Chie Ayado - For All We Know (1998)

As this is the case with many international stars, Chie Ayado is not a household name in America. In her native Japan, she's a superstar jazz performer with tens of millions recordings sold. She's so in demand, she continues to play over forty large-venue concerts a year. Her label, EWE, is making a name for itself with Three Blind Mice-style analog recordings of unbelievable accuracy and dimension. Vocals are listening-room immediate and the piano is detailed, full and beautifully balanced. Very little processing is used, so you hear Ayado's unique vocal and piano playing without all the sonic distractions hiding many modern digital recordings.