When Michio Imazato first heard Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue," a record he checked out from the public library in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, he couldn't have known he'd be leading his own quintet 10 years later in New York City. After all, he was a typical rock 'n' roll-loving high-school kid playing Deep Purple on his guitar.

Michio Imazato

"I played the record, I didn't even know what it was, but my room just filled with colors," he said in a recent interview. "I knew I wanted to express those kinds of feelings. The riffs are so simple, but there's so much there."

From Gunma to Hokkaido to Boston and then to New York, for most players the modern Mecca of jazz, he sought the experience to match his trumpet ability with that level of sound. "I want to play that warm, dark something between the notes. I want to express taste with my horn, to give a unique sound to people," he said.

His new CD, "Gentle Rose," is a complex set of jazz moods played by a very expressive, accomplished quintet. Recorded in New York with his regular New York gigsters and released by What's New Records in Tokyo, the nine cuts, seven of which are originals, unfold in layers of delicately evoked colors and carefully performed textures.

The title cut opens with an elegant, understated melody that builds into a soft crescendo of multihued chords. The drums and bass work a solidly repeated Middle Eastern rhythm accented by lyrical piano fills. The solos by saxophonist John Ellis and pianist Andrew Adair, who regularly played at Imazato's New York gigs, are tasteful, warm and comfortably placed. On top of all this talent, Imazato's trumpeting has a lush, golden tone that melts richly into the mix.

"The CD is a kind of memorial," said Imazato, "a memorial to 10 years spent in the U.S. learning and playing jazz. I didn't know how I'd feel after coming back to Japan, so I wanted to capture what I felt in New York."

Michio Imazato's CD "Gentle Rose"

Now, settled back in Tokyo, his live shows switch easily from upbeat crowd-pleasers off the CD like "Hustle With J.B." to slower, reflective numbers that could be filed under cool jazz if they weren't so complex. Imazato said he was worried that Tokyo audiences would expect him to just play copies of the '50s/'60s Blue Note sound so popular here. But even when his quintet does play a number by Kenny Dorham or Sam Jones, the sound comes out vibrant with fresh subtleties. The quintet can dig into funky grooves holding up sparkling, clever solos, then follow with a slower tempo of oxygen-rich blowing that makes originals and standards alike glow like coals.

That kind of maturity and completeness of approach takes years for a leader and player to accomplish. After stints at Boston's Berklee College of Music and the New School in New York, where he studied under mentor Eddie Henderson, he kept garnering awards, getting into ensembles, jamming with blues bands and playing sessions with some of New York's top-notch young players. Eventually, he had a regular gig in New York with the solid players who join him on "Gentle Rose."

Still, he wanted something more. Part of the reason he returned to Tokyo was to focus on a more holistic approach to jazz playing. "In New York, I learned to play fast. New York jazz is exciting, but sometimes too much on the exciting side," noted Imazato with a laugh. "That's great, but then you can't play a nice, relaxed thing. You can't make those colors.

"In New York, there's the cutting edge, like the Knitting Factory scene, where club-goers are always looking for something new and burning. And in Boston, the jazz is often too artistic: It's not entertaining, almost as if they hate entertainment. I wanted to learn the whole aspect of jazz, to do more moods and feelings. So I came back."

Tokyo audiences would seem more receptive. They sit respectfully at jazz clubs, facing the stage, barely eating or drinking, certainly not talking. They read in between sets. But, Imazato admits, "they're definitely expecting something perfect. More than anything, Japanese audiences are always looking for quality."

In Imazato, they'll find it.