Nobuo Hara And Sharps & Flats - Double Exposure

Year : 1970
Label : Liberty
Genre : Jazz
Style : Big Band, Modal, Funk/Soul, Folk

A project mixing Jazz with Oriental expressions by the most famous Japanese Big Band featuring the great "Lady of Jazz", pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi as arranger and composer. As the Count Basie Orchestra, "Sharps & Flats" has been a springboard for many outstanding japanese jazz musicians like Hiroshi Suzuki (tb), Takao Naoi from The Count Buffalos (eg), Toshihiko Ogawa (p), Hiroshi Takeuchi (b), Koji Suzuki (as) or Teruyuki Fukushima (tp), all playing on "Double Exposure". Toshiko brings her contribution with four own compositions : "Let's Roll In Sake" including dynamic drums breaks, the oriental piece "Sumie", "Fool" & the extended bluesy tune "Double Exposure". Titles also include "Ostinatism" & "Lonely Girl Of East" composed by Eiichi Fujii.

Norio Maeda - Revolution

Year : 1972
Label : Nippon Columbia
Serie : Master Sonic
Genre : Jazz
Style : Soul Jazz, Experimental, Avant-Garde

The meeting between avant-garde jazz and baroque music that showcases the use of pipe organ. As the French pianist Jacques Loussier who brings together Jazz and Classical music in his famous "Play Bach" serie, Norio Maeda was also inspired by the work of Johann Sebastian Bach. As the title suggests, "Revolution" it's a experimental project based on the repertoire of the great composer, in addition to various soundcapes like urban traffic, race car noises or organic sound samples extracted from natural environment (like birds). Titles include six interpretations of famous original Bach's compositions (Fugues I, XII, XXII & Preludes I, II, XXIV), but also the latin jazz track "Bossa Bossa Nova", the soul jazz "Cool Drive" & "In A State Of Nature" and the final "Unchikipar", an experimental scat including onomatopoeia performance by Maeda & his stooges. All tracks arranged and conducted by Norio Maeda.

MUSICIANS : Norio Maeda - piano, organ, pipe organ, vocal - Teruyuki Fukushima - trumpet, flugelhorn - Makoto 'Jun' Suzuki - bass - Sadanori Nakamure - guitar - Takeshi Inomata - drums

LISTEN SAMPLE

Nobuo Hara & His Sharps & Flats, Hozan Yamamoto - Sharps & Flats In Newport

Year : 1967
Label : CBS
Genre : Jazz
Style : Modal, World, Traditional, Big Band

Sharps & Flats lead by saxophonist Nobuo Hara meet Hozan Yamamoto, featuring Hiroshi Suzuki (tb), Koji Suzuki (as), Teruyuki Fukushima (tp), Toshihiko Ogawa (p) Hiroshi Takeuchi (b) among others. Hozan Yamamoto was the most famous shakuhachi musician (japanese bamboo flute), internationally renowned as pioneer for the traditional instruments introduction into modern music, in particular in Jazz. All tracks were extracted from recording sessions in studio under a replay form of their first live performance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1967. "Sharps & Flats In Newport" is the meeting between Jazz and the japanese folk music, including the bamboo flute on various tracks inspired by japanese traditional music and composed by Nobuo Hara (Hakone Mago Uta, Midare, Geisha Girl). Titles include also japanese jazz standard "Sakura Sakura", songs in the Buddy Rich Big Band style (Sohran-Bushi, Awa Dance) and the Bobby Timmons' classic "So Tired" played in the Bossa Nova mode. All tracks conducted by Nobuo Hara, arranged by Norio Maeda & Kiyoshi Yamaya.

Nobuo Hara And His Sharps & Flats '68 - Forest Flower

Year : 1968
Label : Nippon Columbia
Genre : Jazz
Style : Big Band, Contempory Jazz

"Forest Flower" is an album recorded by the best known japanese Big Band outside Japan featuring guitarist Yoshiaki Masuo & trombonist Hiroshi Suzuki. Nobuo Hara was a band leader and saxophonist, one of the man who contributed to the Jazz expansion in Japan. He formed his "Sharps & Flats" in 1951, in which started some future japanese jazz greats such as Koji Suzuki, Norio Maeda or Hiroshi Takeuchi. The big band supported worlwide artists as well as on stage than on studio including Toshiko Akiyoshi, Hozan Yamamoto, Sadao Watanabe, Elvin Jones, Sarah Vaughan, Oliver Nelson, Yves Montand. Titles include Jazz standards from Herbie Hancock (Watermelon Man), Ramsey Lewis (The "In" Crowd), Lee Morgan (The Sidewinder), Joe Zawinul (Walk Tall, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy) and covers from Bobby Hebb (Sunny) and The Beatles (A Day In The Life). All tracks arranged by Norio Maeda.

MUSICIANS : Nobuo Hara - tenor saxophone - Koji Suzuki, Kazunori Taniguchi & Hajime Maekawa - alto saxophone - Nobuyuki Morikawa - baritone saxophone - Shuzo Morikawa, Teruyuki Fukushima, Kunitoshi Shinohara & Hiroshi Saba - trumpet - Tadao Taniyama, Hiroshi Suzuki & Haruo Ochi - trombone - Toshihiko Ogawa - piano - Yoshiaki Masuo - guitar - Hiroshi Takeuchi - bass - Yoshio Nakamura - drums