"I'll Be Seeing You" from the Jun Iida Trio's 2019 album Live @ Kulak's Woodshed is a graceful rendition of Sammy Fain's World War II-era standard, performed in E-flat major with a 32-bar ABA'C form at 145 BPM. The performance features three choruses from trumpeter Jun Iida, two from guitarist Masami Kuroki, and one from bassist Kevin McClellan. The song's nostalgic melody and sentimental lyric have made it a jazz standard for over eighty years, and the trio's treatment honors its emotional core while bringing contemporary improvisational sensibility to the material. Iida's trumpet solo is warm and melodically focused, his phrasing revealing a deep connection to the tradition of lyrical jazz trumpet playing. Kuroki's guitar choruses add a different harmonic color, his chord voicings and single-note lines creating textural variety within the trio format. McClellan's bass solo provides a grounded, melodic contrast to the horn and guitar statements. The drumless trio format, captured live at Kulak's Woodshed in North Hollywood, creates an unusually exposed musical environment that rewards careful listening. The trio's cohesive interplay suggests a group that has spent significant time developing their collective musical language through regular performance together.
