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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Yuji Ohno - The Boss & His Piano ~ Selected Works 1967 - 1975

Dedicated to the legendary japanese jazz pianist, "The Boss & His Piano" includes essential studio & live recordings by Yuji Ohno as a sideman and under his own name. Best known as composer of various background music for films and animation series, Yuji Ohno played alongside the greatest japanese jazz musicians among trumpeter Terumasa Hino, the drummers Masahiko Togashi & Hideo Shiraki or guitarist Ryo Kawasaki from Gil Evans Orchestra. From 1970 to 1975, his regular jazz trio consists of drummer Kazuyoshi Okayama and the bassists Yoshio Ikeda, Takashi Mizuhashi. During the seventies, he was an arranger in demand who regularly collaborated with various japanese jazz songstress such as Mieko Hirota, Martha Miyake, Kimiko Kasai, Hatsumi Shibata, the american Ann Young and brazilian Sonia Rosa. All tracks recorded between 1967-1975, featuring Terumasa Hino, Kimiko Kasai, Yuji Ohno, Sonia Rosa, Ann Young, Itaru Oki, Hiroshi Suzuki, Masahiko Togashi. Compiled & mixed by Be Hard Bop.

Kimiko Kasai - This Is My Love

Year : 1975
Label : CBS
Genre : Jazz
Style : Smooth Jazz, Jazz Funk

Kimiko Kasai meets american top musicians featuring the great Stan Getz, Lee Konitz, Cornell Dupree, Bob Crankshaw & Joe Beck. Recorded at the famous Electric Ladyland studios in New York, "This is My Love" is among best productions of Kimiko Kasai including Jazz Funk & Smooth Jazz with killer song from Bill Withers "Use Me" based on the Esther Phillips version, nice sophisticated variation on the iconic pop hit "Happy Together" by The Turtles and the jazz standard "Love For Sale" by Cole Porter. Produced by Teo Macero.

MUSICIANS : Kimiko Kasai - vocals - Bob Crankshaw - bass - Allan Schwartzberg & Billy Lavangna - drums - Cornell Dupree, Jerry Friedman & Joe Beck - guitar - Bobby Scott - keyboards, vocals  - Lee Konitz - alto saxophone - Al John & Stan Getz - tenor saxophone  

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Kimiko Kasai - Tokyo Special

Year : 1977
Label : CBS
Genre : Jazz
Style : Jazz Funk

"Tokyo Special" is the eighth album and second recorded by Kimiko Kasai in japanese tongue since "Umbrella" in 1972. Kimiko back to the japanese studios after a three albums serie recorded in US, supported by "The Colgen Band" lead by pianist/arranger Hiromasa Suzuki featuring guest soloists :tumpeter Terumasa Hino, bassist Isao Suzuki & saxophonist Takeru Muraoka. Terumasa Hino takes part on "Very Special Moment" & "Tokyo Special (Manhattan Special)", Isao Suzuki plays cello and composes "Yarikake No Jinsei", while Hiromasa Suzuki takes over the arrangements. The Colgen Band is supported by strings ensemble, The Tadaaki Ono group.

THE COLGEN BAND : Kimiko Kasai - vocal - Hiromasa Suzuki - keyboards - Akira Okazawa - bass - Tsunehide Matsuki - guitar - Yasushi Ichihara - drums - Masafumi Yamaguchi - saxophones - Pepe Anai - percussion - Shin Kazuhara - trumpet - Koji Hatori - trumpet & flugel horn - Eiji Arai - trombone

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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.

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Kimiko Kasai - Butterfly

Year : 1979
Label : CBS
Genre : Jazz
Style : Jazz Funk

Japanese jazz songstress Kimiko Kasai meets Herbie Hancock (keyboards, vocoder) in joint project featuring members from the first incarnation of The Headhunters. The band is formed by bassist Paul Jackson, drummer Alphonse Mouzon, percussionist Bill Summers, saxophonist Benny Maupin and Webster Lewis in addition on keyboards. "Butterfly" consists of six compositions by Herbie Hancock, including two songs from his "Sunlight" album released previously (I Thought It Was You, Sunlight), "Tell Me A Bedtime Story" from "Fat Albert Rotunda" (1969), his jazz standard "Maiden Voyage" and the cover song "As" composed by Stevie Wonder. All tracks produced, mixed and recorded by David Robinson & Herbie Hancock at CBS studio in Tokyo.

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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

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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).

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