this has really been hitting the spot lately
there really aren't any other albums like semi-impressionism... not even the Meeting at the Off-Site series, which is filled with collaborations with other people... and anyway nakamura doesn't play the same at all. and idk if i said this before or not but idiomatic expressionism is nowhere near as good -- also because of nakamura. he is best when he's in the background and staying very subtle most of the time. akiyama is sort of a black sheep in japanese free improvisation because he plays kinda bluesy. his warm playing contrasts perfectly with a very cold, sharp, stoic NIMB akiyama. in fact semi-impressionism is exactly the same style of NIMB he plays on GMGN, which is also one of the greatest avant-garde albums ever made.
the album feels
fine, i don't know a better word for it -- like when you're deeply appreciating the subtleties of an aged cheese.