Various - Trio By Trio + 1

Year : 1970
Label : Victor
Genre : Jazz
Style : Free Jazz, Contempory Jazz, Hard Bop

Recommended by the Swing Journal, the legendary Japanese jazz magazine from 1947 to 2010, "Trio By Trio + 1" is a japanese jazz essential album recording live to the forefront of the japanese jazz including avant-garde Jazz with free forms. Performed and recorded at Yamaha Hall in Tokyo in 1970 by three rhythm sections led by the masters Yosuke Yamashita, Itaru Oki and Yuji Ohno, joined by jazz vocalist Kimiko Kasai, all met in an amazing concert. Titles include Free Jazz tracks performed by the Yosuke Yamashita (Dore) & Itaru Oki Trio (Conversation With Water), jazz standards "Autumn Leaves", "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" & "Get Out Of Town" by Yuji Ohno Trio, "Black Shadow Woman" & "Theme Of The Unkown People" by the meeting Yuji Ohno + Itaru Oki Trio feat. Kimiko Kasai.

MUSICIANS : Yosuke Yamashita & Yuji Ono - piano - Itaru Oki - trumpet - Seiichi Nakamura - saxophone - Takeo Moriyama, Hozumi Tanaka & Kazuyoshi Okayama - drums - Keiki Midorikawa & Takashi Mizuhashi - bass - Kimiko Kasai - vocal

DISC 1 : Yosuke Yamashita Trio - Dore / Yosuke Yamashita Trio - Mokurin ~ Gugan / Itaru Oki Trio - Flying Into The Space / Itaru Oki Trio - Conversation With Water

DISC 2 : Yuji Ohno Trio - Autumn Leaves / Yuji Ohno Trio, Kimiko Kasai - I Can't Give You Anything But Love / Yuji Ohno Trio, Kimiko Kasai - Get Out Of Town / Yuji Ohno Trio - Kenny's Moods / Itaru Oki Trio, Yuji Ohno Trio, Kimiko Kasai - Black Shadow Woman / Itaru Oki Trio, Yuji Ohno Trio, Kimiko Kasai - Theme Of The Unkown People

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Sonia Rosa With Yuji Ohno - Spiced With Brazil

Year : 1974

Label : CBS

Genre : Jazz, Latin Jazz

Style : Pop, Bossa Nova

"Spiced With Brazil" is a joint project between a Brazilian native living in Japan and japanese jazz legend, pianist Yuji Ohno featuring Akira Okazawa (eb), Takao Naoi (g), Tsunehide Matsuki (eg), Kazuyoshi Okayama (ds), Tsuyoshi Yamamoto (ep), Larry Sunaga & Pepe Anai (per). In order to get to closer to the sound of the iconic Bossa Nova Verve's productions to the sophisticated sweetness, Yuji enrolled strings ensemble the "Ohno Group". Sonia Rosa started in 1967, recording her debut album with Chiquinho De Moraes, before to leave Brazil for Japan at the age of 20. In 1970, she released covers album of Bossa Nova "Sensitive Sound Of Sonia Rosa" with the Sadao Watanabe Quintet, her first record in Japan. Shortly after, she recorded "Spice With Brazil", her best-known album marking the beginning of a fruitful professional relationship with japanese jazz pianist Yuji Ohno, including "Space Kid" in 1978, "Samba Amour" in 1979 or "Lupin The Third [JAZZ] : Bossa & Fusion" in 2002. Titles include the classics of Bossa Nova from Antonio Carlos Jobim, Luiz Bonfa to Chico Buarque by Edu Lobo ("Casa Forte" feat. Tsuyoshi Yamamoto on piano), jazz standards of Jimmy Van Heusen ("Here's That Rainy Day"), Paul Francis Webster ("Secret Love"), pop covers of James Taylor ("Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight") and Linda Creed ("You Make Me Feel Brand New" feat. backing vocal band Time Five). All tracks arranged and conducted by Yuji Ohno except "Chove Là Fora" by Sonia Rosa.

Yuji Ohno Trio - Mr. Happy-Gon

Year : 1971
Label : RCA
Serie : Modern Jazz Series
Genre : Jazz
Style : Hard Bop, Post Bop, Cool Jazz

"Mr. Happy-Gon" is the first solo album of iconic Japanese jazz pianist, Yuji Ohno featuring bassist Yoshio Ikeda & drummer Kazuyoshi Okayama, including jazz standards (the stunning "Alone Together") and originals (killer up-tempo "Mr Happy-Gon"). Yuji Ohno was mostly influenced by Burt Bacharach, Lalo Schifrin or Henri Mancini, he played as rookie musician at Keio University in the Jazz Club "Light Music Society" where he met pianists Masahiko Sato & Hiromasa Suzuki. He started as professional musician when he joined the jazz quintet of clarinetist Koji Fujika. In 1966, the legendary drummer Hideo Shiraki enrolled him in his quintet alongside Terumasa Hino & Kunimitsu Inaba, thereafter joined the Terumasa Hino Quartet in 1967, the Masahiko Togashi Quintet with Hiroshi Suzuki in 1969, and the Ryo Kawasaki Orchestra in 1970. During the seventies, Yuji Ohno became famous as film score composer ("Proof Of The Man"), soundtrack director of TV series ("Lupin The 3rd", "Captain Future", "Mad Police"), arranger/producer for various japanese songstress among Martha Miyake, Mieko Kaji, Eiko Shuri, Kimiko Kasai, Mieko Hirota, Hatsumi Shibata and the latin artists Sonia Rosa (Brazil), Graciela Susana (Argentina). Among his famous recordings are "Electro Keyboard Orchestra", "Sound Adventure Act.1" (amazing live performance feat. guitarist Kiyoshi Sugimoto, from 1975), "As Well Be Spring" with Ann Young or the duet album "Silent Dialogue" with keyboardist Masa Masuda in 1979.

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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.

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