An unusual sort of conservation project – one that features artists from a number of different West African nations, each serving up a song based on an endangered bird from their region! Some of the tracks directly sample the birdsongs, others replicate through instrumentation – and most of the cuts have a more contemporary vibe, with beats and keyboards driving most of the tune – almost with a strangely joyous vibe. We're not sure if the project will do much in the way of saving these creatures, but it's a lovely little record on its own – with titles that include "Timneh Parrot" by Buruntuma, "Sao Tome Grosbeak" by DJ Marfox, "Nimba Flycatcher" by Ruth Tafebe, "Loango Weaver" by Les Mamans Du Congo & Rrobin, "Ibadan Malimbe" by Sensei Lo & Funmi, and "Sierra Leone Prinia" by Sierre Leone's Refugee Allstars. LP, Vinyl record album

The drums are definitely exciting here – really tight rhythms that drive most of these cuts into a funky frenzy – even if the groove is more based on American soul of the late 60s than the African rock promised in the title! Most of the tunes are covers, but remade here as really hip instrumentals – often with bold work from the Count on his drum kit – which then sets fire to the larger group's blend of tight horns and electric rhythmic instrumentation – all coming across with that perfect cusp of the 70s Japanese jazz sound we love so much! Most tracks are shortish, and very groovy – and titles include "The Cat", "Touch Me", "Amen", "Soul Limbo", "Hold Tight", "Otis Sleep On", "Sidewinder", "Going Up The Country", and "Windy". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet little record from this Japanese trio – all instrumental, and put together in a style that blends elements of electro pop, electric fusion, and maybe a bit of sound library funk! The tunes are all pretty vivid – maybe evoking the scene in the title – but they also have elements that tie them more strongly to the emerging electronic groove coming from the Japanese scene at the end of the 70s – almost as if you were stripping away vocals, and coming up with spare tracks that are heavy on keyboards and other eletric touches. Titles are all in Japanese – but translate as "Aegean Fantasy", "Rose Between The Waves", "Image", "Daybreak", "Aphrodite's Mourning", and "Mykonos' Bride". LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy funk from a hip Japanese combo – one that features lots of drums and percussion from leader Akira Ishikawa, plus plenty of guitar, keyboards, and hard-riffing horns! Akira's taking most of his cues here from American funk of the early 70s – work by Incredible Bongo Band, BT Express, and others – but he often serves up the music with a fair bit of conga work at the front of the arrangements, in a way that takes familiar tunes and gives them a much rootsier, earthier kind of groove! The approach is unique, but totally great – and the album's a funk album unlike anything else we can think of – quite unusual even for the experimental Japanese scene of the time. Titles include "Bongo Rock", "Pick Up The Pieces", "Do It Til You're Satisfied", "I've Got To Use My Imagination", "Let's Start", "Love Is The Answer", and "Boogie On Reggae Woman". CD

One of the coolest records we've ever heard from Japanese drummer Akira Ishikawa – even wilder than some of his famous funk sessions of the time! The set definitely lives up to its African Rock promise – as it features lots of sparely percussive tracks that build beautifully – clearly drawing from African inspiration, in the same way that other albums by Akira drew from American funk – then also adding in some cool production and hip effects that help further some of the "rock" side of the agenda! At points, the record almost feels like a solo percussion jam – but at others, the guitars really get heavy, with a jamming intensity that's simply mindblowing. There's lots of psychedelic overtones when the guitars come in – and they make for a wicked contrast with some of the more organic, percussion-oriented moments. All tunes are nice and long, and titles include the extended break cut "Pigmy", plus "Vita", "Na Tu Penda Sana", and "Wanyamana Mapambazuko". CD

One of the coolest records we've ever heard from Japanese drummer Akira Ishikawa – even wilder than some of his famous funk sessions of the time! The set definitely lives up to its African Rock promise – as it features lots of sparely percussive tracks that build beautifully – clearly drawing from African inspiration, in the same way that other albums by Akira drew from American funk – then also adding in some cool production and hip effects that help further some of the "rock" side of the agenda! At points, the record almost feels like a solo percussion jam – but at others, the guitars really get heavy, with a jamming intensity that's simply mindblowing. There's lots of psychedelic overtones when the guitars come in – and they make for a wicked contrast with some of the more organic, percussion-oriented moments. All tunes are nice and long, and titles include the extended break cut "Pigmy", plus "Vita", "Na Tu Penda Sana", and "Wanyamana Mapambazuko". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the funkiest records ever from Akira Ishikawa and his Count Buffalos band – a hip little groover that stands head to head with some of the best funky jazz from the US and Europe of the time! Despite Akira's earthy look on the cover, the record's got a relatively electric feel overall – thanks to some sweet electric piano from Hiromasa Suzuki and organ from Norio Maeda – both of whom work together on most numbers, with a great sense of flow between the keyboards! The rhythms have some Latin and African percussion added on the bottom, which gives the grooves a nicely chunky feel – and some cuts have some sharp-edged tenor solos from Takeru Muraoka, who further deepens the soul of the set. The album's a really tremendous one through and through – as righteous as a lost American funky fusion set from the early 70s – and titles include "African Deer", "Sunrise", "Sandstorm", "Blue Soul", "Bakishinba", and "Mirage". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the funkiest records ever from Akira Ishikawa and his Count Buffalos band – a hip little groover that stands head to head with some of the best funky jazz from the US and Europe of the time! Despite Akira's earthy look on the cover, the record's got a relatively electric feel overall – thanks to some sweet electric piano from Hiromasa Suzuki and organ from Norio Maeda – both of whom work together on most numbers, with a great sense of flow between the keyboards! The rhythms have some Latin and African percussion added on the bottom, which gives the grooves a nicely chunky feel – and some cuts have some sharp-edged tenor solos from Takeru Muraoka, who further deepens the soul of the set. The album's a really tremendous one through and through – as righteous as a lost American funky fusion set from the early 70s – and titles include "African Deer", "Sunrise", "Sandstorm", "Blue Soul", "Bakishinba", and "Mirage". LP, Vinyl record album

Don't think "African rock", think spiritual jazz – as the set's a brilliant blend of the funky styles of Akira Ishikawa and his Count Buffalos combo with some deeper percussive elements that bring a whole new global sound to his music! Ishikawa was already a tremendous talent before this point in his career, but this set represents a handful of African-titled records that really had him hitting his stride – taking an older Japanese funky band mode and fitting it to some hipper elements for the 70s – including some sweet electric touches, used in all the right ways! This set may also be the most ambitious of these albums, too – as it's written like a larger suite of tracks – with titles that include "Love", "Hunting", "Animals", "Dawn", "Prayer", and "The Earth". LP, Vinyl record album

Shamisen never sounded so groovy before – thanks to excellent work from Akira Ishikawa & His Count Buffalos – who are working here at their funky 70s best! The album mixes great sounds from Count Buffalos with the solo talents of Rinsoye Kida on shamisen – the traditional Japanese three-stringed instrument that's usually used in much more conservative settings – but which is recorded here in a style that's right up front in the mix, and able to step out nicely in front of the fuller, groovier backings from Ishikawa and his group! Given the nature of the instrument, the style is quite different than some other jazz albums from the time that try to mix with Japanese folkloric styles – maybe a bit like Dorothy Ashby on the koto, but more striking overall. Notes and titles are all in Japanese – and the whole thing's pretty darn compelling! LP, Vinyl record album

Very cool work from this 60s Japanese group – recording in Europe with a strong Brit Invasion vibe! LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful example of the really special sort of instrumental record that was coming out of Japan in the early 80s – music that's spare and minimal, but quite different than any sort of similar projects from other parts of the globe! Satoshi Ashikawa creates sounds in ways that resonate both with the ancient and contemporary, organic and urban, at a level that's very slow-building and striking in its careful use of sound and space – served up here on instrumentation that includes vibes from Midori Takada, piano from Tomoko Sono, and harp from Yuko Utsumi – always tuneful, but in ways that are more like a natural progression of sound than conventional music. Titles include "Prelude", "Still Park", "Still Sky", "Wrinkle", and "Image Under The Tree". CD

All That Jazz expand their sound here, as you might guess from the winds and wood hinted in the title – using saxes and a bit of strings in a great way over their surprisingly dynamic grooves – almost at a level that seeks to link the club jazz modes of the Tokyo scene with some of the thematic elements of the world of Studio Ghibli! The melodies are as spare and compelling as before, but the presentation is nicely full – light strings and other orchestrations in the background – while the core energy comes from the piano, heavy bass, and dancing drums – on titles that include "Kazeno Toorimichi", "Kazeno Tanino Maushika, "Umino Miero Machi", "Kimio Nosete", "Monokoke Hime", "Ano Natuse", "Tonarino Totoro", and "Ashitakasekki". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic dip into the world of Japanese funk during the 70s – a great place to start if you don't want to slap down big money for expensive imports – and a set that's also got a fair bit of obscure numbers in the lineup, even if you have some of the material from this time! The collection's got a specific ear for a groove – and often focuses on tracks that mix US styles of jazzy funk with specific Japanese styles of instrumentation – a wood flute here, a bit of koto there – all used in very cool, very groovy ways – and in a setting that's still very appealing if you're a fan of more familiar funky jazz from the 70s! Titles include "Incitation" by Monica Lassen & The Sounds, "Soran Bushi" by Toshiiko Yonekawa, "Touch Of Japanese Tone" by Takeo Yamashita, "Cloudy" by Chikara Ueda & The Power Station, "Downtown Blues" by Chumei Watanabe, "Sidewinder" by Akira Ishikawa & Count Buffalos, "Sniper's Snooze" by Masahiko Sato and Jiro Inagaki, and "Hanagas Onda" by Kifu Mitsuhashi. LP, Vinyl record album

A great bit of fusion from the start of the 70s – kind of a bridge between the late 60s "groovy" Japanese jazz, and some of the freer-thinking work to come! The group features excellent tenor from Takeru Muraoka, who plays with kind of a sharp edge that almost echoes more of the alto and soprano work of the generation – mixed with keyboards from Hiromasa Suzuki – who's plenty great on electric piano! Hiroshi Suzuki plays trombone, and the set's got some nice funky drums from Akira Ishikawa – who's always a treat. Overall, the set often has some of the same funky characteristics as some of the best late 60s electric jazz sets on Liberty Records in the US – on titles that include "Capricorn", "Something", "On A Sunny Day", "Some Other Night", and "Peaceful Planet". LP, Vinyl record album

A heavy funk party from the Japanese jazz scene of the 70s – and a set that hits a lot harder than some of the smoother fusion of the time! There's a grit here that hearkens back to some of the best American jazz funk at the start of the decade – a nice edge that you often don't find in Japanese recordings of this vintage – which is clearly inspired by the American soul scene of the time – as evidence in the weird-looking cover, and in the album's choice of tracks! The notes are in Japanese, which makes it a bit hard to tell what's going on – but the whole thing feels like a live performance, with supposedly different Japanese groups taking the lead – and some calls on the tunes that almost give the whole thing an Osaka Monaurail feel! Titles include "Put It Where You Want It" by Jiro Inagaki & Soul Media, "I Who Have Nothing" by Tan Tan, "Walking All Day" by Eddie Ban & Orient Express, "Sex Machine" by Ozawa Tetsu, and "Scratch" by Akira Ishikawa & Count Buffalo. LP, Vinyl record album

Satoko Fujii on piano, Kou Iwata and Yasuhisa Mizutani on alto saxophone, Keizo Nobori on baritone saxophone, Eiichiro Arasaki and Tsutomu Takei on tenor saxophone, Tommy and Tomomi Taniguchi on trombone, Arata Hiraoka, Jo Funato, Natsuki Tamura, and Tadahiro Fusahara on trumpet, Tatsuki Yoshino on tuba, Hiroshi Funato on bass, and Yoshikazu Isaki on drums. CD

A great bit of electric jazz from the Japanese scene of the 70s – an album that easily rivals the best CTI work in the US at the time! Trombonist Hiroshi Suzuki heads up a quintet here – one that's heavy on electric piano and keyboards, played in a stretched-out sort of groove that reminds us a lot of the energy on Freddie Hubbard's funkiest albums from the same period. The tracks are all quite long – and step out with a wonderfully rhythmic sensibility – spare at times, and very focused on the right rolling approach to the groove. Suzuki's trombone solos are matched by some equally great sax work from Takeru Muraoka – and rhythm is from Kunimitsu Inaba on bass and Akira Ishikawa on drums. Filled with great breaks and laidback jazzy grooves – and featuring tracks that include "Cat", "Walk Tall", "Romance", "Shrimp Dance", and "Kuro To Shiro". LP, Vinyl record album

Japanese jazz in the 70s was certainly a sensational thing – as you'll hear on this incredible set! The album's a wonderful document of the way that the Tokyo jazz scene really exploded at the start of the decade – and offers up a range of special live performances, exclusive to the set, which really get at the depth and complexity that was going on at the time! Plus, the material here appears to not have been issued on the formal album – under the Vols 1 & 2 title. Some cuts have a brilliantly free sound – that moment when Japanese avant jazz was finally finding its own voice – while others focus a bit more on funk, in ways that are clearly picked up from the US, but then set free on their own paths here. The lineup includes "Back To Rock" by Akira Ishikawa & Count Buffalos, "Message To The Moon" by Toshiyuki Miyama & His New Herd, "The Vamp" by Jiro Inagaki & Soul Media, and "Joint" by Takeshi Inomata & Sound Ltd. LP, Vinyl record album