Takehiro Honda Trio - The Trio

Year : 1970
Label : Trio Records
Genre : Jazz
Style : Hard Bop, Modal

Recorded with sound engineer Okihiko Sugano, the second solo album of Takehiro Honda with his new jazz trio featuring drummer Fumio Watanabe & bassist Yoshio Suzuki. "Chin" Suzuki was his regular bassist from 1969 to 1972, recording no less of five albums whose his debut album and 1972 best japanese jazz recording award "This Is Honda". Titles include "This Guy's In Love With You" composed by Bacharach, the Jazz standard "Fall In Love Too Easily" and three original compositions by Honda : the modal "Hakai To Jojyo", "CMT & T" and "Emergency", probably inspired by the Tony Williams' song who later will play with Honda.

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Takehiro Honda Trio - This Is Honda

Year : 1972
Label : Trio Records
Genre : Jazz
Style : Post Bop, Hard Bop

Best Jazz recording award of the Swing Journal for the year 1972, the masterpiece recommended by the japanese jazz magazine from the prolific pianist, Takehiro Honda, who will sign seven others albums on Trio Records between 1969 & 1972. It's the second album by the Takehiro Honda Trio with the same formation featuring bassist Yoshio "Chin" Suzuki and Sadao's brother  Fumio Watanabe on drums, all supported by famous japanese sound engineer, Okihiko Sugano who also worked on several Sadao Watanabe's recordings during the seventies. Titles include popular song "You Don't Know What Love Is"  from "Keep 'Em Flying" 1941 movie, jazz standards as "Bye Bye Blackbird" and Thelonius Monk's classic "Round About Midnight". All tracks arranged by Takehiro Honda & recorded at Iino Hall, Tokyo, mixed by Okihiko Sugano.

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Sadao Watanabe - Sadao Watanabe

Year : 1972
Label : CBS
Genre : Jazz
Style : Fusion, World, Modal

"Sadao watanabe '72" is an essential japanese jazz album mixed by famous jazz engineer Kunihiko Sugano featuring saxophonist Sadao Watanabe, trombonist Hiroshi Fukumura, pianist Fumio Itabashi, guitarist Masayuki Takayanagi, bassist Mitsuaki Furuno and drummer Arihide Kurata. The iconic album which introduces the African period of Sadao Watanabe and desmonstrates, one more time, that he's always to the forefont of japanese jazz. Recorded after a trip in East Africa, in particular Kenya, Sadao leaves the Bossa Nova to explore the roots of African music including its rhythms and modes, mixing to modal and jazz rock. Each track can be seen as a theatrical representation of the East African culture. 

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Takeshi Inomata And His Friends - Get Happy

Year : 1975

Label : Audio Lab. Record

Genre : Jazz, Ltin Jazz

Style : Hard Bop, Post Bop

Amazing record, among the best in the Takeshi Inomata's discography including swing, hard bop &  latin jazz with dynamic beats and insane drum breaks. Arranged by Norio Maeda,  mixed by Mr. "Jazz" sound engineer Okihiko Sugano, "Get Happy" brings together some of the best japanese jazz musicians featuring legends Tadayuki Harada & Kohnosuke Saijoh. Titles include Jazz standards "Here's That Rainy Day" by Jimmy Van Heusen, "Witch Doctor" by Lee Morgan, "I've Got You Under My Skin" by Cole Porter, and killer up-tempo variations on the Duke Ellington's "Caravan" and Stevie Wonder's "Uptight (Everything's Alright)". 

MUSICIANS : Takeshi Inomata - drums - Norio Maeda - piano - Yasuo Arakawa - bass - Fujio Saitoh & Pepe Anai - percussion - Jake H. Concepcion - alto saxophone - Kohnosuke Saijoh - tenor saxophone - Tadayuki Harada - baritone saxophone - Tadataka Nakazawa - trombone

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Okihiko Sugano - Session : Sounds By Okihiko Sugano

Year : 1972
Label : Yamaha
Genre : Jazz
Style : Contemporary Jazz, Post-Bop

First volume of three disc series dedicated to the Yamaha's keyboards (here accoustic piano), a project created by Okihiko Sugano (brother of pianist Kunihiko Sugano), a famous japanese sound engineer and jazz arranger. The "Session" is conducted by Okihiko Sugano featuring some renowned japanese musicians among Takeshi Inomata, Yuzuru Sera, Kazuo Yashiro or Hiroshi Okazaki plus american drummer Buffalo Bill Robinson. Titles include as well as New Orleans style (St. James Infirmary, My Ideal), Latin beat (A Dialogue Of Drums And Latin Percussion), Modal with free forms of rhythms (Miracle) & Cool Jazz (Stardust, Days Of Wine And Roses, That Old Feeling). All tracks arranged by Okihiko Sugano.

MUSICIANS : Yuzuru Sera & Kazuo Yashiro - piano - Harada Masanaga - bass - Jun Suzuki - electric bass - Hiroshi Okazaki - tenor & alto saxophone - Mitsui Akio - trumpet - Eiji Kitamura - clarinet - Ichiro Masuda - vibraphone - Buffalo Bill Robinson, Hiroshi Sunaga & Takeshi Inomata - drums

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