Helen Merrill - Helen Merrill Sings The Beatles

Year : 1970
Label : Victor
Genre : Jazz
Style : Jazz Rock

Settled in Japan from 1966 to 1972, Helen Merrill recorded various albums whose this "Helen Merrill Sings The Beatles", her only one jazz rock album including japanese musicians among pianist Masahiko Sato, bassist Yasuo Arakawa, drummer Takeshi Inomata, The Singers Three (backing vocal) & others. Often compared to Billie Holiday for his voice, Helen Merrill is the last great lady of jazz still alive. Admired in Japan, she was among the first western artist to sing in the japanese tongue. Since 1954, she has recorded over 40 albums whose seven of which with various japanese musicians including Hozan Yamamoto ("Sings Folk" in 1963), Sadao Watanabe ("Bossa Nova In Tokyo" in 1967), Motohiko Hino ("Sposin'" in 1971) or Akira Miyazawa ("Plaisir d'Amour" in 1969). All tracks arranged by Masahiko Satoh.

LISTEN SAMPLE

Kimiko Kasai - What's New

Year : 1973
Label : CBS
Genre : Jazz
Style : Vocal, Cool Jazz

The fifth album by Kimiko Kasai supported by the Masahiro Kikuchi Trio featuring pianist Masahiro Kikuchi, bassist Yoshio Suzuki & drummer Hiroshi Murakami. Kimiko takes over the great standards of jazz vocal that performed the great Ladies of Jazz, such as Billy Holiday (But Not for Me), Ella Fitzgerald (Close Your Eyes), Sarah Vaughan (Body & Soul), Nancy Wilson (But Beautiful) or also Helen Merrill (What's New). All tracks arranged by Masahiro Kikuchi and produced by Kiyoshi Itoh.

LISTEN SAMPLE

Marlena Shaw - Out Of Different Bags

Year : 1967
Label : Cadet Records
Genre : Jazz
Style : Contempory Jazz, Funk/Soul, Vocal

Debut album of iconic Jazz & Soul songstress Marlena Shaw including pure jazz vocal and mighty soul songs. "Out Of Different Bags" is a contemporary jazz album, the reminiscence of the Nancy Wilson albums from the sixties, recorded with big band, backing chorus and strings ensemble. Titles include iconic movie theme "It Sure Is Groovy" from "In The Heat Of The Night", Jazz standard "Alone Together", two Ahmad Jamal's cover songs (Ahmad's Blues, I've Gotten Over You) and more familiar numbers like "Matchmaker Matchmaker" from Broadway musical "Fiddler On The Roof" or "Naked City Theme". Produced and arranged by Richard Evans. 

Kimiko Kasai With Gil Evans Orchestra - Satin Doll

Year : 1972

Label : CBS

Genre : Jazz

Style : Vocal, Big Band, Smooth

Best Kimiko Kasai's album ever recorded with the Gil Evans Orchestra featuring some american and japanese jazz greats among Billy Harper, Marvin 'Hannibal' Peterson, Kohsuke Mine, Yoshio Suzuki or Hiroshi Fukumura. The tracklist consists of jazz standards including "Satin Doll" by Duke Ellington, "Bye Bye Blackbird" by Willie Dixon or also "I'm Walkin'" by Fats Domino played in a jazz funk variation. All tracks arranged by Gil Evans, produced by Kiyoshi Itoh and recorded at Tokyo.

MUSICIANS : Kimiko Kasai - vocal - Gil Evans - electric piano - Masayuki Takayanagi - guitar - Yoshio Suzuki - bass - Yoshiyuki Nakamura - drums - Kohsuke Mine - soprano & Alto saxophone - Marvin Peterson - trumpet - Hiroshi Fukumura & Hiroshi Munekiyo - trombone - Billy Harper - flute

LISTEN SAMPLE

Ella Fitzgerald - Ella

Year : 1969
Label : Reprise Records
Genre : Jazz
Style : Funk/Soul, Pop, Vocal

His unique Soul Funk LP on Frank Sinatra' Label : Reprise Records. She also published Things Ain't What They Used to Be in 1970 on the same label. A very rare groove record with soul & pop standards from the famous Lady of Swing. Arranged & produced by Richard Perry.

01. Get Ready (Smokey Robinson)
02. The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game (Robinson)
03. Yellow Man (Randy Newman)
04. I'll Never Fall in Love Again (Burt Bacharach)
05. Got to Get You into My Life (John Lennon, Paul McCartney)
06. I Wonder Why (Newman)
07. Ooo Baby Baby (Warren Moore, Robinson)
08. Savoy Truffle (George Harrison)
09. Open Your Window (Harry Nilsson)
10. Knock on Wood (Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd)

Doug Carn - Revelation

Year : 1973
Label : Black Jazz
Genre : Jazz
Style : Soul Jazz, Spiritual, Vocal

Rare Soul & Spiritual Jazz with free improvisations by a versatile pianist (worked with Nat Adderley, Lou Donaldson or Stanley Turrentine) and featuring the voice of Jean Carn, his wife. He was member of Black Jazz Legacy Band for the independent Black Jazz label founded by the pianist Gene Russell. Titles include Naima by John Coltrane, Contemplation by Mc Coy Tyner and Jihad by Rene McClean. All tracks arranged, composed & written by Doug Carn except those mentionned.

Doug Carn_keyboards

Nathan Page_guitar

Walter Booker_bass

Ira Williams_drums

Jean Carn_vocals

Rene McClean_alto & tenor saxophone, flute, vocals

Earl McIntyre_trumpet

Olu Dara_trumpet & vocal

01. God Is One

02. Power And Glory
03. Revelation
04. Naima
05. Fatherhood
06. Contemplation
07. Feel Free
08. Time Is Running Out
09. Jihad

Kimiko Kasai - Just Friends (Kimiko Kasai Concert)

Year : 1970
Label : King Records
Serie : New Emotional Work Series
Genre : Jazz
Style : Contempory Jazz, Vocal

Recording live from performance at the Yamaha Hall, Tokyo, considered as the debut album of best known japanese jazz songstress Kimiko Kasai featuring the Yuji Ohno Trio including pinaist Yuji Ohno, bassist Takeshi Mizuhashi and drummer Tetsujiro Ohara. Nicknamed the "Marlena Shaw of Japan", Kimiko Kasai was spotted by pianist Yuzuru Sera in 1964, and introduced her on the japanese jazz scene, joining up his group "The Modern Playing Mate" and recording the "Yuzuru Sera Trio Introducing Kimiko Kasai" album in 1968. In her fruitful career, she sung supported by prestigious musicians of the international jazz field, such as Mal Waldron (One For Lady - 1971), Gil Evans (Satin Doll, 1972), Stan Getz, Oliver Nelson (In Person, 1974), Kohsuke Mine (Yellow Carcass In Blue, 1975), Cedar Walton (Kimiko Is Here, 1977) or Herbie Hancock (Butterfly, 1979). Titles include the great standards of vocal Jazz (By The Time I Get To Phoenix, There Will Never Be Another You) and cover songs (Sunny).

LISTEN SAMPLE

Ann Young & Yuji Ohno Trio - As Well Be Spring

Year : 1975
Label : Nippon Columbia
Genre : Jazz
Style : Cool Jazz, Contempory Jazz

The only one leader album knew nowadays of jazz songstress Ann Young supported by the Yuji Ohno Trio featuring Yuji Ohno (p, el-p), Yoshio Ikeda (b) & Kazuyoshi Okayama (ds). This beautiful american voice to the soulful expressions, between Dinah Washington and Nancy Wilson, came out in the spotlight thanks to Yuji Ohno, is virtually unknown outside Japan where she was a club singer and former vocalist for japanese pianist Masao Yagi. Ann Young sings the popular songs from the forties and the fifties including a killer version of "Speak Low" with Latin breaks and others jazz standards popularized by the great ladies of jazz among Sarah Vaughan ("It Might as Well Be Spring", 1949, "Old Devil Moon", 1954), Billy Holliday ("Don't Explain" 1944, "There Is No Greater Love" 1947) or Peggy Lee ("I Only Have Eyes For You" 1947). All tracks arranged by Yuji Ohno.

LISTEN SAMPLE