Jazz has always been "retro." Outstanding jazz players develop their sound through an immersion in past innovations. The important thing, of course, is not to get stuck in them. All too many players end up as archivists, or technicians. Not trumpeter Tomonao Hara.

Hara's tone, swing and approach sound newly minted, precious metal in shiny form. He moves from soft-spoken, cool ballads to flowing, liquid be-bop but never makes you feel as if you're back in the '50s; his deft flow of ideas transcends mere reclamation. His tone is vibrant, with an unwavering attention to technique, making him astonishing in the same way as Wynton Marsalis and other young traditionalists.

Indeed, in an interview in Down Beat magazine, Marsalis had this to say about Hara: "He knows how to make a trumpet crackle. He's one of the best musicians in Japan." Exactly.

Hara regularly plays in Tokyo, but for two upcoming shows, three New York players with rave critical reviews -- Orrin Evans on piano (top right), Dwayne Burno on bass (bottom right) and Nasheet Waits on drums (bottom left) -- will join him, pushing his playing to an even higher plane. "Let's," Hara's 1998 release on King Records, shows his steady, soulful quartet approach to well-chosen workouts and outstanding originals.