Takuya Kuroda is a trumpeter/producer/songwriter originally from Kobe, Japan, but he’s been based in New York for some time now after initially moving there to study music at New School. Over the last decade, he’s maintained a solo career while also anchoring the horn section of José James’ band. His most recent solo album came in 2020, when he released the ambitious Fly Moon Die Soon. Now he’s back with a new album, Midnight Crisp.

If you’re not familiar with Takuya Kuroda, Midnight Crisp is a great place to start, because you get a little bit of everything that makes him such a unique and exciting musician. Over the course of six epic songs, Kuroda is blending post-bop, fusion, neo-soul, funk, and hip hop, all while leading the way with trumpet on melody. The great thing about this album, and Kuroda in general, is that there are plenty of moments for Kuroda to really shine on the trumpet and just blow you away with his technical ability and passion on the horn, but he picks and chooses those moments. He always makes sure they work in the service of the song, to take the whole thing to the next level and make it special. It just makes those moments that much more exciting when you finally get to them, when you are left with your chin on the floor, just wondering how he’s able to do that with his horn. If that’s all there was to Kuroda, that would be one thing, but again, he is just as talented and concerned with the songwriting, arranging, and production on the album as well. In fact, one of the things that makes his music so fascinating is the way in which Kuroda so subtly blends in all of these hip hop production techniques, sampling himself and chopping up pieces of rhythm to give his music an edge without being so obvious about it. Don’t get me wrong, this album is funky as hell, he’s just not being obvious with the hip hop break beats plus jazz melody formula. There are also moments when it is more about the vibe of the album, and Kuroda is more than confident enough in his material to let these sections ride for a minute and just enjoy some of the tasty grooves he’s laying down. When you put everything together, Kuroda has given us a very complex album, but it’s so engaging and fun to listen to, you don’t necessarily realize it the first time through. You’re just thrilled to be along for the ride. It’s only when you go back and listen again that you really pick up on all of the subtle brilliance of Midnight Crisp.

There are a lot of exciting artists working in the jazz/hip hop fusion space these days, blending the genres in really interesting ways. One of the most exciting voices leading that charge is Takuya Kuroda, and he’s shown us once again with Midnight Crisp not just how talented of a bandleader and trumpeter he is, but how thoughtful and passionate he is with the finer details of songwriting, arranging, and producing.