One of Sadao Watanbe's excellent late 60s bossa albums – beautifully rich, but mellow readings of bossa nova numbers – in a way that takes music that had already been introduced to Japan a few years earlier, and gives it even wider exposure with Sadao's wonderfully soulful, jazz-based approach! Sadao plays both flute and alto sax – and backing is from a small combo that mixes in Brazilian-styled guitar and percussion next to the piano from Masabumi Kikuchi and drums from Masahiko Togashi – who you'll know from other Japanese jazz of the time! Watanabe's reeds have a raspy, off-kilter quality that's almost more human than many Brazilian jazz efforts of the time – and titles include "O Grande Amor", "Felicidade", "Here's That Rainy Day", "Agua De Beber", "White Wave", "From Russia With Love" and "So Danca Samba". CD

Excellent small group work from Sadao Watanabe – easily one of the best Japanese reed players of the past 50 years – still sounding great here on a recent acoustic session! Watanabe plays alto throughout – a definite preferred horn of late – and stretches out in these expressive solos in the company of Gerald Clayton on piano, Ben Williams on bass, and Jonathan Blake on drums – a combo who step out with lots of warm sympathy on a set of tracks that's all original material by Watanabe! Sadao's tunes have a feel that's quite poetic, yet still also swinging too – a balance carried out in a wonderfully subtle way on tunes that include "I Miss You When I Think Of You", "Gemmation", "Vamos Juntos", "Simpatico", and "Warm Days Ahead". CD

A great back-to-basics set for Sadao Watanabe – a live date that almost echoes the spirit of one of his youthful Columbia sessions in Japan! The group features James Williams on piano, Charnett Moffett on bass, and Jeff Waits on drums – and Sadao blows alto on titles that include "Billie's Bounce", "Parker's Mood", "Lament", and "Stella By Starlight". CD

Beautiful bossa nova from 60s Japan – groundbreaking work from the young Sadao Watanabe! Like one of his obvious influences, Stan Getz, Watanabe had a great role in bringing the bossa nova out of Brazil – taking a music that had already been introduced to Japan a few years before, and giving it even wider exposure with his wonderfully soulful, jazz-based approach. And although there were earlier Japanese bossa albums, this one stands out as one of the true classics – the Getz/Gilberto set of 60s Japan, although without the vocals of that Verve date. Sadao plays both flute and alto sax, and backing is from a small combo that mixes in Brazilian-styled guitar and percussion next to the bass and drums. Watanabe's reeds have a raspy, off-kilter quality that's almost more human than most Brazilian jazz efforts of the time – and titles include versions of "Song Of The Jet", "Felicidade", "Reza", and "Morning Of The Carnival" – plus some nice originals like "America" and "Cupid's Song". CD

Sadao Watanabe on alto sax and flute, Gerald Clayton on piano, Ben Williams on bass, and Johnathan Blake on drums. CD

With Abraham Laboriel on bass, Paul Jackson Jr on guitar, Hubert Laws on flute, Carlos Vega on drums, Paulinho Da Costa on percussion, and George Duke on synthesizer. CD

A lovely little meeting between bossa guitarist Toquinho and Japanese saxophonist Sadao Watanabe – a set that has Sadao returning to some of the Brazilian styles he first recorded back in the 60s! There's a nicely warm feel to the set, but the sound is still pretty intimate overall – not nearly as produced or smooth as some of Watanabe's other work of the time, and with an up-close element that definitely shows Toquinho's influence. Toquinho sings a fair bit on the set, and Watanabe's solos are a sharp-edged treat – and the record features a fair bit of original compositions for the session. Titles include "Saudade De Elis", "Carinhoso", "Sentimentos Iguais", "Minha Profissao", "Filho Meu", "Made In Coracao", "Inquieto Amor", and "Samba Da Volta". (Brazil, Jazz) CD

If the cover image of a Akira Miyazawa fishing in a trout stream wasn't already enough to make us love this one, the music on the disc certainly is – as the album's a real shining jewel in the Japanese jazz scene of the 60s, the kind of record that really set a whole new standard for the players involved! Miyazawa's got a tone here that's really incredible – an approach to the alto that's a bit like Lou Donaldson during his bop years for Blue Note, but which is also recorded here with a great sense of space that echoes out wonderfully – even when Akira's just doing a little. The group is relatively large, but all focused around Miyazawa's horn – and other players include Sadao Watanabe on flute and Masahiko Sato on piano. Titles include the great originals "Yamame" and "Fly Casting", plus "Out OF Nowhere", "Like Sonny", and "Le Crespuscule Enbaume". CD

All-star jazz from the Japanese scene of the early 60s – 2 albums' worth of material from some of the greatest players in Japan at the time! The first album in the set is done in a style that almost recalls the Jazz At The Philharmonic mode on Verve – with 2 very long tunes ("Moanin" and "Walkin), each done in side-long takes with plenty of room for solo contributions from players that include Sadao Watanabe, Norio Maeda, Takeashi Inomata, Keitaro Miho, Akira Nakano, and Shungo Sawada – all trading lines with a really spontaneous sense of energy! The second album is tighter and a bit more controlled – with live performances by combos led by Shungo Sawada, Masao Yagi, Norio Maeda, and others – all jamming in hardbop formation on numbers that include "What's Now", "Del Sasser", "Like Someone In Love", "Easy Talking", "Four On Six", and "Alone Together". Together, the records are a great document of the growing energy of the Japanese scene at the time – and beautifully portray the talents of these players in a live setting! CD

A great Japanese take on the sound of Thelonious Monk at the end of the 50s – one that's led by pianist Masao Yagi, and which features some of the same dynamic horn interplay as Monk's best work on Riverside! Yagi's got a really great group here – with Sadao Watanabe on alto sax and Akira Nakano on trumpet – both stepping out in sharp-edged, angular lines at the front of the tunes – then soaring out in beautifully expressive solos on their own. Yagi's piano is strong too – surprisingly sensitive at times – and the record does a great job of nodding towards the original without clearly aping it too much. Titles include "Off Minor", "Evidence", "Monk's Mood", "Straight No Chaser", and "Blue Monk". CD