Japanese — All
A special section of Japanese language records -- city pop, J-pop, and other styles unique to the culture of Japan!
Universal (label)
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(Items 1 – 32 of 32)
Universal/Lawson (Japan), 1996. New Copy ... $24.99 48.99
A sweetly soulful soundtrack from Cagnet – music for the extremely popular Long Vacation series in the 90s, done in that Japanese style from the time that was very heavy on influences from American soul! There's English language lyrics on most tracks – sung by Natalie and Anna, with a ... read more LP, Vinyl record album
Cagnet —
Long Vacation ... LP Universal/Lawson (Japan), 1996. New Copy (reissue)... Out Of Stock
A well-done batch of music for the initial season of Japanese TV show Long Vacation – served up with a sense of variety and depth that's a great change from American television music for a program of this nature! Cagnet put the whole thing together, but they've got a good sense of variety ... read more LP, Vinyl record album
Also available Long Vacation ... CD 4.99
Polydor/Universal (Japan), 1977. New Copy (reissue)... $40.99 48.99
An album with a very striking cover, but which features music done for the more warm-tinged program Mu – a 70s drama represented here by a really great range of different themes! The mix of modes is great – one tune might have a playful Fender Rhodes solo, another a more serious koto ... (Soundtracks, Japanese) read more LP, Vinyl record album
(Great Japanese pressing – nice and heavy, with obi!)
Takeshi Inomata —
Sound Limited ... LP Express/Universal (Japan), 1970. New Copy (reissue)... Out Of Stock
A record with a staid sort of cover, one that hides all the great funky energy underneath – as the set's a killer album from Japanese drummer Takeshi Inomata, working here with his Sound Ltd group in a wonderful blend of jazz, funk, and psychedelic mode! There's a fantastic swirling of ... (Jazz, Japanese) read more LP, Vinyl record album
Universal (Japan), New Copy (reissue)... $41.99 49.99 About September 4, 2024
... LP, Vinyl record album
Universal (Japan), New Copy (reissue)... $41.99 49.99 About September 4, 2024
... LP, Vinyl record album
Kinokuniya Band —
Street Sensation ... LP Polydor/Lawson (Japan), 1979. New Copy (reissue)... Out Of Stock
Warmly jazzy grooves from this late 70s Japanese combo – one who are more like a fusion group than some of the more standard city pop acts – in part because they've got two different guitarists in the lineup, each of whom get a different channel in the mix! Haruto Kawabe is on one ... read more LP, Vinyl record album
Express/Universal (Japan), 1970. New Copy (reissue)... $41.99
The very first album from long-running Japanese singer Akira Kushida – a set that bursts out with the word "soulful" on the cover, and definitely follows through with its promise! Given that Akira sings in Japanese on many cuts, the sound isn't exactly the same as James Brown on ... read more LP, Vinyl record album
(Great Japanese pressing – with obi!)
Logic System —
Venus ... LP EMI/Universal (Japan), 1981. New Copy (reissue)... Out Of Stock
A really beautiful record from the Japanese electro scene at the start of the 80s – a record that's got some of the catchy synth modes of the period, but which also has a fair bit of other elements going on too! Logic System features keyboards from Hideki Matsutake – best known for his ... read more LP, Vinyl record album
(Great Japanese pressing – with obi!)
Denon/Lawson (Japan), 1971. New Copy Gatefold (reissue)... Just Sold Out!
Japanese singer Carmen Maki works here with Blues Creation – on a set that's headier and heavier than just about anything she ever recorded! The group themselves are amazing – searing with guitar work that rivals the best of the Anglo blues-inspired hard rock combos of the period ... read more LP, Vinyl record album
Kosuke (Kohsuke) Mine —
First (aka Morning Tide) (Japanese pressing) ... LP Philips/Universal (Japan), 1970. New Copy Gatefold (reissue)... Out Of Stock
A tremendous first outing as a leader for Japanese saxophonist Kosuke Mine – one of our favorite players of the 70s, already sounding wonderful here right at the start! The album's got a freewheeling vibe – not entirely avant, and maybe more in the modal territory unlocked by Miles ... (Jazz, Japanese) read more LP, Vinyl record album
Also available First ... CD 16.99
First (45 rpm 2LP pressing) ... LP 34.99
Toshiyuki Miyama & His New Herd —
Four Jazz Compositions – Based On Japanese Classical Themes ... LP Toshiba/Universal (Japan), 1970. New Copy Gatefold (reissue)... Out Of Stock
Don't be mis-led by the title – as this isn't one of those "jazz meets classical" albums that were big on the European scene in the 60s – and instead, the album features very ambitious, very compelling sounds by one of the most free-thinking Japanese ensembles of the time! ... (Jazz, Japanese) read more LP, Vinyl record album
Express/Universal (Japan), 1971. New Copy (reissue)... $41.99 49.99
Funky, fuzzy, and outta site – a really wonderful set of extended psychedelic jazz numbers from twin tenorists Takeru Muraoka and Takao Uematsu! The set's billed as a live tenor "battle" on the cover – but it's hardly the sort of record that you'd hear from American players ... (Jazz, Japanese) read more LP, Vinyl record album
Toshiba/Universal (Japan), 1960. New Copy (reissue)... $29.99 49.99
A great piano trio set from the start of the 60s – performed by a Japanese player we know little about! Hachidai Nakamura isn't a name that we remember from many other records, but on this beautifully-titled record he steps forth with a command of the keys that's really wonderful – a ... (Jazz, Japanese) read more LP, Vinyl record album
East World/Lawson (Japan), 1983. New Copy (reissue)... $39.99 49.99
Keyboardist Soichi Noriki is at the top of his game here – combining warmer fusion modes from a few years before with some of the city pop styles on the Japanese scene of the early 80s – an approach that's topped with vocals from Yurie Kokubu on a few of the album's key cuts! Most of ... (Jazz, Japanese) read more LP, Vinyl record album
Universal/Lawson (Japan), 1979. New Copy (reissue)... $41.99 49.99 About August 3, 2024
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Lisa Ono —
Bossa Carioca ... LP Universal (Japan), 1998. New Copy (reissue)... Out Of Stock
Lisa Ono is at it again – recording a lovely set of bossa tunes with help from Paulo and Daniel Jobim, son and grandson of Antonio Carlos Jobim! The Jobims produced the album with Lisa, and they play guitar and piano on the album – in a moody style that recalls all the best 60s ... (Brazil, Japanese) read more LP, Vinyl record album
Lisa Ono —
Bossa Hula Nova ... LP Universal (Japan), 2001. New Copy (reissue)... Out Of Stock
A great take on the sweet style of the lovely Lisa Ono – a record that combines two great musical passions of the Japanese scene – bossa nova and Hawaiian grooves! And although Lisa's recording in a vaguely Hawaiian mode, the style's nicely different too – mixing her usual bossa ... (Brazil, Japanese) read more LP, Vinyl record album
Express/Universal (Japan), 1969. New Copy (reissue)... $42.99 49.99
The debut album of the legendary pianist Masahiko Sato – a musician who's got a way with a piano that's unlike anyone else we can think of – almost creating these sinister moments at times, which are balanced by occasional moments of warmth, amidst a very groundbreaking sense of freedom! ... (Jazz, Japanese) read more LP, Vinyl record album
(Great Japanese pressing – with obi!)
Masahiko Sato with Toshiyuki Miyama & His New Herd —
Yamataifu ... LP Toshiba/Universal (Japan), 1972. New Copy Gatefold (reissue)... Temporarily Out Of Stock
Stunning sounds from the Japanese jazz scene of the 70s – one of those key records that show how the scene was really moving forward with older jazz formats, and definitely finding new voices and styles in the process! The New Herd group here has nothing to do with older American big bands ... (Jazz, Japanese) read more LP, Vinyl record album
(Beautiful Japanese pressing, with obi!)
Express/Universal (Japan), 1974. New Copy (reissue)... $40.99 48.99
There's no shrieking going on here, as the music's got this gently groovy style that's warm and wonderful – post-folk, maybe a bit sunshine pop influenced – and coming across as almost like a Japanese attempt to hit some Carpenters territory! The songs are often more sophisticated than ... read more LP, Vinyl record album
Kitty/Universal (Japan), 1976. New Copy (reissue)... $41.99 49.99 About August 7, 2024
Really lovely guitar work from Masayoshi Takanaka – music that's part of that great solo change after his work in Sadistic Mika Band – as he really expanded his sound on guitar with all these cool chromatic touches that are perfect for the light fusion-based sound of the record! ... (Jazz, Japanese) read more LP, Vinyl record album
Express/Universal (Japan), 1969. New Copy (reissue)... $40.99 48.99
The sweet image really gets at the wonderful sound of this record – a Japanese pop gem from the end of the 60s, and one that seems to mix together elements of bossa nova and European grooves – all in this way that really fits the way that the male and female vocals come together! The ... read more LP, Vinyl record album
Liberty/Universal (Japan), 1970. New Copy Gatefold (reissue)... $40.99 48.99
A record with a really special sound – Japanese pop moving past some of the more emotive modes used a few years before, and working with a gentle, breezy style that sometimes echoes the best A&M Records styles from the Cali scene of the late 60s! Both singers intertwine in a wonderful ... read more LP, Vinyl record album
Liberty/Universal (Japan), 1971. New Copy Gatefold (reissue)... $40.99 48.99
A really great record from the Japanese scene of the 70s – one that seems to borrow a lot from the French pop styles of the late 60s – as you might guess from the group's name! Toi Et Moi are one guy singer, one gal – blending their Japanese vocals beautifully, with elements that ... read more LP, Vinyl record album
Express/Universal (Japan), 1973. New Copy (reissue)... $40.99 48.99
A very hip Japanese group from the 70s – one based in Tokyo, but a combo who also featured Japanese/American members too – and who soar out nicely here on one of their best-remembered albums! The set's got this cool, compressed style that's a bit like glam – but it's also never ... read more LP, Vinyl record album
Hozan Yamamoto/
Philips/Universal (Japan), 1970. New Copy ... Temporarily Out Of Stock
A brilliant album by Hozan Yamamoto – a flute player with a great ear for mixing traditional sounds and modern jazz! The set's a suite of sorts – performed by a cool quartet with Yamamoto on bamboo flute, plus Masabumi Kikuchi on piano, Gary Peacock on bass, and Hiroshi Murakami on ... (Jazz, Japanese) read more CD
(Part of the Japanese Jazz Revisited series – SHM-CD pressing!)
Toshiba/Universal (Japan), 1971. New Copy (reissue)... $40.99 49.99
Not nearly as primitive as you might guess from the title – and instead, a heady batch of electric funk from the Japanese scene at the start of the 70s! The album's got a heavy dose of percussion at the bottom – drums and more, interwoven with lots of electric guitar in the rhythms ... (Jazz, Japanese) read more LP, Vinyl record album
(Heavy Japanese pressing – with obi!)
Philips/Universal (Japan), 1973. New Copy (reissue)... $51.99 58.99
A very groovy album from 70s Japan – one that makes all the best use of the sexy vocal style of Kaoru Yumi, set to a warm mix of funky and easygoing backings! Yumi's as famous for her appearances on screen as she is on record – a role that was unified here through the scandalous album ... read more LP, Vinyl record album
(A beautiful pressing – with a peek-a-boo outer sleeve, inside obi, and bonus poster too!)
Universal (Japan), New Copy ... $44.99 52.99 About July 8, 2024
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Toshiba/Universal (Japan), 1961. New Copy ... $44.99 49.99
All-star jazz from the Japanese scene of the early 60s – a record that's almost in the Verve Records jam session or JATP style – as it features some of the greatest players on the Japanese scene of the time, coming together on some really long tracks that take off in a beautiful way! ... (Jazz, Japanese) read more LP, Vinyl record album
Toshiba/Universal (Japan), 1961. New Copy ... $24.99 49.99
A key showcase of some of the fantastic groups who were starting to shape the sound of jazz on the Japanese jazz scene at the start of the 60s –a set that's a nice contrast to the first volume in this series, which featured all of the different musicians jamming together! Here, leadership is ... (Jazz, Japanese) read more LP, Vinyl record album
(Items 1 – 32 of 32)
