Funky fusion from 70s Japan – a really great set that's heavy both on Fender Rhodes, and on a range of choppy reed lines on tenor, soprano sax, and flute! The set's got a warm glow that's perfect for the CTI generation – with an equally apt sense of space, one that keeps the record from veering into any overdone fusion cliches, and which instead helps the group stay in just the right territory to bring out all the best soul in their music. There's a funky feel on most cuts, but even the mellow numbers have a hell of a lot of soul too – thanks partly to the keyboards, and even more to a brilliant execution of the whole set. Titles include "Funky Stuff", "Scratch", "Breeze", "Painted Paradise", "Funky Motion", "Gentle Wave", and "Four Up". LP, Vinyl record album

A definite head rocker here – a brilliant bit of funky jazz from Japan, and a record that beautifully balances acoustic and electric elements! Jiro Inagaki plays some heavy tenor and soprano sax on the record – working with a combo that includes electric guitar, electric bass, and organ – plus a trumpet joining Jiro in the frontline! The rhythms are tight, hard, and very funky at times – drenched in soul, but also filtered through a bit of a psychedelic influence, as you might guess from the cover on the record – and Jiro's choppy tenor and soprano come off with some of the same sharp notes and changes you might expect from the best European funky fusion of the time. Tracks include "Spoonful", "The Ground For Peace", "Head Rock", "The Vamp", "Back To Back", "High Jack", and "Twenty One". LP, Vinyl record album

A definite head rocker here – a brilliant bit of funky jazz from Japan, and a record that beautifully balances acoustic and electric elements! Jiro Inagaki plays some heavy tenor and soprano sax on the record – working with a combo that includes electric guitar, electric bass, and organ – plus a trumpet joining Jiro in the frontline! The rhythms are tight, hard, and very funky at times – drenched in soul, but also filtered through a bit of a psychedelic influence, as you might guess from the cover on the record – and Jiro's choppy tenor and soprano come off with some of the same sharp notes and changes you might expect from the best European funky fusion of the time. Tracks include "Spoonful", "The Ground For Peace", "Head Rock", "The Vamp", "Back To Back", "High Jack", and "Twenty One". LP, Vinyl record album

Jiro Inagaki's definitely in the groove here – hitting hard with a sweet electric vibe, on a set that's easily one of his funkiest albums ever! The set's got a wicked mix of jazz and funk that's right up there with the best on 70s CTI or Kudu – but maybe even leaner overall, given the focused nature of the tunes – and their strongly rhythmic approach! Jiro's on both tenor and soprano sax, and also handles arrangements with Norio Maeda – and the set's especially heavy on Fender Rhodes and electric bass, carved up nicely by sweet guitar lines that almost have a Joe Beck sort of sound. Many tracks are originals, and all are definitely in a tight 70s mode – really stepping forward from some of the more formative funky years of Jiro's previous albums. Titles include "Joie De Vivre", "Crazy Medicine", "That's How I Feel", "Blue Blood", "Raven Speaks", and "Samba Chimba". LP, Vinyl record album

A later date from saxophonist Jiro Inagaki and his Soul Media combo – and a set that has them reworking their older groove in really great way! The style here is more fusion than the big band funk of the group's earlier years – but the overall sound is still equally funky, and nice and tight – in that best groove that you might hear from American groups like The Crusaders – or some of the best artists on Kudu Records in the late 70s! There's a tight horn section in the lead – but Jiro still solos on tenor and flute – and the arrangements are wonderfully soulful, with female vocals on some cuts, sending things home with some sweet English language lyrics. Titles include "Culmination", "Rain", "Take My Hand", "Memory Lane", "Dried Flowers", "Somethin Good Is Comin", and "I Will Give You Samba". LP, Vinyl record album

A Japanese take on the sound of late 60s Woodstock – one that kind of takes all the best songs from the famous festival, then distills them into a batch of short, tight, funky jazz instrumentals! The approach is very cool – more funky than hippie, especially since the album begins with a massive drum break – although the instrumentation does have some nice fuzzy touches around the edges, particularly on some of the guitars and maybe a bit of the keyboards. There's brassy horns on the top, and lots of great rhythms on the bottom – and titles include "The Ground For Peace", "Spoonful", "Summertime Blues", "Mama Told Me", "I Want To Take You Higher", "Woodstock", "Knick Knack", and "Head Rock". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare Japanese-only album from American reedman Steve Marcus – best known for his fuzzy freaky sets on the Vortex label – but heard here in the company of Tokyo reedman Jiro Inagaki – who also made some pretty freaky albums of his own! The tracks here are nice and long – longer than usual from Jiro – with extended snakey saxophone solo from both players, and some sweet electric touches from the Social Media group – who are more laidback here than on some of their more funk-based outings. The change is a nice one, and makes for a real standout from both players – the kind of overlooked early 70s moment that makes digging for Japanese records so great! Titles include "Something", "Fairly Rings", and "Serenity". LP, Vinyl record album

Bassist Akira Okazawa works here with a leaner version of the Soul Media group of reedman Jiro Inagaki – a sweet little set that has Jiro on tenor, soprano, and flute – and some mighty nice work on organ from Norio Maeda! Akira sings on many numbers, in both English and Japanese, in this raspy style that's really unique – but it's also clear that the instrumentation's a key part of the set – especially on the funkier numbers on the album! There's a few cool covers here – like "What's Going On" and "Alone Again Naturally" – next to other titles that include "Kage", "Ootsubu No Ame", "Hitotsu No Kotoba", "Chiisana Ai Dakedo", and "Iku Ga Li". LP, Vinyl record album

A heavy funk party from the Japanese jazz scene of the 70s – and a set that hits a lot harder than some of the smoother fusion of the time! There's a grit here that hearkens back to some of the best American jazz funk at the start of the decade – a nice edge that you often don't find in Japanese recordings of this vintage – which is clearly inspired by the American soul scene of the time – as evidence in the weird-looking cover, and in the album's choice of tracks! The notes are in Japanese, which makes it a bit hard to tell what's going on – but the whole thing feels like a live performance, with supposedly different Japanese groups taking the lead – and some calls on the tunes that almost give the whole thing an Osaka Monaurail feel! Titles include "Put It Where You Want It" by Jiro Inagaki & Soul Media, "I Who Have Nothing" by Tan Tan, "Walking All Day" by Eddie Ban & Orient Express, "Sex Machine" by Ozawa Tetsu, and "Scratch" by Akira Ishikawa & Count Buffalo. LP, Vinyl record album

The first-ever western collection of work from Japanese jazz giant Jiro Inagaki – a great saxophonist in his own right, and a real master of the groove with his Soul Media band! The double-length set is overflowing with gems from the golden age of Jiro and that group – tunes that effortlessly mix together acoustic and electric elements, with occasional nods to Japanese cultural styles – all at a level that's every bit as groovy as European work from the MPS/Saba generation! Jiro blows tenor, soprano, and flute on the tracks – and other players include the great Norio Maeda on organ, Hiromasa Suzuki on electric piano, and Ryo Kawasaki on guitar – on titles that include "Wandering Birds", "That's How I Feel", "Sniper's Snooze", "Head Rock", "Breeze", "Twenty One", "By The Red Stream", "Back Off Boogaloo", "Theme", "Express", "Barock", and "Painted Paradise". LP, Vinyl record album

A soaring collection of rare jazz from the Tokyo scene – all music originally recorded by the Japanese branch of Columbia Records – the same imprint that put out some exclusive and very hip Japanese-only albums from Miles Davis, Roy Ayers, and Herbie Hancock! The musicians here are all Japanese, and play with a vibe that definitely lives up to the label's legacy with American artists – mixing spiritual jazz, funky styles, and other soulful modes in a really great way – with a sense of variety that not only makes the collection a stellar listen throughout, but also really opens up your ears to the wealth of excellent Japanese jazz recordings that were never issued in the US! Titles include "Trial Road" by Tomoki Takahashi, "A Muddy Muffin" by Masahiko Sato, "Toppu" by Shigeharu Mukai, "Scramble" by Hiromasa Suzuki, "Samba De Negrito" by Takashi Mizuhashi & Herbie Hancock, "Ogi Denju Shiki" by Toshiyuki Miyama & His New Herd, "The Ground For Peace" by Jiro Inagaki & Soul Media, "Chakkiri Bushi" by Nobuo Hara with Hozan Yamamoto, "Mickey's Samba" by Mikio Masuda, and "Jones Street" by Kiyoshi Sugimoto. LP, Vinyl record album

An essential collection of work from the Japanese scene of the 70s – as set that really gets at the "something special" that made jazz from this generation so unique! Japanese musicians were early adopters of American modes – and the scene had great bop recordings from the 50s onward – but as the 70s approached, old and young musicians really started experimenting with a whole new range of styles – some mixed older Japanese instrumental modes with contemporary jazz, others tried a poetic approach to modal jazz, some were spiritual, and a few even got downright funky – but in ways that were very different than American jazz funk! This set brings together key examples of all those great styles – in a package that features detailed notes from Yusuke Ogawa, the man who's taught us plenty over the years – with titles that include "Mustache (live)" by Takeshi Inomata & Sound Ltd, "Fourth Expression" by Masahiko Togashi, "Do It" by Jiro Inagaki & Soul Media, "Romance" by Hiroshi Suzuki, "Tochi Mo Kurumi Mo Fukiotose" by Masahiko Sato, "Breeze" by Soul Media, "Adult's Day" by Toshiyuki Miyama & The New Herd, "Sakura Sakura" by Tadaki Misago & Tokyo Cuban Boys, "Muraiki" by Minoru Muraoka, "Mago Uta" by Count Buffalo & The Jazz Rock Band, "D51" by Kiyoshi Sugimoto, and "Breath Prologue" by Hozan Yamamoto, Masahiko Togashi, and Yosuke Yamashita. LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic document of the lost funk legacy of 70s Japan – music that's often different than the jazz and pop work of the decade that sees greater reissue, and which shows a very strong influence from the American scene! The rhythms here are wonderful – sometimes in the best funky soundtrack mode, other times with maybe even a bit of psych added in – and some of the cuts feature lyrics, either in English or Japanese, also with a very soulful vibe – but much more of an edge than the polished sound of the city pop generation! Titles include "Yumura No Obaba" by Akira Yasuda & Beat Folk, "Jikokeno No Samba" by Kan Mikami, "Singer Lady" by Hatsumi Shibata, "Devil Woman" by Bread & Butter, "I Hope It's Fine" by School Band, "Watashi No Beatles" by Fujio Tokita, "Bad Junky Blues" by Hiroshi Sato, "Theme Of Doberman Cop" by Mieko Hirota, and "The In & Outer Stomp & Shouter" by Sammy with Jiro Inagaki & Soul Media. LP, Vinyl record album