Spacing Out marks a pivotal moment in Shigeharu Mukai’s discography, and its long‑awaited reissue restores one of the key bridge‑points between his early spiritual jazz and the sleeker fusion directions he would later explore. First issued on the influential Better Days label, the album catches Mukai stepping into a more expansive soundworld without losing the intensity and seriousness of purpose that defined his earlier work. It’s a record where jazz dynamism and fusion’s vivid flair aren’t opposed but interwoven, each track spinning a little further out while staying tethered to a strong melodic and rhythmic centre.
At the core is Mukai’s trombone, full‑voiced and agile, moving easily from chant‑like themes to quick, darting runs. Around him, the band sketches a series of subtly different climates. There are pieces animated by a spiritual energy reminiscent of his early recordings - modal vamps, open harmonies and searching solos that feel directed upward rather than inward. Elsewhere, bossa nova touches drift through the arrangements, hinting at the refined, Brazilian‑inflected moods that would become prominent later in his career: gently loping rhythms, airy chord progressions, a relaxed but harmonically sophisticated sway.
The rest of the album’s orbit is no less varied. Tropical and rock‑leaning beats give certain tracks a sun‑drenched, forward‑pushing momentum, while the rhythm section’s funk instincts keep the low end thick and propulsive. Guitar, keyboards and percussion colour the edges with bright fusion detail - wah‑wah smears, Rhodes glimmer, crisp fills - without overcrowding Mukai’s horn. The result is a genuine crossover gem: a set that can speak to straight‑ahead jazz listeners, fusion heads, bossa devotees and crate‑diggers hunting for dancefloor‑ready deep cuts, all without feeling like it’s chasing trends.
Heard as a whole, Spacing Out functions as both a snapshot and a hinge. It captures an artist in full command of his instrument and language, yet clearly intent on expanding his palette, testing how far trombone‑led jazz can stretch into funk, bossa and tropical terrain without losing its core character. This reissue not only brings a sought‑after Better Days title back into circulation; it also reasserts Shigeharu Mukai’s place in the broader story of Japanese jazz‑fusion - as a player and bandleader capable of making music that is adventurous, welcoming and quietly, lastingly distinctive.
