What a delight to share music you love with people you love, especially when the music is heart-warming and the product of great musicians. Such was the day on Sunday, May 20, 2012 at the Paragon.

We had taken friends to see Toshi, Reinhardt and Jon, with the added treat of knowing that Geli (Angelica) Wuerzner was going to be there. Geli is a versatile violinist who knows how to listen and when to speak. She was visiting from Seattle and we were privileged to hear her play with Toshi's Trio.

The set opened with Go With the Flow and this certainly must be bassist Jon Hughes' theme song by now as it is required of him week after week. The song begins gently and then becomes laid-back romp. Our dear friends who accompanied us were taken right away. And who wouldn't be? The piece highlights the vituosity of all three musicians and is well-named because that is all that is left the listener--just go with the flow.

Moliendo Cafe follows next with its punchy opening that expands into a truly intriguing work of alternating rhythms and cut-current melodies. Drummer Reinhardt Melz is allowed great room for percussive exploration and he never leads one astray.
In fact, Jon Hughes has said that he has worked with drummers who departed from the rhythm because they were lost. "But with Reinhardt," he says, "you just follow him because he is never lost."

From the sturm und drang of Moliendo Cafe, the mood retreated to the pastoral feel of Banfa's Gentle Rain. It is one of the most easy-going pieces of the set list. It is reflective and sentimental, in a good way. But the finale is a raucous wind-up which settles back to a slow, cool conclusion.

On the article of May 13, I wrote the following:
"But the most intriguing moment of the day came with the bossa nova standard Agua de Beber. When Toshi called the tune, Reinhardt opened with a totally unexpected beat and Toshi excitedly said, "Yeah! Let's go wtih that!" Reinhardt cocked his head and said , "Really?" Toshi was convinced that Reinhardt was on to something. And he was right.

This groove was the rhythm to top all rhythms. This funky-meter pattern was intoxicating. You wanted more and you didn't care what the results were. Toshi and Jon were onboard all the way. Composer Tom Jobim could never have envisioned this! Jobim's bossa nova had run headlong into a Robert Glasper groove and Agua de Beber will never sound the same."

I am happy to say that such is the case. When the trio played the piece again this week, it was with the now-entrenched "Glasper beat." It was as breathtaking as the first time I heard it.

The first set concluded with Black Orpheus which just never gets old. In fact, it is not allowed to age because Toshi, Reinhardt and Jon keep changing it up from week to week, creating a new song every time. This week Toshi added the palmas to Reinhardt's brilliant solo. The rhythms created by Reinhardt are like your heartbeat if you are running through the lightning while being chased by a tiger.

The first set ended with everyone present definitely wanting more. Our friends were wide-eyed. We had told them that they would enjoy themselves but they had no idea just how far over the moon they would be taken. 

The second set began with Geli now sitting in with the Trio for a cool cover of Samba Pa Ti. As I stated, Geli is a good listener. She did not know the song but took the time to play along with the chords and pick up the movement so that, when she did contribute, she nailed it.

She is funny, she is smart and she knows how to move within the structure of the music. She has great harmonic intuition that can take a song unknown to her and make it sound as if she has played it for years. She did it again for the 6/8 Blue Bossa and she repeated it all evening long.

When Blue Bossa concluded, Jon called for Dust in the Wind which brought guffaws from the audience. Fortunately, that was not what followed.

What did follow was When You Passed By. Again, Toshi made room for Geli's interpretive addition and it was rewarding. Even if she did not know the piece, Toshi simply encourages with "You can do it."

Toshi encourages with words and with his music.

One of our friends was tired when we arrived and we were not sure if she would be up to staying for the whole three hours. By the end of the second set, she had renewed energy and announced that we were going nowhere.

The Andalusian 6/8 Improvisation was so fascinating that even the comatose could find enough energy to stay on. The mighty groove of the improv found Reinhardt and Toshi in complete cooperation with Reinhardt's drumming and Toshi's thumping on the guitar's body. Intoxicating.

The applause was thunderous.

The old standard Besame Mucho slowed everyone's heart-rate down and Bitter Smile was a fine set-up for the evening's finale.

You have read it from me over and over. Light in Shade is just amazing. Happily, it will be on Toshi's next CD. He has just begun recording it and already I cannot wait. I have never had a piece of music so easily move me. Before now, it was the YES song Awaken that had that claim on me. While both songs are introspective and emotional, Light in Shade is purely instumental without the interpretation of lyrics.

It is like a long gaze into a clear pool of water. On the surface is one's own reflection, but looking past that, one can see straight to the bottom with all the wonders so clear for observation. That is the light in the shade--to see what is usually obscure, especially to ourselves.

Toshi, Reinhardt and Jon create just such an environment, that we can see beyond what is on the surface and look to the truth that is so deep within ourselves.

One cannot hear the music of Toshi Onizuka and remain unchanged.

As a teenager, Toshi Onizuka was inspired by western guitarists like Al Dimeola and Paco de Lucia. He began to study on his own and was soon consumed with the music of the guitar. Born in Tokyo, Toshi soon realized that he could not follow the sound in his head without leaving Japan and going to the place where that music was played as part of the culture.

 In 1993, Toshi left Japan for Seville, Spain where he would learn and practice and develop his own style and sound. He remained in Seville for over five years and absorbed the music of Spain, travelling to distant parts of Spain and even to Morocco. For two years, he performed and toured with Pata Negra, an internationally renowned Flamenco-fusion group. The captivating rhythms of his playing can be traced to these roots.

 His fisrt CD, entitled Toshi, was released in 1997. Toshi himself composed and produced the songs on the CD, while being joined by musicians from Spain and Brazil. In Toshi's later CDs, the sound of Brazilian samba and bossa nova are clearly heard. He has truly become a "fusion" artist.

Toshi now makes his home in Portland, Oregon. His association with Portland's great musicians has expanded his play and his opportunity to further pursue the sound in his head. He has recorded with singer Gino Vanelli and with fusion pianist Mike Prigodich. He has been featured in many Oregon Music and Arts festivals and has appeared on numerous television and radio specials.

 Toshi's second solo CD, Voy Con Fusión, was released in September 2008. This was a superb example of his fusion of flamenco, jazz, rock, and even hip hop. His third solo CD was entitled When You Passed By and was released in March of 2012. Both of these magnificent recordings featured contributions from Portland's bullpen of great musicians including drummer Reinhardt Melz, bassist Damian Erskine, percussionist Israel Annoh, vocalist Tracey Harris, bassist Jon Hughes and so many others.

 Toshi currently performs at various venues across Portland with the artists mentioned above. One of Portland's hardest-working musicians, he plays almost every evening of the week.

 Toshi defies categories. "Fusion" remains the best, most accurate, description of his play but even this is found lacking when he breaks into a traditional piece such as Besame Mucho. Fusion, traditional Spanish, jazz, bossa nova or rock, Toshi plays them all with sublime musicianship and heart. 

This is the main character of Toshi Onizuka's musicianship; it is his warm heart that provides the rhythm to his supreme performances.