Jazz — All Formats  

Toshiko Akioshi makes a trip back to the Japanese jazz scene in the early 60s – for this great little session that has her meeting up with "old pals" from previous years – including Sadao Watanabe on alto sax, Akira Miyazawa on tenor, and Hideo Shiraki on drums! The reunion... read more

That's Torys, as in Suntory's – the big Japanese distillery who's hosting this special performance of The Big Four – a crackling lineup that features soulful tenor from Hidehiko Matsumoto and drums from George Kawaguchi! The core group have an energy that's like the best American bop... read more

Great work from a group who definitely earn their name – as the quartet was one of the biggest and best groups in the Japanese jazz scene at the time! The lineup features brilliant tenor from Hidehiko Matsumoto – a player who's young here, starting a decades-long run in jazz, but... read more

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One of Bostic's best – played with a group that includes Stanley Turrentine and John Coltrane, although you'd never know it, because Earl's alto sax is right up front in the mix. There's no problem with that, though – and as you'll hear from his tone, it's more than likely that Trane... read more

Well, it's not really bossa nova . . . it's more kind of Latiny backgrounds with a percussive and guitar sound, over which Earl Bostic solos in his beautifully raw style. Who cares about the true bossa-ness, though? We always love Bostic, and his alto sound is impeccable. Titles include "Cha... read more

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A nice little set that combines some of Eddie's rare work for King from the mid 50s! Eddie's tenor is in wonderful form here, working with a real sense of economy on the album's short tracks – a sense that you don't always get in some of his more stretched-out sets for Prestige. Backing on... read more

Funky funky Hammond – a rare late 60s album from organist Bill Doggett, done with some help from James Brown – and a set that's unlike anything Doggett ever recorded before – or since! There's a blasting groove to the record right from the start – thanks to help from The... read more

Nicely grooving work from organist Bill Doggett – in a stepping R&B mode that's in the style of his more famous work on tracks like "Hold It" or "Honky Tonk" (neither of which are on this album.) The group's a quartet, with Percy France on tenor, Shep Shepherd on... read more

A killer album of soul jazz piano instrumentals – produced by James Brown! The Dee Felice Trio were a groovy combo from Cincinnati, and James Brown took a shine to them at some point in the late 60s. They backed James on one record, but their big moment was this album – which had... read more

A killer album of soul jazz piano instrumentals – produced by James Brown! The Dee Felice Trio were a groovy combo from Cincinnati, and James Brown took a shine to them at some point in the late 60s. They backed James on one record, but their big moment was this album – which had... read more

Sweet electric fusion from Japanese drummer Motohiko Hino – a set that's got a deeper vibe than some of his other work of the 70s! The set's a live one, and all tracks are quite long – played with an open, exploratory feel by the group – in ways that are almost an extension of... read more

A beautiful little record – one of those really unique, really sensitively soulful sessions of jazz that were coming out of the Japanese scene in the 70s – quite different than work you'd hear from any other point of the globe! The group's led by bassist Yoshio Ikeda – who has a... read more

It could well be argued that in the 70s, the Japanese jazz scene was possibly the greatest place to be a bassist – as players like Yoshi Ikeda really had a chance to stretch out their sound, and try something new with records like this! The album's a really inventive little set – warm,... read more

Great long piano grooves from the trio of Masaru Imada – augmented here with additional instrumentation as well! Masaru alone is already great – a Japanese pianist with a strong sense of rhythm – those rolling lines we love in his trio dates from the 70s, usually with a nice dose... read more

Twin pianos here – the acoustic of Masaru Imada, and the mixed acoustic and electric of Kenji Kohsei – working here together to co-lead a quartet in a sublime session from the 70s! Imadu's a really great player, with a wonderful sense of blocking out a tune – moving slowly at... read more

Nothing innocent about this record – because the groove is hard and heavy, wild and trippy – a really heady brew of funky jazz and more psychedelic influences – all recorded with some weird sounds in the background too! The album's a great one from Japanese groove pioneer Takeshi... read more

A groovy little record from the Count Buffalos group – an ensemble we know mostly for their heavier funk of the early 70s and late 60s – but who here step out in a clubbier mode with some sweet touches of disco! The group's still a jazz one at its core – but they've also added in... read more

A sweet Japanese piano trio session from the 70s – named after the ballad "Emily", which features prominently in the lineup – but handled with a depth of sound that goes way past that familiar number! Emiko Kai's got a subtle touch on the keys – one that definitely has... read more

Lovely work from Kimiko Kasai – easily one of the best female jazz vocalists on the Japanese scene in the 70s! Kimiko's got a wonderfully deep range – an ability to dip into lower notes when needed, but not in any sort of gimmicky way – just this full-voiced quality that makes... read more

Japanese drum powerhouse George Kawaguchi leads a very hip band here – one that's filled with quick-thinking players who can really create strongly on the fly – matching George's boundless energy, but bringing plenty of their own elements to light as well! Kawaguchi's drums are back a... read more

Soulful flute and a bit of fusion – an obscure late 70s album from Japanese reed player Tamami Koyake! The set's a bit different than the usual American outing of this nature – almost a bit more open and free, with echoes of the way the instrument might have been used in a more... read more

An excellent mix of American and Japanese players – all brought into sharp Manhattan focus for this session! The date was recorded in New York, and features arrangements from Al Foster, Tom Harrell, Bib Berg, and Kunhiko Sugano – on cuts that are more warmly acoustic than the... read more

A rare Japanese session from American reedman Charlie Mariano – and one of the few recorded documents of his time on the Tokyo scene! The album really captures Charlie at a pivotal – and under-recorded – point in his career – definitely stretching out from the tight lines... read more

If the cover image of a Akira Miyazawa fishing in a trout stream wasn't already enough to make us love this one, the music on the disc certainly is – as the album's a real shining jewel in the Japanese jazz scene of the 60s, the kind of record that really set a whole new standard for the... read more

One of our favorite Japanese jazz players of all time – still sounding wonderful on this date from the mid 80s! Akira Miyazawa's easily the most soulful tenorist to come out of the Japanese scene of the 60s – and here, he works with a free, open approach to his horn that almost reminds... read more

60s jazz meets Japanese bamboo flute – all in a session with a great mix of groovy and exotic touches! The record's a unique meeting of jazz and folkloric elements – done in a style that's a bit like some of the late 60s sessions of this nature on MPS, but a fair bit groovier overall... read more

60s jazz meets Japanese bamboo flute – all in a session with a great mix of groovy and exotic touches! The record's a unique meeting of jazz and folkloric elements – done in a style that's a bit like some of the late 60s sessions of this nature on MPS, but a fair bit groovier overall... read more

Electric funk, with some mighty nice horns – a mix of saxes from Takeru Muraoka – plus trumpet and flugelhorn from Susumo Kazuhara too! We're not sure, but it almost feels as if Takeru's a bit overdubbed – using alto, tenor, and soprano together at various points to give the... read more

A stone smoker from tenorist Seiichi Nakamura – thanks partly to some great trombone from Shigeharu Mukai! Shige's one of our favorite Japanese trombonists from the 70s, and he really gives this session a deep degree of soul – working strongly in the frontline with Seiichi, and getting... read more

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Long tracks, lots of open energy, and plenty of freewheeling solos too – just the sort of Japanese jazz album from the 70s we treasure so much! The group here is led by drummer George Ohtsuka – sometimes spelled Otsuka – and features Fumio Karashima on piano and Fender Rhodes... read more

Great work from Japanese reedman Yoshio Otmo – a player we know from only a handful of 70s records, but who we really love! Otmo – also spelled Ohtmo on some records – has a way of carving out lines that are sharp, yet warm at the sametime – a nice sense of soulfulness that... read more

An overlooked gem from the Japanese scene at the start of the 70s – a record that's got a great mix of funky and groovy touches, all of which come across like better-known work from the Japanese Columbia label! Reedman Richard Pine leads the group on soprano sax, tenor, alto, and flute... read more

A late 50s stormer from Japanese drummer Hideo Shiraki – caught here at a great point in his early career! The album's got a bit more of a swing-based feel than some of Shiraki's later sides – a bit more Verve-like energy than Blue Note style – which is a-ok with us, because the... read more

Bossa jazz from 60s Japan – a set recorded right around the same time that Verve first started hitting bossa grooves in the US! The sound here is sharper than a Verve bossa album, though – with some of the same hardbop inflections you'd hear on other Hideo Shiraki albums from the time... read more

The music of Horace Silver is magically presented here by drummer Hideo Shiraki – grooving nicely in the same exotic approach to soul jazz you'd find on Silver's best Blue Note sides of the late 50s! Shiraki's always had a bit of a Jazz Messengers approach in his music – at least at... read more

Not sure what they mean by "Ameriachi" in the title – but from the sound of the music, there's definitely a great A&M Records-styled mix of jazz, Latin, and South American modes! The set begins with a set of cookers from drummer Hideo Shiraki – working with an excellent... read more

An amazing funky record cut by the American tenor player Hal Singer while he was living in exile in Paris! Although the bulk of Singer's other work is more traditional R&B sax material, this LP has a very good raw funky feel, with some nice tight guitar and organ grooves that spur Singer on to... read more

A sublime set of piano and bass duets – one that comes across with a depth of feeling and richness of expression that takes it way past the usual! The presence of Isao Suzuki is an instant indication that things are going to be pretty darn fresh – as the bassist always has a way of... read more

A really inventive little record from Japanese bassist Isao Suzuki – and a set that, like most of his best 70s work, really defies any sort of easy categorization! Suzuki's got a wonderfully wide range of ideas running through his music – at one level a really close-up and personal... read more

A wicked wicked set of tracks from Japan – one that blends together jazzy riffing and Brazilian rhythms, all played with a surprisingly soulful bent! Suzuki's on bass and piccolo bass, and Yamamoto plays not only electric piano but also a bit of electric harpsichord – which adds a cool... read more

Inventive percussion and amazing bass work – plus a host of other interesting elements as well – all wrapped up beautifully in this unique collaboration between Isao Suzuki and Masahiko Togashi! Both players were some of the most creative of the mainstream Japanese scene of the 70s... read more

One of a pair of great late 70s European dates from Japanese percussion master Masahiko Togashi – and a set that features some especially striking trombone from the legendary Albert Mangelsdorff! Given Albert's previous experiments in free, open-ended groups – his talents here are... read more

One of the greatest records ever from Japanese drummer Masahiko Togashi – a rare European session that features the talents of Don Cherry on trumpet and Charlie Haden on bass! The session's one of Cherry's most compelling performances from the time – a really loose and free date that... read more

One of the sharpest altos of the east – heard here in a great early album! Sadao Watanabe sounds wonderful on the set – blowing in a quintet setting, with a groove that's a bit like Lou Donaldson on Blue Note at the same time – slightly modern at moments, but also laidback and... read more

Is that barock or baroque? Whatever the case, the album's a pretty darn groovy affair – twin flutes from Sadao Watanabe and Akira Miyazawa – two of Japan's best reedmen at the end of the 60s – working here with some sweet arrangements that mix classical roots with mod... read more

A rare postwar jazz treasure from Japan – one of those great 50s albums that bring together some of the rising talents on the Tokyo scene – almost as proof that, musically at least, Japan was really getting back on its feet! The range of talents here is great – and there's almost... read more

Great 70s work from Japanese pianist Masao Yagui – a set that's got some fusion elements, but which also holds onto some of his earlier modern energies as well! The lineup here is relatively large – with Yagui on piano and keyboards, plus Akira Miyazawa on tenor, Shigeo Suziki on alto,... read more

A great Japanese take on the sound of Thelonious Monk at the end of the 50s – one that's led by pianist Masao Yagi, and which features some of the same dynamic horn interplay as Monk's best work on Riverside! Yagi's got a really great group here – with Sadao Watanabe on alto sax and... read more

Solo piano from one of Japan's most inventive talents on the keyboard – really stretching out here in a warmly acoustic setting, in a style that's quite freewheeling and open, yet without some of the more avant moments of later years too! There's a sense of balance here that's really... read more

A really unique little record – and a wonderful cross-section of the Japanese scene at the start of the 70s! The album features work by three trios – hence the title – some avant, some straight, and all if it pretty great! First up are the Yosuke Yamashita trio – who... read more

A sweet swinger from this hip Japanese vocalist – one of the groovier talents of that scene in the 70s, and an artist whose name wasn't that well known on our side of the Pacific! The record's got a soulful bounce right from the start – thanks to backings from the trio of pianist... read more

A definite flute adventure from Japanese reedman Toshiaki Yokota – one that's got some wonderfully trippy elements, in the best spirit of some of the most groundbreaking MPS sessions at the end of the 60s! Yokota plays a variety of flutes, and he's backed by electric guitar, bass, and plenty... read more

The best in modern jazz in Japan in the mid 50s – a smoking little record that features two different groups! Side one really cooks – thanks to work from Akira Miyazawa on tenor, Sadao Watanabe on alto, and Masao Yagi on piano – all great players who are really at the top of... read more

Massive funk from CTI – some of the label's grooviest, jazziest, most soulful gems from the 70s – all hand-picked by the folks at Wax Poetics Japan! There's some familiar tracks here, and some lesser-known nuggets too – and the set is one of the grooviest CTI collections we've... read more

A jazz message from late 50s Tokyo – loud, proud, and proof that the Japanese scene was really coming into its own! The set's awash in great bop and swing performances from the postwar years – exclusive tracks to this set, played by four different groups that include Akira Miyazawa on... read more

A Japanese jazz jam session from the late 50s – offered up in this really cool format that has the record starting out with Tokyo street sounds, and an announcer speaking in Japanese! The notes are all in Japanese (dammit!), but from what we can tell, the set features great early reed work... read more

Some of the best-remembered cuts from the legendary CTI Records of the 70s – all tracks that have been sampled over the years, thanks to their funky breaks and amazing grooves! CTI and Kudu have been reissued plenty in recent years, but we'll honestly say that this is one of the hippest sets... read more

An important 50s overview of the strength of Japanese jazz in the postwar years – a killer collection of some of the hottest acts on the Tokyo scene – all recording here specially for the set! The record features some alto from Sadao Watanabe, tenor from Hidehiko Matsumoto, and work... read more

A beautiful slice of Japanese jazz from the 70s – grooves that mix together older bamboo flute sounds with modern styles – bits of funk, modal, and fusion that work perfectly with the warm tones of the flute! The blend is completely seductive – very Japanese, but with a really... read more

Poll winners from the Japanese scene of the late 50s – stepping out in a special live performance from the time! The album's almost got a Verve Records sort of feel – especially from the all-star tip – and tunes are more swing than bop, although there's definitely a few modern... read more