It’s been mentioned before, but it’s worth repeating: this thread is awesome! Thanks to the amazing recommendations from all its contributors, my ears have been exposed to sounds I may never have heard otherwise.
My latest haul contains quite a few albums that I first encountered here. Plus a few I stumbled upon by sheer fluke. Below are short notes on some of the stuff that might not have been covered by others. I sincerely hope you folks also discover some new sounds for yourselves.
We start off with Japanese Jazz; a fantastic sub-genre I discovered thanks to
@acemachine26 @Nikhil @Jayant_S @headcase and others.
The first four have already been mentioned, so let’s move on to the others:
Green Caterpillar - cool funk jazz led by pianist Masaru Imada, with the grooving Kazumi Watanabe on guitar.
When a Man Loves a Woman - this is a live set led by bassist Takashi Mizuhasi. It contains 3 long takes that move from soul jazz to free jazz to jazz funk. It’s a fiery album that’s very different from the typical TBM fare.
Sky View - another great jazz funk/soul/fusion album led by saxophonist Hidefumi Toki.
Ginkai - this one is really unusual; a fusion of jazz and Japanese classical music. Led by Hozan Yamamoto on shakuhachi (wooden Japanese flute), and featuring Gary Peacock on bass. Well worth checking out.
Orang-utan - another cool Suzuki album with Mari Nakamoto on vocals for one track.
Coco’s Blues - Sunao Wada is a superb blues guitarist and this is a great companion album to Green Caterpillar.
Live at Vidro ‘77 - this is a fantastic live set featuring pianist Ryo Fukui in a small Sapporo jazz club. If you like the TBM trio albums, you’ll love this.
Rock Joint Biwa - this one is totally out there! A fusion of jazz, rock, funk, trad Japanese and psychedelia. Rock Joint is a band led by pianist Hiromasa Suzuki, while the ‘biwa’ is a Japanese lute-like stringed instrument. Super cool album!
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Consummation - a great recommendation from
@acemachine26 ! It’s surprising that such a wonderful album is oop, so had to settle for a second hand cd.
Metaphysics -
@moktan had posted this one a while ago, and I’m glad I remembered to pick it up. Ali has a unique angular style that reminds me of Monk. Odeon Pope is also rocking on sax.
In Orbit - speaking of Monk, this one was in the news recently
One of the (very) rare occasions when Monk filled in as sideman throughout an entire album.
Jazz Waltz - Les McCann with the Crusaders? Bring it on! This was an obvious blind (deaf?) buy.
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74 Miles Away - another funky Cannonball date with Zawinul on keyboards. Played live in front of a studio audience, so you get quite a few anecdotes by the leader between tracks.
Breathe - this is essentially a grooving ‘Live at the Village Vanguard’ set, bookended by two studio tracks featuring Iggy Pop on vocals! Sounds bizarre, but he actually comes across as a legitimate jazz crooner. Worth checking out.
Unify and Resonate - Lettuce is a new discovery for me. A present day jazz funk band from Boston who’ve definitely been listening to a lot of The Crusaders!
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Regulars on this thread will know I’m a fan of CTI records. Picked up three classics that should be in every collection, plus one I’d never heard before:
Forecast: Eric Gale features on quite a few CTI dates, but this is probably his only solo date for them (I think). Classic Kudu vibe, ie, great jazz funk.
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Contrary to what
@Jayant_S thinks, there are still quite a few Blue Notes I don’t have
Picked up three classics and one new album:
Re:imagined - a double cd set of today’s Brit jazz stars reinterpreting classic BN tunes. Nubya Garcia’s take on Joe Henderson’s ‘A Shade of Jade’ will convince you to part with your cash!
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Finally, a triple disc set of obscure (for me) female crooners, reinterpreting everything from Bill Withers to Dire Straits, via A-ha and Backstreet Boys! Smoky cocktail jazz for a mere $10.
And a double disc set of CTI’s impressive lineup in concert.
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Guess I’ll disappear for a while now, for obvious reasons
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