Samurai Era — 15 lost grooves from the land of the rising sun

barabara sounds sez:

Another compilation, but this time highlighting the wealth of homegrown jazz talent that has emerged at this end of the planet. Despite the subtitle, few of the 15 tracks here are actually "lost" — and weren't even in 1999 when this album came out. In fact a number of them were/became club standards, not least Teruo Nakamura's TBM classic Umma Be Me (which is of course by Hubert Eaves, was recorded in NYC and features all US jazzmen apart from Nakamura himself, which hardly makes it "from the land of the rising sun").

And there lies both the weakness and strength of this collection: it's aimed at those discovering j-jazz through the clubs. Nothing wrong there at all. I just fast-forward/program out the overly-slick numbers by Zerosen and Imada — yes, and Hino-san too (sad to say) — to get to the core nuggets. From the chilled opening track by Isao Suzuki to Kawaguchi with Art Blakey to the percussive gems by Ponta Murakami and Shiraki's Stereo Drums, there's plenty to groove on here. 

Best of the lot? Most times round, my vote goes to Poo-Sun Kikuchi's La Moca Está Domingo, from Wishes/Kochi, his brilliant album on East Wind (Hino is in stellar form here, happily). But don't sleep on the curiosities: Masayoshi Takanaka's Star Wars Samba and Pecker's strangely named Dr. Dr. Humanity – yes that's for real: try googling it ;-)... Now there's one that really was lost from sight!

TBM triple whammy

barabara sounds sez:

If you've got off on some of the recent j-jazz gems I've posted in recent weeks, then you're going to love the latest post over at Orgy in Rhythm. It's a triple helping of rare 70s sides from the legendary Japanese record label, Three Blind Mice.

All three are highly recommended — especially the rare Fukumura Quintet album.

It's over here: now run, don't walk!

Isao Suzuki Trio - Black Orpheus

barabara sounds sez:

Sukuki is one of the j-jazz greats — and this is one of his top sessions, laid down for the TBM label in 1976. The album title is a bit of a red herring, since the only music from Black Orpheus is the first track, the classic

Manha De Carnaval. That's also the standout track — but the whole of the album grooves very nicely too, thanks to Yamamoto's nifty keyboard work, especially on the Rhodes, with Donald Bailey anchoring everything most effectively.

someone else (can't remember where I found this) sez:

Isao Suzuki is one of the most important recording artists on the TBM label. Until his last album “Touch!”, he usually recorded with Kazumi Watanabe on guitar and his old friend Kunihiko Sugano on piano. However, he thinks highly of Tsuyoshi Yamamoto on piano and at a joint concert with Kenny Burrell, Suzuki asked Yamamoto to join him. Yamamoto’s powerful technique and taste for swing are a good match for Suzuki.

While Donald Bailey is a really exciting drummer. Donald grew up in Philadelphia and has amassed a lot of experience, including playing with top organist Jimmy Smith for nearly eight years. Unique in his drums setting is that his snare is fixed extremely oblique and tom-toms were fixed close to the snare. In addition, various bells and chimes are usually hung up. His favorite style is jazz mixed with latin beat. His simple but exciting jazz beat is very attractive and influential in the group.

musicians:

Suzuki

Isao

bass & cello; Yamamoto

Tsuyoshi

piano & electric piano; Donald Bailey drums

tracks:

Manha De Carnaval; Angel Eyes; Who Can I Turn To; In a Sentimantal Mood; Blues

tbm-63 recorded in Tokyo, Feb.20 1976