“K.K.’s Cane”, by Sora Ichikawa, is a tribute to the late jazz pianist Kenny Kirkland, not through imitation but reinterpretation. The piece is a conversation between acoustic warmth and electronic coolness, where Masataka Hanawa’s alto saxophone bends around Ichikawa’s lush chords, and Yota Tsukada’s drums pulse with both swing and glitchy restraint. Layered with subtle overdubs and synth effects, the track feels like jazz suspended in time, equally evocative of smoky 1990s studios and contemporary digital soundscapes.
