'In 1937, Nat King Cole introduced the first-ever jazz piano trio format, consisting of a piano, guitar and bass into the jazz scene, and it remained fashionable through the following decade. However, this format gradually disappeared by late 1950s amid the growing popularity of the newer format featuring drums instead of guitar. The Japanese pianist Nobuo Watanabe revives this classic setup and explores its contrapuntal possibilities and chamber-musical sound.