The Ghibli Collection

The guitarist Owen Chen guides the ensemble Eternal Wind through 9 tracks that reimagines the timeless stories of the Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli via their modern jazz formula.

The soft mood of "One Summer's Day" opens with Chen's warm guitar amid Anton Kot's light drums and Carlin Lee's graceful piano, and "The Dragon Boy" follows with mesmerizing keys that are complemented by Cole Palensky's rich tenor sax.

Landing in the middle, "Mononoke Hime" is a quick moment of cozy piano amid Cy Leo's well timed harmonica that tugs on the heartstrings, while "Ashitaka And San" benefits much from Andrew Cheng's meticulous guitar and Sean Hannon's colorful upright bass.

"My Neighbor Totoro" and "Path Of The Wind" exit the listen. The former offers breezy melodies alongside the soulful sax and crisp drums, and the latter finds a dreamy place to reside via the flowing keys, gentle rhythm section and mesmerizing guitars.

A project that embraces spontaneity, discovery and reflects Chen's Asian American experience of finding his own voice, every moment is absorbing and exciting.