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 in this mode – no bebop jams, and instead some great soul and funk-influenced lines on the horns, served up over rhythm from a trio that features electric piano, electric bass, and drums from the mighty Motohiko Hino! There's a nice degree of fuzz on the saxes at times (are they using some effects pedals?) – and the long tunes really open up with a wicked groove that feels like some lost US jazz funk album from the early 70s. Titles include "Happy Birth", "Listen Here", "Hot Sunday", and "CC Rider". LP, Vinyl record album

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... LP, Vinyl record album

A great debut from Japanese tenorist Takao Uematsu – a player who blows here with a wonderful sense of tone right from the start – almost an inherent sense of spiritualism that he still manages bring to tunes with a straight ahead swing! The approach is a bit like Archie Shepp in that cool 70s stretch when he was stepping away from the outside – and Uematsu's clearly a player who knows the far reaches, but often just hints at them in his music – while moving through these long-blown lines spurred on by a really wonderful group! The combo features excellent Fender Rhodes from Sadayasu Fuji – who stretches out on the long tracks on the set – plus trombone from Takashi Imai, bass from Yoshio Suzuki, and drums from George Otsuka. Titles include "TI", "Sleep My Love", "Stella By Starlight", and "Inside Parts". CD

A majestic set of spiritual jazz numbers – performed by a core trio of Japanese pianist Miko Masuda, bassist Tsutomu Okada, and drummer Motohiko Hino – with guest performances by Terumasa Hino on trumpet, Takao Uematsu on tenor, and Hideo Miyata on flute! The added horns really push the album strongly past the usual trio style of the time – and it's clear that all players are drawing lots of inspiration from the post-Coltrane generation in the US – using new freedoms to really express themselves in their music, yet never going to far outside in their pursuit of a soulful sound. The tracks are all long and soaring, with some really great rhythms – and titles include "Prayer", "Add Some", "Pinocchio", "Black Daffodils", and "Hard Luck". CD

Richly layered sounds from this wonderfully sensitive group – an ensemble from 70s Japan who really seem to find the best sort of way to allow each individual a special role in the music, while still also moving forward strongly as a group! As with other albums by the combo, the instrumentation here is really compelling – a mix of flute and clarinet from Kenji Mori, tenor and bass clarinet from Takao Uematsu, piano from Masaru Imada, 12 string guitar from Masayuki Takayanagi, tabla and percussion from Yuji Imamura, and cello and bass from Nobuyoshi Ino. The cello, tablas, and flute sound especially wonderful – working out some beautifully sensitive sounds amidst a bolder lineup in the lead – and the album features two long tracks, "A Tree Frog" and "Spanish Flower". CD

Really evocative work from pianist Mal Waldron – a rare Japanese session cut with trumpeter Terumasa Hino, and a hip group of players who really make the set sparkle! The album's easily one of the most spiritual that Mal ever cut – and features two side long tracks that build beautifully, with soaring, searching rhythms that are unlike anything else we've ever heard in another Waldron record. Other players include Takao Uematsu on tenor, Isao Suzuki on bass, and Motohiko Hino on drums – and the set also feature added percussion, which really adds to the spiritual quality of the music. Titles include "Reminiscent Suite" and "Black Forest". CD

Really evocative work from pianist Mal Waldron – a rare Japanese session cut with trumpeter Terumasa Hino, and a hip group of players who really make the set sparkle! The album's easily one of the most spiritual that Mal ever cut – and features two side long tracks that build beautifully, with soaring, searching rhythms that are unlike anything else we've ever heard in another Waldron record. Other players include Takao Uematsu on tenor, Isao Suzuki on bass, and Motohiko Hino on drums – and the set also feature added percussion, which really adds to the spiritual quality of the music. Titles include "Reminiscent Suite" and "Black Forest". LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of live performances – both of them great, and both done in the very open, creative style of the Three Blind Mice label at the time! Side one features core work by the trio of pianist Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, but with key guest work from Isao Suzuki on cello and Sunao Wada on guitar – both players who really open up the groove a lot! Suzuki solos in this great way on a long version of "Polka Dots & Moonbeams", and also makes an appearance on "Midnight Sugar" – which also has a long, soulful solo from Wada on guitar. Side two features a long take on "Now's The Time" – done in a freewheeling jam session mode – with Yoshio Otomo and Kenji Mori on alto sax, Takao Uematsu and Mabumi Yamaguchi on tenors, and Toshiyuki Daitoku on Fender Rhodes – all in a group led by drummer George Otsuka. CD

Mindblowing jazz from Japan – a tremendous introduction to the 70s scene in Tokyo if you've never heard this music at all – and a package that also includes a fair bit of rare tracks, even if you're not a newcomer! The Japanese love of American jazz is no secret – and the music was spread widely there by American forces after WWII – but during the 70s, something really special happened, and the scene found a voice that was all its own – exploding with new energy to create sounds that were soulful, spiritual, and powerfully poetic! By the end of the 70s, Japanese fusion would get more global exposure – but most of the tracks here are acoustic, save for Fender Rhodes lines – and feature completely inventive, imaginative sounds – often set to grooves that are modal and spiritual too. A fantastic collection throughout – with tracks that include "Blind Man" by Shintaro Quintet, "White Fire" by Takao Uematsu, "Aya's Samba" by Eiji Nakayama, "Earth Mother" by Koichi Matsukaze, "Dead Letter" by Tohru Aizawa, "Kaze" by Takeo Moriyama, "Long Neal" by Kiyoshi Sugimoto, "Unknown Point" by Mitsuaki Katayama, and "Little Island" by Fumio Karashima. CD

Sounds beyond compare – one of those really special 70s sessions from the Japanese Three Blind Mice label – put together in a way that almost seems to be a genre unto itself! The group here have a keen understanding of advances in free jazz and fusion, but work with a deeper spiritual undercurrent and a great sense of sound (shaped by producer Takashi "Tee" Fujii) – so that their individual instrumental elements flow together in rich new ways that are sometimes subtle, sometimes quite righteous! The lineup shifts a bit from track to track – and the set features xcellent work on flute and bass clarinet from Kenji Mori, electric piano from Masaru Imada, tenor from Takao Uematsu, and bass and cello from Nobuyoshi Ino. Titles include "End Of November", "Mort", "Our Foolish", and "Dragon Garden". CD

Beautiful sounds from Japanese guitarist Sunao Wada – a player who's rich in tones and colors here, and not just the blue ones mentioned in the title! There's an open flow to the record that's really wonderful – maybe the maturity of the Wes Montgomery sound of the late 60s, but set up in an earlier sort of style – with Hammond from Ushio Sakai, bass from Mitsuaki Furuno, and drums from Arihide Kurata – all given the impeccable production touches you'd expect from the Three Blind Mice label! Takao Uematsu adds a bit of tenor to the record, and titles include "Now See How You Are", "Blues World", "Falling In Love With Love", and "Blues For Charlie Christian". CD

Mindblowing jazz from Japan – a tremendous introduction to the 70s scene in Tokyo if you've never heard this music at all – and a package that also includes a fair bit of rare tracks, even if you're not a newcomer! The Japanese love of American jazz is no secret – and the music was spread widely there by American forces after WWII – but during the 70s, something really special happened, and the scene found a voice that was all its own – exploding with new energy to create sounds that were soulful, spiritual, and powerfully poetic! By the end of the 70s, Japanese fusion would get more global exposure – but most of the tracks here are acoustic, save for Fender Rhodes lines – and feature completely inventive, imaginative sounds – often set to grooves that are modal and spiritual too. A fantastic collection throughout – with tracks that include "Blind Man" by Shintaro Quintet, "White Fire" by Takao Uematsu, "Aya's Samba" by Eiji Nakayama, "Earth Mother" by Koichi Matsukaze, "Dead Letter" by Tohru Aizawa, "Kaze" by Takeo Moriyama, "Long Neal" by Kiyoshi Sugimoto, "Unknown Point" by Mitsuaki Katayama, and "Little Island" by Fumio Karashima. 3LP set features bonus tracks – "Sea Breeze" by George Otsuka and "Ode To Workman" by Terumasa Hino and Reggie Workman. LP, Vinyl record album

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 elements going on here – including guitar from a young Ryo Kawasaki, plus trumpet from Shunzo Ohno, flute from Toshiako Yokota, and tenor from Takao Uematsu – as well as trombone from Takashi Imai, who handled the arrangements with Inomata and Norio Maeda. The record is a key evolution of the late 60s Japanese way of serving up new jazz takes on American hits – as the record is funky, yet filled with original material that really pushes the boundaries – on titles that include "It Better End Soon", "Sometimes In Winter", "South California Purples", "Tell All The People", "Tag 5 Tune", and "Pacific C55". LP, Vinyl record album

Mindblowing jazz from Japan – a tremendous introduction to the 70s scene in Tokyo if you've never heard this music at all – and a package that also includes a fair bit of rare tracks, even if you're not a newcomer! The Japanese love of American jazz is no secret – and the music was spread widely there by American forces after WWII – but during the 70s, something really special happened, and the scene found a voice that was all its own – exploding with new energy to create sounds that were soulful, spiritual, and powerfully poetic! By the end of the 70s, Japanese fusion would get more global exposure – but most of the tracks here are acoustic, save for Fender Rhodes lines – and feature completely inventive, imaginative sounds – often set to grooves that are modal and spiritual too. A fantastic collection throughout – with tracks that include "Blind Man" by Shintaro Quintet, "White Fire" by Takao Uematsu, "Aya's Samba" by Eiji Nakayama, "Earth Mother" by Koichi Matsukaze, "Dead Letter" by Tohru Aizawa, "Kaze" by Takeo Moriyama, "Long Neal" by Kiyoshi Sugimoto, "Unknown Point" by Mitsuaki Katayama, and "Little Island" by Fumio Karashima. 3LP set features bonus tracks – "Sea Breeze" by George Otsuka and "Ode To Workman" by Terumasa Hino and Reggie Workman. LP, Vinyl record album