Jazz /
Song Of Island
A private press rarity that few know of, ‘Song of Island’ was the third album from pianist Yasuhiro Kohno’s trio, recorded live at the jazz club and live house (gig venue) ‘Again’ in August 1985. Pressed up in small numbers, ‘Song for Island’ was issued on the private ASCAP Records, set up by pianist and band leader Yasuhiro Kohno. The album is a follow up to Kohno-san’s previous two albums, ‘Peace’ and ‘Roma in the Rain’, released on the cult Aketa’s Disk label. However, unlike the ‘Peace’ and …
Introducing Hideyasu Terakawa Quartet Live Featuring Hiroshi Fujii
In the finest tradition of BBE Music’s J Jazz Masterclass Series, we have a real obscurity of quality to savour. Taken from the rare 1978 private press album ‘Introducing’ by the Hideyasu Terakawa Quartet featuring Hiroshi Fujii, this private press gig recording was originally released in less than 100 copies. This BBE Music edition is the first time this very rare album has ever been reissued.
Led by saxophonist Hideyasu Terakawa alongside bassist Tetsuo Miura and drummer Aki- hiro "Thunder" Na…
J Jazz Volume 3: Deep Modern Jazz from Japan
BBE Music presents J Jazz volume 3, the latest in its definitive compilation series exploring the finest modern jazz from Japan. Since the first volume in February 2018, the J Jazz compilation series has showcased some of the most creative, inspired, and sought-after jazz recorded in Japan during a golden period spanning the 1960s to the 1980s. Illustrating the richness and versatility of the composers and musicians on this collection, the music spans a wide yet coherent range of styles: samba, …
First
*Much needed repress* BBE Music present the latest in the acclaimed J Jazz Masterclass Series: Kohsuke Mine ‘First’, the debut album by one of the leading artists in the new wave of modern jazz that swept Japan in the late 60s and early 70s. ‘First’ epitomises the shifting sound of the Japanese modern jazz scene of the time, characterised by rich textures and tones, kinetic rhythms, punctuated by urgent, angular melody lines. Reissued for the first time since original 1970 release, Mine is joine…
Earth Mother
As part of the widely respected BBE J Jazz Masterclass Series, Koichi Matsukaze‘s incredibly rare and much sought after album Earth Mother sees a deluxe repress on BBE Music. This is the third highly anticipated release in the series. Regarded as one of the most sought-after yet elusive albums from a pivotal era in Japanese jazz, Earth Mother was originally issued in 1978 on ALM, a private label home to some of the most innovative jazz, contemporary classical and free improvisational music relea…
Orang-Utan
With this reissue of “Orang-Utan” by legendary bassist and cello player Isao Suzuki, Le Tres Jazz Club offers a remarkable and highly sought-after free jazz album. 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 hims…
Story Of Wind Behind Left
** Black Vinyl edition ** Recorded in September 1975 at Columbia Studio, “Story Of Wind Behind Left” is a symphonic poem in the shape of a suite. On the album, Masahiko Togashi uses music to communicate the same feelings evoked by nature. The drummer demonstrates unique composition and performance skills in the way he imitates the sounds of nature or takes inspiration from nature itself to make music. With “Story Of Wind Behind Left” Masahiko Togashi revolutionized the Japanese free jazz scene,…
The Big 4
*2023 stock* Japan's legendary drummer steps out here with a killer combo – definitely a "big 4", given that the group features excellent tenor work from Hidehiko "Sleepy" Matsumoto, plus Fender Rhodes and acoustic piano from Hideo Ichikawa! George Kawaguchi's famous sense of swing really gets the whole thing going – that big, round approach to the drums that was somewhere in a space between Art Blakey and Buddy Rich – and which was definitely hitting some of its hipper tones by the time of this…
Dangerous
Jinya Disc presents a live concert by New Direction. The album includes the last performance of Action Direct and the last performance of Takayanagi's life. In other words, it is Masayuki Takayanagi's "remaining work". An astounding force set free upon the world, heaving with life and fire, bound to stop even the most seasoned listener dead in their tracks It’s hard to offer a better description than that offered by Japanese free jazz critic Teruto Soejima who wrote "New Direction Unit performa…
Burnin' Waves
Continue the series of Electric Bird reissues in collaboration with King Record with the a killer jazz-funk release, saxophonist Toshiyuki Honda's "Burnin' Waves", originally released in 1978. Son of jazz critic Toshiyuki Honda, the Japanese composer was a skillful flute and saxophone player, and in the 70's he worked with George Otsuka and the Burning Waves ensemble. In the 1980s he worked with Chick Corea, Tatsuya Takahashi, and Kazumi Watanabe, lead his own ensemble, Super Quartet as well as …
Plays Horace Silver
The music of Horace Silver is magically presented here by drummer Hideo Shiraki – grooving nicely in the same exotic approach to soul jazz you'd find on Silver's best Blue Note sides of the late 50s! Shiraki's always had a bit of a Jazz Messengers approach in his music – at least at this point in his career – so it's no surprise that he does such a great job with Silver's music – recreating some of the best grooves made famous by Horace at Blue Note, but also bringing a bit of his own flavor to …
Bakishinba: Memories Of Africa
“An ambitious, brand new album has reached the Japanese jazz scene. It is ‘Bakimba – Memories of Africa.’” This is how Akira Ishikawa Count Buffalo Jazz And Rock Band’s album was advertised by the Japanese press in 1970.
The Japanese jazz artists were bravely approaching the rock scene, and their choice became an inspiration to jazz-rock groups like Takeshi Inomata & Sound Limited, Jiro Inagaki and Soul Media, and more. The blending between jazz and rock was born in the United States, thanks to …
We Now Create - Music For Strings, Winds And Percussion
The most important artists in the history of Japanese free jazz, Masahiko Togashi, Masayuki Takayanagi, Mototeru Takagi and Motoharu Yoshizawa. A solemn and crazy improvisation work originally recorded in 1969! "It was not until 1969, when this album was recorded, that the quality of Japanese free jazz works reached a world-class level. The most important artists in the history of Japanese free jazz feast the solemn and insane improvisation has not faded away even in the present age of 2023." - …
Intaglio
*2022 repress* Studio Mule present a re-recording of Motohiko Hamase's Intaglio, originally released in 1986. Currently the rediscovery of long-forgotten Japanese electronic, jazz, and new age music is at a peak like never before. Although many reissues have already hit record stores, the large, diverse musical culture of Japan still got some gems in store that are really missing. For example, the work of Japanese bass player, new age and ambient musician Motohiko Hamase. When the now 66-year ol…
Woodstock Generation
**Clear blue and white marbled vinyl, edition of 200** For more than 20 years, Cinedelic has gained a remarkable reputation for illuminating unexpected trajectories within the world of avant-garde sound. While the primary body of their efforts has been dedicated to reissuing unconventional soundtracks and Italian library music, increasingly they’ve been casting their eye abroad. This was partially noteworthy with the launch of their Orient Series in 2021, which endeavors to make seminal gestures…
Rock Joint Cither – Silk Road
After the space-time experience and the translation into music of the Bible of Japanese civilization, the Fulukotofumi, the following year, in 1973, Hiromasa Suzuki pushes his research and experimentation beyond the borders of his own country by venturing, with the usual companions of adventure (Kunimitsu Inaba, Hideo Sekine, etc.), along the lights and shadows of the Silk Road. A backward journey in search of the musical and cultural sources of mainland Asia, from the gates of India to the root…
Rock Joint Biwa
The Fulukotofumi is the most important and ancient historical chronicle of Japan. The content of this work becomes an inspiration for the creation of a sound transposition of the legends and myths that most marked the spirit and inspiration of Hiromasa Suzuki, as a musician and as a high-level composer. The music that is concentrated between these grooves is a representation of the best that moved in the early seventies in the jazz-rock orbit at an international level; in addition, very strong i…
Japanese Jazz Spectacle Vol.II
Tip! "It is my great pleasure to introduce you to the second volume of the "Japanese Jazz Spectacle" series. Following the first compilation which focused on recordings from the Nippon Columbia catalog, this time we are digging into the King Records archives. It is almost impossible to capture the whole picture of Wa-Jazz in a couple of compilation albums since it is such a broad and deep genre, however, by extracting tracks from the Nippon Columbia and King Records collections - both labels hav…
Wamono A To Z Vol. III (Japanese Light Mellow Funk, Disco & Boogie 1978-1988)
Tip! Active as a professional DJ in Japan since the late eighties, DJ Yoshizawa Dynamite is also a renowned remixer, compiler and producer. An avid record collector and an expert of the Wamono style, Yoshizawa published the Wamono A to Z records guide book in 2015 which instantly sold-out. The book unveiled a myriad of beautiful and rare records from a highly prolific, but still then unknown, Japanese groove scene. After many years working as a record buyer for several stores, DJ Chintam open…
The Quietly Clouds And A Wild Crane
* Edition of 300 copies * This latest instalment from NoBusiness Records collaboration with the Japanese Chap Chap label under the name of Yuji Takahashi with Sabu Toyozumi constitutes a real find. A wonderfully mystic vernal episode of free improv music recorded in Tokyo, 1998. Piano and percussion album of the highest beauty, interactive on a telepathic level and execution. Yuji Takahashi is a Japanese avant-garde composer and pianist. In Japan he was by then already well established as leadin…