Nice work from legendary Japanese tenorist Sleepy Matsumoto – a quartet date with some longish takes on tunes that include "Now's The Time", "Bag's Groove", "Tin Roof Blues", and "Sonnymoon For Two". LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant proof that the Japanese jazz scene was alive and well in the early 60s – thanks to records like these from drummer Hideo Shiraki! Both records have a tightly-crafted sound that resonates strongly with the groove of Prestige or Blue Note in the late 50s – thanks to a lineup that includes strong tenor from Hidehiko Matsumoto, alongside trumpet, piano, bass, and Shiraki's drums. A few tunes sparkle with a nice sort of soundtracky quality – an extremely evocative approach that seems to use a bit of echo in the recording of the horns, really helping set the mood of the tunes. Both albums are wonderful – the kind of lost jazz gems that you'd shell out hundreds to track down in the original, but packaged together nicely on this single CD! Titles are all in Japanese, but there's a total of 14 numbers between both albums. CD

Great work from a very young Sadao Watanabe – playing alto sax lines against a moody backdrop of late nite orchestrations – a style that's quite different than the sound of his work from later 60s years! Yet even at this early age, Watanabe's clearly a great talent on his instrument – playing familiar tunes, but doing so with a bit of an edge – a "bite" in his tone that creates an oddly unsettling feel, and brings a much moodier sound to music that might otherwise come off with a sweeter style. LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record