A great Japanese jazz soundtrack from the late 60s – as full of feeling and creative inspiration as some of the best French jazz scores of the New Wave! The tunes here mostly stand out as strong jazz numbers on their own – although there are a few shorter, more introspective or scene-setting passages – and although the players and notes are all in Japanese, we can tell you that the music's mostly in a small combo mode, with strong solos on tenor, trumpet, and piano throughout! The release is part of the excellent Cine Jazz series from Disk Union – and it's every bit as wonderful as some of the other reissues they've done. CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

Groovy, moddish, magnificent and sunny girl pop from The Land Of The Rising Sun – pummeling drums, jumping arrangements and groovy vocals from the mid-to-late 60s Japanese scene! This is fantastic stuff, any kitch or novelty appeal you might be expecting is kind of muted by the exceptional quality and excellent performances – but it is flat out fun! As the title states, strains of pop, beat & bossa – plus mod & psychedelic fuzz – and the vocals girl group vocals are bright, rocking, playful or sultry or innocent depending on the groove! 25 tracks in all: "Black Room by Jun Mayuzumi, Sharock No 1" by Mie Nakao, "Nagisa No Tenshi" by Mieko Hirota, "Hatsu Koi No Letter" by Miki Obata, "Bazazz Tengoku" by The Cupids, "Aeba Suki Suki" by Margaret With Bunnys, "Nukui Aitsu" by Mika Nohira, "Kiiro No Sekai" by J Girls and more. CD