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Masayuki Takayanagi

Masayuki 'Jojo' Takayanagi (1932 - 1991) was a Japanese jazz / free improvisational musician. He was active in the Japanese jazz scene from the late 1950s. He was one of the earliest noise guitar improvisers, and the first (with Keith Rowe) to use the table-top guitar.

Masayuki 'Jojo' Takayanagi (1932 - 1991) was a Japanese jazz / free improvisational musician. He was active in the Japanese jazz scene from the late 1950s. He was one of the earliest noise guitar improvisers, and the first (with Keith Rowe) to use the table-top guitar.

Live at Jazzbed 1970
In process of stocking. Craftman presents a live concert by New Direction recorded at Jazzbed, Tokyo on September 27, 1970. The album includes 2 tracks performed by Masayuki Takayanagi - Guitar, Kaoru Abe - Alto Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Performer, and Hiroshi Yamazaki - Drums, Percussion. Masayuki 'Jojo' Takayanagi was a Japanese jazz / free improvisational musician. He was active in the Japanese jazz scene from the late 1950s. Was one of the earliest noise guitar improvisers, and the first (wi…
Dislocation (断層)
** 2021 Stock ** Jinya Disc presents Dislocation (断層) by Masayuki Takayanagi. Recorded at Aketa no Mise, December 26, 1983. Produced by Jinya Disc. Artwork – Yoko Hase, Artwork, Design – Studio Zap Inc., Drums – Hiroshi Yamazaki, Guitar – Masayuki Takayanagi, Liner Notes – 斉藤安則, Mastered By – ALM Records, Piano – Fumio Yasuda.
Archive 1
Jinya Disc presents Masayuki Takayanagi Archive 1. The equivalent of the long-out-of-print box, reprinted in simple CDs on standard slimline cases,  without any booklet. Recording studios: Jean-Jean, Shibuya, Pulcinella, Shibuya. Bass – Nobuyoshi Ino (tracks: 5-1 to 5-4), Clarinet, Flute, Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Kenji Mori (tracks: 5-1 to 5-4), Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar [Gut] – Akira Iijima, Masayuki Takayanagi, Engineer [整音] – 小島幸雄, Flute, Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Soprano Sa…
The complete works of Jojo
Jinya Disc presents The complete works of Jojo, 2 DVD set, valuable footage of Action Direct and duo. This release contains 2 DVD: The Complete Works Of Jojo: Action Direct Masayuki Takayanagi: guitars, motors, tape recorders, ring modulators, analog effects, megaphone speakers, etc. Filmed by Yasunori Saito and Kyoko Saito at the New Direction for the Arts Regular Concert Vol. 69 (1, 2) and Vol. 70 (3, 4), at Jean Jean, Tokyo, August 4 and December 17, 1990. Recorded by Masaki Shimada (1, 2) an…
Archive 2
This work is an uncut recording of the second part of the regular concert vol.57 (September 24, 1984, at Shibuya Jean-Jean) of the new Direction Unit led by Masayuki Takayanagi. It is a performance in which Hiroshi Yamazaki participates as a percussionist on a twin guitar with Akira Mejima, who is also a disciple of Takayanagi. Akira Mejima is a high-ranking younger brother who has taught at a guitar school on behalf of Takayanagi, so Iijima's guitar heard from the left channel sometimes sounds …
Not Blues
* 2020 Stock * Not Blues is a live recording of the contemporary jazz group Masayuki Takayanagi Jazz Contemporary 4, which was formed in February 1969. It was the year when the group New Direction was formed and the first recording "Independence" under the name of New Direction was released in September the following year. In other words, this work is a record of "jazz performance" just before Masayuki Takayanagi moved to free jazz. According to the commentary by guitarist Kazuo Imai (that studi…
Meta Improvisation
Masayuki Takayanagi's live solo performances recorded from 1984 Hokkaido Tour, selected and edited by Otomo Yoshihide; incredible electronics and guitar work from the pre-Action Direct freestyle improviser... "This is Takayanagi's live solo performances recorded from 1984 Hokkaido Tour. tunes were selected and edited by Otomo Yoshihide. those takayanagi solo performances were cued himself to organize "Action Direct" right after. So "Meta Improvisation" is the pre-"Action Direct", that is to say:…
Second Concept
* 2020 Stock * Jinya Disc presents a double live album initially recorded to cassette tape by Yoshihiro Tanabe, a student of Takayanagi Juku on November 25, 1979 at jazz club Taro, Tokyo. The album includes 12 tracks performed by Masayuki Takayanagi - Guitar, Kenji Kosei - Electric Piano, Hiroshi Yamazaki - Drums, and Yasuhito Mori - Bass. Initial copies came with a limited edition bonus disk by a trio version of the group containing a mono version of "Froggy Day" recorded on May 27, 1979.  The …
Live at Taro
* 2020 Stock *Jinya Disc presents a live concert recorded to cassette tape on June 24, 1979 (afternoon set) at jazz club Taro, Tokyo. Mastered at Kojima Rokuon. The album includes 4 tracks performed by Masayuki Takayanagi - Guitar, Kenji Kosei - Electric Piano, Hiroshi Yamazaki - Drums and Yasuhito Mori - Bass. Masayuki 'Jojo' Takayanagi was a Japanese jazz / free improvisational musician. He was active in the Japanese jazz scene from the late 1950s. Was one of the earliest noise guitar improvis…
Live at Freedom 1971
Jinya Disc presents Live at freedom by New Directions, recorded live on 25 April 1981 at Takasaki. The album includes 4 tracks performed by Masayuki Takayanagi - Guitar, and Hiroshi Yamazaki on drums. Masayuki 'Jojo' Takayanagi was a Japanese jazz / free improvisational musician. He was active in the Japanese jazz scene from the late 1950s. Was one of the earliest noise guitar improvisers, and the first (with Keith Rowe) to use the table-top guitar. Was a leading member of every avant-garde move…
Axis/Another Revolvable Thing
Axis / Another Revolvable Thing is the second installment of Blank Forms’ archival reissues of the music of Japan’s eternal revolutionary Masayuki Takayanagi, following April Is the Cruellest Month, a 1975 studio record by his New Direction Unit.
Axis/Another Revolvable Thing 2
Axis / Another Revolvable Thing is the second installment of Blank Forms’ archival reissues of the music of Japan’s eternal revolutionary Masayuki Takayanagi, following April Is the Cruellest Month, a 1975 studio record by his New Direction Unit.
Axis/Another Revolvable Thing 1
Axis / Another Revolvable Thing is the second installment of Blank Forms’ archival reissues of the music of Japan’s eternal revolutionary Masayuki Takayanagi, following April Is the Cruellest Month, a 1975 studio record by his New Direction Unit.
April Is The Cruellest Month
CD Edition. **Legendary "lost" album originally due to be released on the ESP-Disk, but the label folded before its release. Limited Edition** Masayuki "Jojo" Takayanagi (1932 - 1991) was a maverick Japanese guitarist, a revolutionary spirit whose oeuvre embodied the radical political movements of late '60s Japan. Having cut his teeth as an accomplished Lennie Tristano disciple playing cool jazz in the late '50s, Takayanagi had his mind blown by the Chicago Transit Authority's "free form guitar…
Flower Girl
few copies back in stock, totally sold-out at source - Replica reissue of one of the rarest free jazz LP ever made: Masayuki Takayanagi's Flower Girl. Supposedly released in a limited run of 100 copies in 1968, this incredibly rare record - released as a promotional album, and never marketed - gets its first vinyl reissue via Craftman Records. Japan's leading jazz guitarist Masayuki Takayanagi is one of the first to pursue free jazz music in Japan, and its activity has not been confined to the f…
Kaitai Teki Kokan, 1970
CD Edition. Replica reissue of one of the rarest free jazz LP ever made: Masayuki Takayanagi & Kaoru Abe's earthshattering Kaitai Teki Kōkan. Supposedly released in a limited run of 100 copies in 1970, this incredibly rare record igot finally  its first vinyl reissue via Craftman Records. The album features a recording of the duo’s live performance at the Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan concert hall in Shinjuku on June 28th, 1970. The reissue also includes a replica flyer that advertised the original event.…
Ginparis Session
For the better part of the 50s and 60s, Masayuki Takayanagi was among Japan's best-respected jazz guitarists. But it wasn't until his experiments with tabletop guitar led him down the seductive path of sonic experimentation that he became the stuff of legend.  “Ginparis” (literally translated as Silver Paris) was known as the chanson cafe in Tokyo, Ginza, and the performances often centred around chansons but eventually became the session venue for young jazz musicians. They left their mark on a…
Lonely Woman
*2022 stock* Guitarist Masayuki "Jojo" Takayanagi (1932-1991) was a towering leader in the Japanese jazz world. His first influence was Lennie Tristano, but through the 1960s and 1970s he explored and pushed the boundaries in free form jazz, leading a group called New Direction, among others. Ever a fighting spirit, in 1982, shortly after recovering from a life-threatening medical condition and surgery, Takayanagi decided to take on a challenging task for any guitarist: To record an entire solo …
Three Improvised Variations On A Theme Of Qadhafi
Jinya Disc presents Three Improvised Variations On a Theme of Qadhafi. A live recording board that includes live performances of improvisation by Action Direct, which was performed on the theme of "personal image" of Muanmar al-Gaddafi rather than ideology or political position. Jim O'Rourke refers to Three Improvised Variations On a Theme of Qadhafi as "a constellation of moving celestial bodies, expanding gas, exploding stars densely packed" and "a corridor of endless possibilities and discove…
Mass Hysterism: In Another Situation
Mass Hysterism: In Another Situation, a 1983 record by the late Japanese noise-guitar hellion Masayuki Takayanagi (1932–1991) is one of those albums that always going to be lurking in my attic, so to speak. I can put it away for a while, but it never goes to sleep—it's always calling me. Even if it takes a few years, I'll be back. (As an illustration of this, I obsessed over Takayanagi in a February 2007 post as well.) It's a bashing, clanging exorcism: two electric guitars (the other played by …
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