★Craftman Records
All Right!
** 2021 Stock. In process of stocking ** Craftman Records presents All Right! by Isao Suzuki Quartet. Recorded November 18 and 19, 1974. Bass – Osamu Kawakami, Drums – Shinji Mori, Electric Bass – Akira Okazawa, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Kazumi Watanabe, Electric Piano, Cello, Bass, Organ [Hammond], Drums, Vocals, Vibraphone [Vibraharp] – Isao Suzuki.
Shuko Mizuno's "Jazz Orchestra '73"
** 2021 Stock. In process of stocking ** Craftman Records presents Shuko Mizuno's "Jazz Orchestra '73". Recorded August 23, 1973 (Part 1), and September 2, 1973 (Part 2). Alto Saxophone – Isao Kimura, Kazumi Oguro, Baritone Saxophone – Shigeru Hirano, Drums – Isao Yomoda, Electric Bass – Masaaki Ito, Tenor Saxophone – Mamoru Mori, Seiji Inoue, Trombone – Masamichi Uetaka, Takahide Uchida, Takashi Hayakawa, Teruhiko Kataoka, Trumpet – Kazumi Takeda, Shuji Atsuta, Shin Kazuhara, Yoshikazu Kishi.
Touch
** 2021 Stock. In process of stocking ** Craftman Records presents Touch by Isao Suzuki & His Fellows. Recorded November 20 and 26, 1975. Art Direction – Ben Nishizawa, Bass – Isao Suzuki, Congas – Yoichi Ogawa, Drums – Tetsujiro Obara, Engineer [Recording Engineer] – Yoshihiko Kannari, Guitar – Kazumi Watanabe, Masayuki Ise, Liner Notes – いソノてルヲ, Piano – Kunihiko Sugano, Producer – Isao Suzuki, Takeshi Fujii.
Unicorn
** 2021 Stock. In process of stocking ** ** 2021 Stock. In process of stocking ** Unicorn was bassist Teruo Nakamura's first date as a leader. Recorded and issued in Japan on the legendary Three Blind Mice imprint in 1973, Nakamura had been working in New York since 1964. Bass – Teruo Nakamura (tracks: A2, A3, B2, B3), Bass [Electric] – Teruo Nakamura (tracks: A1, B1), Congas – Alvern Bunn (tracks: A1, B2, B3), Drums – Alphonse Mouzon (tracks: A2, A3, B1), Lenny White (tracks: A1, B2, B3), Elect…
Scandinavian Suite
** 2021 Stock. In process of stocking ** Craftman Records presents Scandinavian Suite 三木敏悟 / Reissue album from Bingo Miki, Tatsuya Takahashi & The Tokyo Union. Originally released by Three Blind Mice in 1977. Recorded May, 15 and 22, 1977.
Blues For Tee
** 2021 Stock. In process of stocking ** Craftman Records presents Blues For Tee by Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio. Recorded live in concert on December 25, 1974. Art Direction – Ben Nishizawa, Bass – Akira Daiyoshi, Drums – Toshio Osumi, Mixed By – Yoshihiko Kannari, Photography By – Akira Aimi, Piano – Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, Producer – Takeshi Fujii.
Live at the Misty
** 2021 Stock. In process of stocking ** Craftman Records presents Live At The Misty by Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio. Recorded live on December 25, 1974. Tsuyoshi Yamamoto: Grand Piano, Akira Daiyoshi: Ac-Bass, Toshio Osumi: Drums, Koji Moriyama: Congas.
When a Man Loves a Woman
** 2021 Stock. In process of stocking ** A live recording of 1974 released by Hokkaido-born bassist Takashi Mizuhashi from [Three Blind Mice] in his own group after working for Masaru Imada and Isao Suzuki. Seiichi Nakamura (TS) and Shigeharu Mukai (T) participated in the quartet of Yoshio Otomo (AS), Fumio Karashima (P), and Hideo Sekine (D) only for B1 "Sugar". Includes the hit song A1 "When A Man Loves A Woman" sung by Percy Sledge in 1966, and A2 "So What", a thrilling performance of Miles D…
Midnight Sugar
** 2021 Stock. In process of stocking ** Craftman Records presents Midnight Sugar by Yamamoto Tsuyoshi Trio. Bass – Isao Fukui, Drums – Tetsujiro Obara, Liner Notes – Yoshio Maki, Mixed By – Yoshihiko Kannari, Piano – Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, Producer – Takeshi Fujii.
Blue City
** 2021 Stock. In process of stocking ** Craftman Records presents Blue City by Isao Suzuki Quartet. Art Direction, Cover – Ben Nishizawa, Bass, Cello – Isao Suzuki, Drums – Tetsujiro Obara, Engineer [Recording], Mixed By – Yoshihiko Kannari, Executive-Producer – A. Fukutomi, K. Saga, Y. Uozu, Guitar – Kazumi Wanatabe, Liner Notes – Osamu Uchida, Teruo Isono, Photography By [Cover] – Isao Suzuki, Piano – Kunihiko Sugano, Producer – Takeshi Fujii.
Debut
** 2021 Stock. In process of stocking ** Craftman Records presents Debut by Takao Uematsu Quartet/Quintet. Art Direction – Ben Nishizawa, Bass – Yoshio Suzuki, Drums – George Ohtsuka, Electric Piano [Fender Piano] – Sadayasu Fujii, Engineer [Recording Engineer] – Yoshihiko Kannari, Producer – Takeshi Fujii, Tenor Saxophone – Takao Uematsu, Trombone – Takashi Imai.
"Ryuhyo" – Sailing Ice
** 2021 Stock. In process of stocking ** Craftman Records presents "Ryuhyo" – Sailing Ice by Motohiko Hino Quartet. Art Direction – 西沢勉, Bass – 井野信義, Drums – 日野 元彦, Engineer [Assistant] – Shigeru Kadowaki, Toshiaki Kanazawa, Engineer [Recording] – Masayoshi Okawa, Executive-Producer – A. Fukutomi, K. Saga, Guitar – 渡辺香津美, Liner Notes – 森田俊一, 藤井健夫, Photography By [Cover] –佐々木政勝, Producer – 藤井 武, Tenor Saxophone – 山口真文, Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone – 清水靖晃.
Station '70
Craftman presents a live concert by New Direction. The album includes 2 tracks performed by Masayuki Takayanagi - Guitar, and Kaoru Abe - Alto Saxophone. The first album track: Thursday / Gradually Projection, was recorded on June 18, 1970 at Tokyo. The second one: Jha / Mass Projection was recorded on May or June, 1970 at Tokyo.
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 no…
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…
Ako's Dream
One of the wonderfully creative 70s sets from Japanese stringman Isao Suzuki – an artist who also plays bass, but who works here on jazz cello – for a very unusual approach! The set has Suzuki's work on the light strings matched in a combo with lead guitar from Kazumi Watanabe – who's nicely restrained here, and falls in with Isao's strings at a level that's quite different than his own material of the time. Watanabe's lead is augmented by further rhythm guitar work by Kazumasa Akiyama, and the …
Misty
*2022 stock* Few, if any, international audiophile jazz recordings have maintained the kind of deep and profound influence over techniques and even entire label repretoire as Three Blind Mice's Blow Up, Midnight Sugar and Misty. Originally recorded in Tokyo in 1974, this Piano Trio release from TBM features Tsuyoshi Yamamoto on piano, Isoo Fukui on bass and Tetsujiro Obara on drums. The of-the-moment realism of Yoshihiko Kannari's recordings and production aesthetic of producer and label head Ta…
Now!!
Now! by Masaru Imada was the second album released by the fledgling Three Blind Mice label and the pianist's first leader album for the label. All four tunes are Imada's original compositions. The two slow numbers – "Nostalgia" and "The Shadow of the Castle" show his lyrical, "quiet but emotional," qualities. "Alter" is an adventurous tune whose focus is on free improvisation while "Gehi Dorian" is a modal composition as the title suggests.
Blow Up
A fantastic electric album from one of the most unique bassists of the 70s – Blow Up is one of the most sough-after titles from the acclaimed Three Blind Mice catalog. Isao Suzuki's Blow-Up is virtuosity and class all rolled up into one. A great combination of upbeat blues and mellow grooves! The album was awarded "Jazz of Japan" Award and the Jazz Disc Award of "Swing Journal" in 1973."This adventurous set finds Suzuki and his band mates (drummer George Otsuka, pianist Kunihiko Sugano, and bass…
Orang-Utan
Bassist Isao Suzuki's popularity shot up to stratosphere with the release of Blow Up from the Three Blind Mice label. By the time he recorded this, fourth album for the label, he was actually the winner of the Swing Journal Readers' Poll. And this rather strangely titled album doesn't disappoint.Suzuki had a knack for surrounding himself with superb musicians and playing brilliant, groovy music that is firmly rooted in the jazz tradition. This time, he picked as the all-important horn player Ken…
Green Caterpillar
Pianist Imada Masaru was 42 years old when he recorded this album in 1975. His adventurous spirit led him to use the electric piano for the first time in a recording, and thanks to his musicianship, he made it sound like he'd been playing the instrument for years. The program opens with the title track, a sophisticated urban funk. Guitarist Kazumi Watanabe plays a big role here. It is followed by a more intricate, fusion-like "Straight Flash." The all-original-composition program switches gear o…