A great blend of funky jazz and wooden flute – the Japanese shakuhachi reed instrument, blown by Kifu Mitsuhashi here – then mixed with some larger backings that almost have a CTI Records sort of groove! The approach is similar to some of the best 70s projects from Hozan Yamamoto – and like those, updates older Japanese styles with just the right dose of jazz – never getting in the way of the soulful lines from the lead instrument, but also really warming things up nicely with Fender Rhodes, bass, guitar, and drums – in wonderful arrangements put together by Kiyoshi Yamaya. Titles include "Yagi Bushi", "Yosakoi Bushi", "Hokkai Bon Uta", "Kuroda Bushi", "Otemoyan", and "Mamuro Gawa Ondo". LP, Vinyl record album

Really cool cuts from a moment in Japanese music when previous experiments started to really take off – when a 60s-originated blend of jazz with traditional instrumentation turned into a wealth of fantastic fusion records from the 70s! This set focuses on work by a very special trio of players – arranger Kiyoshi Yamaya, koto player Toshiko Yonekawa, and shakuhachi musician Kifu Mitsuhashi – who come together here on tracks pulled from a number of different albums recorded for Sony/Columbia in the 70s – often with a fair bit of keyboards, guitar, and other electric instrumentation next to the acoustic sounds of the older sources – all of which makes for this wonderful blend of modes! Most tracks are nice and funky, and have a jazz-based approach – and titles include "Konpira Fune Fune", "Nanbu Ushioi Uta", "Hohai Bushi", "Otemoyan", "Aizu Bandaisan", "Saitaro Bushi", and "Yagi Bushi". LP, Vinyl record album