Here’s the jazz portion of my haul. Trust me, I did exercise extreme levels of self restraint!
Two very different albums from pianist Masabumi Kikuchi. East Wind features two long tracks with Kikuchi on acoustic piano, Terumasa Hino on trumpet and Kosuke Mine on tenor sax. He switches to a variety of keyboards for Susto, a fiery fusion album that also includes Terumasa Hino, Steve Grossman and Dave Liebman.
Drummer Takeo Moriyama is joined by pianist Fumio Itabashi and others for a hard-driving post bop album. Itabashi’s signature tune ‘Watarase’ is also featured.
Check out this lineup: Miroslav Vitous on bass, Mabumi Yamaguchi on sax, Kenny Kirkland on keyboards, George Otsuka on drums and John Scofield on guitar! Guardian Angels is jazz fusion on steroids.
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A classic TBM date, bassist Takashi is joined by the likes of pianist Fumio Karashima and saxaphonist Yoshio Otomo. While Isao Suzuki is the more celebrated bass player in J Jazz, I feel Mizuhashi deserves wider recognition for his incredible style.
Speaking of Suzuki, here he is on a live set that includes a whole bunch of J Jazz stalwarts: guitarist Sunao Wada, pianist Tsuyoshi Yamamoto (of Midnight Sugar fame), drummer George Otsuka, and saxophonists Yoshio Otomo and Mabumi Yamaguchi, among others. Just three long tracks that smoke!
Miyama’s New Herd is a big band that really knows how to groove. This album has a guitarist I’ve never heard before, Kozaburo Yamaki, who’s the main player here. I’m hoping the music is as wild as the cover!
Bassist Mizuhashi and saxaphonist Yamaguchi turn up again on drummer George Otsuka’s Go On. Another classic TBM date.
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It’s time for some jazz guitar! Gabor Szabo’s Rambler and Mizrab are classic CTI dates, with the likes of Bob James, Billy Cobham and Jack DeJohnette joining the mix.
Multiplication sounds like a CTI album, but isn’t. Eric Gale cooks up some soulful jazz funk with Grover Washington, Anthony Jackson, Hank Crawford and Steve Gadd all in attendance.
Prism is a fantastic bit of 70s fusion from guitarist Ryo Kawasaki. Another CTI-esque album that makes a good companion piece alongside Multiplication.
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Harold Land and Bobby Hutcherson have made some superb albums together, and here are three of their finest. While Total Eclipse is vintage Blue Note (with Chick Corea on piano), the two Land albums are real burners; as evidenced from the title.
Big John Patton’s Oh Baby! is pure soul jazz that’s guaranteed to get you off your butt and moving to the groove. It also features Blue Mitchell on trumpet and the elusive Harold Vick on sax. Plus, you can never have too much Grant Green!
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Organist Jimmy McGriff’s Outside Looking In could very well be a CTI album, both visually and musically. Hank Crawford and Eddie Daniels are also on board to turn up the heat on this chugging soul/jazz/funk train.
It was really heartening to see an album by a Bengali from Mumbai, displayed prominently in the fusion section of a record store in Japan! Kudos to Mohini Dey for making her mark on the global stage. The Japanese edition also contains a bonus track featuring Steve Vai.
Roy’s Hard Groove is a Japan only release that showcases some of his best work in a single compilation. As I don’t have any of his albums, I figured this would be a good introduction to his multiplicity of styles.
Jun Fukamachi’s On The Move is a fun record in a similar vein to Takanaka’s Insatiable High. Like that album, this one features an incredible lineup: the Brecker Brothers, David Sanborn, Steve Gadd and Eric Gale, to name a few.
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Two live albums from trumpeter Terumasa Hino’s younger brother, Motohiko. Drummer Hino blazes through some intense post bop with saxaphonist Mabumi Yamaguchi and guitarist Kazumi Watanabe (on Flying Clouds). On the same day I bought these CDs, I ended up in the jazz club I mentioned in my earlier post: Jazz Spot Intro. They had the same album and Hiro’s drumsticks on the wall; right next to sticks gifted by his hero Elvin Jones! (see pic below) Look carefully and you’ll spot some other autographed records, as well.
Bassist Mizuhashi turns up again on pianist Imada’s Now. This album is more like Planets and less like Green Caterpillar, with Imada sticking to acoustic piano.
Isao Suzuki’s All Right goes the other way, with electricity fueling the jazz fusion vibe. Kazumi Watanabe plays a major role here with his guitar, though he sounds very different from his pyrotechnics on Flying Clouds.
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Despite the band name, these last two aren’t exactly jazz records; more like electronica with jazz elements thrown into the mix. However, I’m pretty sure most of you on this thread will enjoy them.
Kyoto Jazz Massive has a bit of jazz and funk in its cocktail, while Yoshinori Sunahara’s Lovebeat is a hypnotic aural journey through a surreal electronic landscape. As a bonus for the audiophiles on this thread, both these albums offer stunning sonics.
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