George Otsuka Quintet - Sea Breeze

Year : 1971
Label : Union/Teichiku Records
Serie : Young Generation Music
Genre : Jazz
Style : Hard Bop, Modal, Jazz Funk

Masterpiece of Hard Bop/Modal Jazz by George Otsuka Quintet featuring Hideo Ichikawa, Takashi Mizuhashi, Takao Uematsu. The young Shunzo Ohno completes the formation and demonstrates, at just 22 years, that he's one of best japanese jazz trumpeter from his generation. George plays with his regular pianist, since 1965, in charge of all compositions (except The Beatles' song), to the point of wondering whether "Sea Breeze" would not rather a Ichikawa's project. "Sea Breeze" includes various jazz styles, with cool & mellow atmosphere, centered around the Fender rhodes, associated to funk/soul rhythms (Potato Chips), Hard Bop (Jumping Cats), Modal (Fool On The Hill), gospel & spiritual  jazz (Cannibal). 

MUSICIANS : George Otsuka - drums - Hideo Ichikawa - electric piano -  Takashi Mizuhashi - bass - Takao Uematsu - tenor, soprano saxophone - Shunzo Ohno - trumpet, flugelhorn

LISTEN SAMPLE

Kiyoshi Sugimoto Quintet - Babylonia Wind

Year : 1971
Label : Nippon Columbia
Serie : The Essence Of Jazz Series
Genre : Jazz
Style : Jazz Rock

"Babylonia Wind" is an essential of the japanese jazz albums, masterpiece of jazz guitar performed by the Kiyoshi Sugimoto Quintet featuring Kiyoshi Sugimoto at the top of his game. The quintet is based on the same rhythm trio as on his previous album (Country Dream), including bassist Yoshio Ikeda & drummer Motohiko Hino, while Hideo Ichikawa replaces Hiromasa Suzuki on electric piano with Takao Uematsu on tenor saxophone in addition. Titles include deep grooves with free improvisations (Rosetta Stone, Colsabard Hill), modal expressions (Hieroglyph) or jazz tinged with psychedelic rock (Babylonia Wind, Mr Darius). All tracks composed and arranged by Kiyoshi Sugimoto.

LISTEN SAMPLE

Takeshi Inomata & Sound L.T.D. - Sounds Of Sound L.T.D.

Year : 1970
Label : Nippon Columbia
Serie : Groovy Sound Series/Takt Jazz Series
Genre : Jazz
Style : Jazz Rock

"Sounds Of Sound L.T.D." is an iconic album out from the Japanese Jazz Rock scene including psychedelic grooves (Mustache), heavy funk breaks (Joint), melodic jazz (Monster) & progressive rock (Tak's Tune). Takeshi Inomata introduced here "The Sound Limited", his regular group during the seventies, featuring the legendary guitarist Ryo Kawasaki, flutist Toshiaki Yokota and trumpeter Shunzo Ohno, barely in his 19 year. In the early sixties, Takeshi Inomata was enrolled in the Hidehiko Matsumoto Quintet and was a regular sideman of jazz pianist Norio Maeda, also within groups Norio Maeda Trio, The Wind-Breakers & The Third. During the sixties, he participated on most japanese recordings of jazz songstress Helen Merrill (such as "In Tokyo", "Plaisir D'amour" or "Sings The Beatles"), formed his best known jazz formation "The West Liners" and evolved within the Mal Waldron Trio. 

MUSICIANS : Takeshi Inomata - drums - Jun Suzuki - bass - Ryo Kawasaki & Shigenori Kamiya - guitar - Yusuke Hoguchi - organ - Toshiaki Yokota - flute - Takao Uematsu - saxophone - Shunzo Ohno & Takashi Kumagai - trumpet - Shigemichi Domoto & Takashi Imai - trombone

LISTEN SAMPLE