DJ Kawasaki has given the world plenty of great club tracks over the years – but here, he reworks his music in a variety of different styles – sometimes funk, sometimes soul, sometimes a bit of jazz – all with a level of expression that really takes us back to that moment when the Japanese scene was really crossing over with American soul! The vibe here is much richer than if you've just caught some of Kawasaki's tracks floating around the digital world – and the whole thing works really well as a whole – with guest work from Bird, N'Dea Davenport, Karin, and others – on titles that include recreations of the tunes "I'm So On Your Mind", "Let The Music Play", "Shooting Star", "Blazin", "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Bright Like Light", "So Far Away", and "Planetary Track". (New Grooves, Japanese) LP, Vinyl record album

Includes the songs "Catalina Island", "Rudy's Dream", "Bridge Over Troubled Water", "Lullaby Of Takeda", "Essence", "Lettin's Go", "Keep Hope Alive", "Baked Potato Man", "Innocence Of Spring", "Our Story", and "Peranzzetta". (Jazz, Japanese) CD

Ellington numbers all around, played by a great Japanese 70s big band, headed up by Toshio Mori! The sound here would make the late Duke proud – as Mori and the group perform 8 Billy Strayhorn numbers all with just the right mix of ensemble soul and modern touches that made the later Ellington group such a thrill. And while you might be expecting a gimmick or some sort of a stylistic move to mark the album as particularly Japanese or 70s-oriented – it's a just a great straight ahead big band session, done in a very respectful style. Titles include "UMMG", "After All", "Lotus Blossom", "Chelsea Bridge", and "Snibor". (Jazz, Japanese) CD

Many years back, Jun Miyake went from working in familiar jazz modes to creating a genre that's all his own – music that has a very special vibe, and a sense of subtle beauty that's very much in keeping with the title of the album! It's always hard to describe Jun's music in words – as at some level, it's an extension of some of the more minimal experiments on the Japanese scene of the 80s – those cool combinations of sound that came after the initial work of Ryuichi Sakamoto and his contemporaries. But at another level, Miyake's music is sometimes more song-based, and tuneful – yet never across the entire space of a record at once. Words won't get us too far in trying to convey the quality of the music, but maybe the phrase "whispered garden" is a start – an introduction to titles that include "Farois Distantes", "Paradica", "The Jamestown Bridge", "Counterflect", "Progeny", "Parece Ate Carnaval", "Time Song Time", "Hollow Bones", and "Untrodden Sphere". LP, Vinyl record album

The debut album from Hako Yamasaki, and a set that really bridges a few different eras of music on the Japanese scene! At some level, Hako's got the richly expressive style of female singers of the late 60s – but she works here with more acoustic guitar, and some more down-to-earth touches that aren't exactly folk or singer/songwriter, but showcase an intimacy that gives the record a tremendous amount of power – even if you can't understand the lyrics! Electric elements and more powerful backings come into the mix from time to time, but never overwhelm – as the recording quality has Hako's vocals right up front, at a level that's extremely expressive, even for her young age. Titles include "Taketombo", "Sayonara No Kane", "Kazaguruma", "Sasurai", and "Bokyo". LP, Vinyl record album