All That Jazz ...
- Thread starter Nikhil
- Start date
After an excruciatingly long wait, my unreliable courier service (read, bro in law) finally delivered my latest haul. Here are some brief notes on each:
The BBE label (Barely Breaking Even) has been releasing some amazing J Jazz albums. After picking up Vol.2 of their sampler series and loving it, I just had to get the others. Special mention for Vol.4 which has just been released and features some of the funkiest jazz around.
Approach is another BBE reissue and is a later mid-80s quartet album from Isao Suzuki. Featuring drummer Masahiko Togashi, who will feature again here.
A quartet of CTI albums, with Walking In Space being recommended before on this thread. Most jazzheads have heard Afro Classic by Laws, but I think In The Beginning is his best work; more jazz, less classical.
A quartet of TBM albums:
Toshiyuki Miyama leads a Japanese Big Band called the New Herd Orchestra. Super swinging stuff!
Drummer George Kawaguchi plays some great hard bop, with bassist Takashi Mizuhashi in the mix.
Pianist Fumio Karashima played in Elvin Jones' band for 5 years, so you know he's got the chops. This is a trio album with Isao Suzuki on bass and George Otsuka on drums.
Four Scenes is another great quartet album by guitarist Sunao Wada.
The first album here (top left) is big band maestro Toshiyuki Miyama's greatest hits compilation. An absolute blast!
The Wamono album is a collection of steaming jazz funk tracks from Columbia's Japanese setup. This is a great companion disc to J Jazz Vol.4.
Pianist Fumio Itabashi leads a trio in the classic TBM style.
Pianist Kikuchi Masabumi leads a quintet that plays a more soul jazz version of post bop.
Newer J Jazz:
It's Masahiko Togashi again, setting his drums alight on a live set from 1994, and featuring Kohsuke Mine on tenor sax.
Stereo Champ is a modern Japanese jazz rock band with a grooving electronic sound.
Masayoshi Takanaka's An Insatiable High is a bright and cheerful jazz pop record with a huge cast, including Tower of Power, Lee Ritenour, Chuck Rainey and Harvey Mason.
Miho Hazama is a Tokyo born jazz composer settled in New York. Her big band is a totally unique take on electronic jazz with one foot in the past and the other in the future.
2 more great recommendations from this thread - Jordan and Evans.
Asphalt Canyon Suite could easily have been a CTI release.
Desmond has a better take of Take Ten on Skylark, with Gabor Szabo on guitar. However, it's really hard to find a copy. Still, some great tunes on this album, with Jim Hall on guitar and an Andy Warhol cover to boot.
3 Jimmy McGriff albums for 600 yen each. Dripping with jazz, soul, funk and even... disco! Some grooving tracks here, so, worth the price.
One of the few classic Miles albums I never got around to buying. The birth of jazz fusion.
3 Lonnie Smith albums for 600 yen each. Again, a similar 70s vibe to the McGriff records. For 1800 yen, you get an album's worth of great tracks, so good value here.
A double album of live Weather Report from different eras and various versions of the group. Some amazing Jaco here, as well.
Once again, thank you all for your recommendations. Please keep 'em coming.
The BBE label (Barely Breaking Even) has been releasing some amazing J Jazz albums. After picking up Vol.2 of their sampler series and loving it, I just had to get the others. Special mention for Vol.4 which has just been released and features some of the funkiest jazz around.
Approach is another BBE reissue and is a later mid-80s quartet album from Isao Suzuki. Featuring drummer Masahiko Togashi, who will feature again here.
A quartet of CTI albums, with Walking In Space being recommended before on this thread. Most jazzheads have heard Afro Classic by Laws, but I think In The Beginning is his best work; more jazz, less classical.
A quartet of TBM albums:
Toshiyuki Miyama leads a Japanese Big Band called the New Herd Orchestra. Super swinging stuff!
Drummer George Kawaguchi plays some great hard bop, with bassist Takashi Mizuhashi in the mix.
Pianist Fumio Karashima played in Elvin Jones' band for 5 years, so you know he's got the chops. This is a trio album with Isao Suzuki on bass and George Otsuka on drums.
Four Scenes is another great quartet album by guitarist Sunao Wada.
The first album here (top left) is big band maestro Toshiyuki Miyama's greatest hits compilation. An absolute blast!
The Wamono album is a collection of steaming jazz funk tracks from Columbia's Japanese setup. This is a great companion disc to J Jazz Vol.4.
Pianist Fumio Itabashi leads a trio in the classic TBM style.
Pianist Kikuchi Masabumi leads a quintet that plays a more soul jazz version of post bop.
Newer J Jazz:
It's Masahiko Togashi again, setting his drums alight on a live set from 1994, and featuring Kohsuke Mine on tenor sax.
Stereo Champ is a modern Japanese jazz rock band with a grooving electronic sound.
Masayoshi Takanaka's An Insatiable High is a bright and cheerful jazz pop record with a huge cast, including Tower of Power, Lee Ritenour, Chuck Rainey and Harvey Mason.
Miho Hazama is a Tokyo born jazz composer settled in New York. Her big band is a totally unique take on electronic jazz with one foot in the past and the other in the future.
2 more great recommendations from this thread - Jordan and Evans.
Asphalt Canyon Suite could easily have been a CTI release.
Desmond has a better take of Take Ten on Skylark, with Gabor Szabo on guitar. However, it's really hard to find a copy. Still, some great tunes on this album, with Jim Hall on guitar and an Andy Warhol cover to boot.
3 Jimmy McGriff albums for 600 yen each. Dripping with jazz, soul, funk and even... disco! Some grooving tracks here, so, worth the price.
One of the few classic Miles albums I never got around to buying. The birth of jazz fusion.
3 Lonnie Smith albums for 600 yen each. Again, a similar 70s vibe to the McGriff records. For 1800 yen, you get an album's worth of great tracks, so good value here.
A double album of live Weather Report from different eras and various versions of the group. Some amazing Jaco here, as well.
Once again, thank you all for your recommendations. Please keep 'em coming.
Attachments
Santa had been kind. These should bring you many hours of listening pleasure...... until next Christmas
acemachine26
Well-Known Member
Great picks! Especially the BBE J-Jazz and Wamono series. I really need Vol. 4 on vinyl. The label behind the Wamono series, 180g also has a brilliant jazz series called Wajazz that is just as good as BBE. Glad to see some Takanaka too, his albums always put me in a great mood.
It’s available here:
https://bbemusic.com/product/j-jazz...zz-from-japan-nippon-columbia-1968-1981-draft
Wamono and Wajazz albums are very hard to come by right now. Which is why I jumped at Vol.4.
I’m pretty sure your extensive collection will feature a lot of these tracks, though.
acemachine26
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the link. Yes I've managed to order all the Wamono and WaJazz titles through their Bandcamp page. They have a 10% discount on all their titles for Bandcamp friday, which happens on the first Friday of each month. Their records arrive quite quickly too. I think they ship from France.
If you haven’t already, please check out ‘The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady’. Mingus’ masterpiece that sounds exactly as you described
Great recommendation Nikhil. Each player at the top of his form - laid back but swinging. No aggression from anyone except perhaps Jones.
.
To me, Chambers ranks at the very top amongst jazz bassists. He and Jaco.
(The other attribute he shared with Jaco was the amazing ability to pass out on stage during a performance
)Thanks
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Sushant Sharma
Well-Known Member
All star lineup.Listening to this after seeing it recommended on AS ... absolutely stellar lineup.
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Sushant Sharma
Well-Known Member
Another stellar Monk album comprising of tunes from 2 different sessions.
The graphic novel titled Monk is by Youssef Daoudi and the painting on the wall is inspired by one of his graphic representations of Monk in the novel.
What a fantastic recommendation, Sushant!
I’m a big fan of graphic novels, but never imagined there would be one on Monk! Ordered a copy immediately
Btw, did you create the painting yourself? Looks amazing!
Sushant Sharma
Well-Known Member
Hi Coaltrain. Thanks for your kind words and i am glad you like it. It's great quality too.What a fantastic recommendation, Sushant!
I’m a big fan of graphic novels, but never imagined there would be one on Monk! Ordered a copy immediately
Btw, did you create the painting yourself? Looks amazing!
An Artist / friend made that for me. I unfortunately have no such talents. Happy New year!
acemachine26
Well-Known Member
Then I highly recommend the manga series Blue Giant (named after Trane's Blue Train and Giant Steps) which is about a high-schooler wanting to be a jazz musician. It was made into an anime in 2023 with music by none other than Hiromi Uehara.What a fantastic recommendation, Sushant!
I’m a big fan of graphic novels, but never imagined there would be one on Monk! Ordered a copy immediately
Btw, did you create the painting yourself? Looks amazing!
Also recommend Chasin' The Bird: A Charlie Parker Graphic Novel.
For excellent sound that won't break the bank, the 5 Star Award Winning Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 Bookshelf Speakers is the one to consider!
