talent level of his quintet with tenorist David Truilo, guitarist Omri Bar Giora, pianist Henry Plotnick and bassist Bar Filipowicz. Together these fine players propel the musical narrative forward, with Truilo and Giora frequently in unison as they soar through Mikami’s evocative melodies. Each band member is a powerhouse soloist, and Mikami eagerly makes use of trading devices such as the one on “Derailing,” where tenor, guitar and piano chase each other at a bright swinging tempo, followed by a culminating drum solo from the leader.
There is great poignancy in the title track, the jazz waltz “First Fish,” a musing on Mikami’s youthful formative experience and the way it has reverberated through his life. A passage from his album notes is worth quoting in full: “Now he’s become an adult and is struggling with being a part of society. But he tries to remember the moment when he fished for the first time on the island. And he is dealing with unknown anxiety, staring at the ceiling in bed, in a room of a foreign country.” Beautifully sung by guest vocalist Lily Resnikoff, Mikami’s original lyrics speak of “the great big blue” and “waiting for reflections in the bubbles,” a dreamscape against the backdrop of insomnia.
Both “Derailing” and “Secession” relate to breaking away from the conventions of society and trusting one’s inner voice: the former depicts leaving Tokyo for the island, while the latter concerns Mikami’s departure from Tokyo to New York to pursue drumming at the highest professional level. Calling it “a tune of victory,” Mikami creates a multipart structure for “Secession” that heightens its expressivity: a stark change in mood and tempo occurs halfway through, with Plotnick’s brief solo piano interlude ushering in a slower and moodier feel for Truilo to solo on before the original tempo returns.
“The Sky He Saw” and “Interlaken” both attest to how Mikami has been able to carry the peace and beauty of island life wherever he goes. The former begins and ends with Truilo and Giora in a spacious and melodic duet, while the body of the tune, a beautiful ballad, features Mikami’s deeply musical brushwork to great effect. After the brief solo drum interlude “A stone flows to,” the band enters with a dramatic rubato chord sequence, signaling the start of “Interlaken.” Its quick 3/4 tempo and fiery tenor and guitar solos set the stage for a surprise: an effortless transition to burning 4/4, allowing Plotnick to unleash fury at the keys. The rhythmic heat that he and Mikami create at this unforgiving tempo can lead one to think of Kenny Kirkland with Jeff “Tain” Watts.
Harmonica virtuoso Ariel Bart joins the group for the finale, the lyrical “Deer’s Dream,” inspired by an image as picturesque as one could imagine: deer actually swimming the channel from Kuchinoerabu to another island nearby, in a migratory pattern that Mikami saw as a parallel of sorts. “Like them, Rintaro made a huge sail,” he comments, “reached New York, made new friends, found a way to live and grow. And now he wonders, ‘Where am I going next?’” In a life full of departures, Mikami is contemplating more to come, and we as listeners will no doubt be grateful. | 
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