Mari Nakamoto is a jazz singer with a wonderful sense of tone – a musicality in her voice that comes through on the first few notes of the record, then continues throughout as she transforms familiar tunes with that special sort of magic that marks a rare breed of jazz vocalist! Nakamoto really understands the tunes, and clearly sees her voice as much as an instrument as just the conveyor of lyrics – very much in a Sarah Vaughan sort of school, although Mari's certainly got her own sense of phrasing too. Instrumentation includes lots of great touches that bring out the best in her voice – including vibes from Kazuhiro Matsushi, and guitar from Shoji Yokouchi – on titles that include "Love For Sale", "On A Clear Day", "Day By Day", "On Green Dolphin Street", and "No Moon At All". (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

A very cool setting for Japanese vocalist Mari Nakamoto – a unique trio outing that features guitar from Kazumi Watanabe and bass from Isao Suzuki – both really creative players who push the album way past the usual! The mix of guitar and bass is wonderful – gentle, but still quite swinging even in the mellow moments – but in ways that leave plenty of space for Nakamoto to get really expressive on her vocals, at a level that definitely marks her as one of the best female jazz singers in Japan during the 70s. Tunes are mostly standards, but done in really fresh ways – and titles include "Sunflower", "Just Friends", "What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life", "You Came A Long Way From St Louis", and "What A Difference A Day Makes". (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

Warmly wonderful work from singer Mari Nakamoto – perfectly recorded in a warm Three Blind Mice manner that really suits her style! As with some of the other records on the label at the time, the vibe here is a bit laidback – but in a great way, which lets Mari slink forward in the lead, often with some nicely soulful currents – amidst guitar lines from Shoji Yokouchi, and some occasional organ from Yuri Tashiro – balanced out nicely with some lean work on bass and drums. Titles include a great take on "Bag's Groove" – plus "Song For You", "Black Coffee", "Dreamsville", "I Wanna Be Around", and "Good Morning Heartache" – all done in nicely laidback, open takes! (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

A really great vocal session from 70s Japan – and one that's got a much more spiritual sound at times than some of the others from the scene! Pianist Shigeko Toya has a way of really taking her time with the tunes – finding the right sort of vibe, then opening things up carefully – as singer Mari Nakamoto comes into the mix once the sound is right – using these very different inflections that are almost in some of the more expressively experimental modes of the European female vocal scene of the time. There's some standards on the set, but even these are given very different readings – and titles include "Greensleeves", "The Blues Ain't Nothin", "Hey There", "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To", and "That Lucky Old Sun". CD

A very compelling set from Japanese bassist Isao Suzuki – one that draws on the electric traditions being forged at the time by artists like Miles and Joe Henderson – but which is also graced by the warm lyricism that was running through other Japanese jazz sessions of the 70s! Suzuki plays a surprising range of instruments – electric piano, cello, and bass – and his group displays an amazing ability to move into freely flowing numbers, then shift abruptly into sparer, subtler territory. The vibe of the record is quite unique – and group members include Kenji Mori on alto and flute, Kazumi Watanabe on guitar, Samu Kawakami on bass, and Shinji Mori on drums – and one title features vocals from Mari Nakamoto. The tracks are on the longish side – and the titles include "Blue Road", "Where Are You Going?", "My One And Only Love" and "Orang-Utan". Great cover, too! CD

A very compelling set from Japanese bassist Isao Suzuki – one that draws on the electric traditions being forged at the time by artists like Miles and Joe Henderson – but which is also graced by the warm lyricism that was running through other Japanese jazz sessions of the 70s! Suzuki plays a surprising range of instruments – electric piano, cello, and bass – and his group displays an amazing ability to move into freely flowing numbers, then shift abruptly into sparer, subtler territory. The vibe of the record is quite unique – and group members include Kenji Mori on alto and flute, Kazumi Watanabe on guitar, Samu Kawakami on bass, and Shinji Mori on drums – and one title features vocals from Mari Nakamoto. The tracks are on the longish side – and the titles include "Blue Road", "Where Are You Going?", "My One And Only Love" and "Orang-Utan". Great cover, too! LP, Vinyl record album