Takeshi Inomata & Sound L.T.D. - Drum Method

Year : 1972
Label : Nippon Columbia
Serie : Method Series
Genre : Jazz
Style : Jazz Rock

Another amazing album of Takeshi Inomata in the Chicago band's style recorded for the "Method Series" including progressive rock, insane drum breaks ("Drum Concert I" & "II") and Funk/Soul expressions. Always supported by his supergroup "Sound Limited" featuring pianist/arranger Norio Maeda, Takeshi Inomata takes over some incredelible rock songs including terrific variations on the "Runaway Child" of Buddy Miles, "Smack Water Jack" (composed by Quincy Jones for Carole King) and "Child Of Storm"/"Fibonacci's Number" of British band "IF". Titles include also others jazz standards and covers from Michel Colombier (Pourquoi Pas ?), Herbie Hancock (Maiden Voyage) & Dave Brubeck (Blue Rondo A La Turk), two original compositions of Norio Maeda (Sleeper, Seven). All tracks arranged by Norio Maeda.

MUSICIANS : Takeshi Inomata - drums - Norio Maeda - piano, electric piano - Yusuke Hoguchi - organ - Jun Suzuki - electric bass - Kimio Mizutani - electric guitar - Toshiaki Yokota - flute - Shunzo Ohno - trumpet - Jake H. Concepcion - saxophone

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Grant Green - Green Is Beautiful

Year : 1970
Label : Blue Note
Genre : Jazz
Style : Soul Jazz, Jazz Funk

The ultimate Grant Green's rare groove record to the James Brown touch, from Soul Jazz to Jazz Funk, in collaboration with Earl Neal Creque, one of his best release for Blue Note featuring Idris Muhammad, Blue Mitchell and Candido Camero. Titles include the DJs' choice "Ain’t It Funky Now" (JB), vision by Green of two famous pop covers from The Beatles (A Day In The Life) and Bacharach (I’ll Never Fall in Love Again) and the contributions of Earl Neal Creque (Windjammer &  Dracula). Recorded at studio Rudy Van Gelder and arranged by Earl Neal Creque.

Grant Green_guitar
Idris Muhammad_drums
Candido Camero_conga
Blue Mitchell_trumpet
Richard Lendrum_Bongo
Emmanuel Riggins & Earl Neal Creque_organ
Claude Bartee_tenor sax
Jimmy Lewis_fender bass

01. Ain’t It Funky Now
02. A Day in the Life
03. Windjammer
04. I’ll Never Fall in Love Again
05. Dracula

Yuji Ohno - Y.O. Connection

Year : 2009
Label : LUPINTIC/VAP
Genre : Jazz
Style : Jazz Funk, Latin Jazz

The second album of Yuji Ohno released for his new "LUPINTIC" label featuring the Lupintic Five group, including featurings and guest musicians among bassist Akira Okazawa, vibrationist Takashi Ooi, brazilian songstress Sonia Rosa, brothers Masami & Ejiro Nakagawa from Pretty Good, all supported by the Masatsugu Shinohara strings group. Titles include the cover "Theme From M.A.S.H." taken from the original soundtrack, jazz standards such as "How High The Moon" by Nancy Hamilton or "Five Spot After Dark" by Benny Golson, the classic of Bossa Nova "Desafinado" from Antonio Carlos Jobim and the traditional Russian Gypsy song "Dark Eyes" popularized in 1940 by Django Reinhart (in french "Les Yeux Noirs"). All tracks produced & arranged by Yuji Ohno.

MUSICIANS : Yuji Ohno - keyboards - Satoshi Izumi & Takayoshi Baba - guitar - Masayuki Tawarayama, Akira Okazawa & Daiki Yasukagawa - bass - Yoshihito Eto - drums - Hisatsugu Suzuki - saxophones - Keiji Matsushima - trumpet - Masami Nakagawa - flute - Ejiro Nakagawa - trombone - Takashi Ooi - vibes - Masato Kawase - percussion - Sonia Rosa - vocal

TRACKLIST : Yuji Ohno - Theme From M.A.S.H. (Suicide Is Painless) / Yuji Ohno Feat. Pretty Good - Undecided / Yuji Ohno Feat. Sonia Rosa - Desafinado / Yuji Ohno - I'm Not In Love / Takashi Ooi & Y. O. Jam - How High The Moon / Yuji Ohno Feat. Pretty Good - Five Spot After Dark / Yuji Ohno Feat. Keiji Matsushima - Sweet Memories / Takashi Ooi & Y. O. Jam - Dark Eyes / Yuji Ohno Feat. Sonia Rosa  - Where or When

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Yoshiaki Masuo And His Group - Winds Of Barcelona

Year : 1969

Label : CBS
Genre : Jazz
Style : Soul Jazz

Debut album in the Montgomery's style from the japanese boss of guitar featuring Kiyoshi Sugimoto, Kazuo Yashiro, Larry Sunaga,  Yoshio Suzuki & Fumio Watanabe from the Takehiro Honda Trio. Influenced by Wes Montgomery and the Grant Green's works, Yoshiaki Masuo has been spotted by saxophonist Sadao Watanabe who launched his professional career in joining up his quartet from 1967. In the late sixties, he was enrolled in the Sharps & Flats by band leader Nobuo Hara and played for pianist Takehiro Honda on his debut album within Sadao Watanabe Quartet. In 1971, he moved to New York where he played for his fellow countryman bassist Teruo Nakamura, prestigious musicians like Lenny White, Michael Brecker, Chick Korea or Elvin Jones, and later in 1973 within the Sonny Rollins group. Titles include pop cover songs by Laura Nyro (Stoned Soul Picnic), Simon & Garfunkel (Scarborough Fair), Bacharach & David  (I Say A Little Prayer, What The World Needs Now Is Love), tribute to Wes Montgomery (One For Wes) and the Sadao's Bossa tune "Gary's Tune".

MUSICIANS : Yoshiaki Masuo & Kiyoshi Sugimoto - guitar - Hideo Miyata - flute - Yoshio Suzuki - bass - Fumio Watanabe - drums - Larry Sunaga - percussions - Kazuo Yashiro - organ - Nobuhiro Suzuki - vibraphone, marimba

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ShinSight Trio - Wheres' There A Moon That Is Mine

Year : 2010
Label : Bad News
Genre : Hip-Hop
Style : Jazzy Hip-Hop, Funk/Soul

Second album of the Jazzy Hip-Hop band, ShinSight Trio, with more Funk/Soul expressions than the previous "Shallow Nights Blurry Moon", their first release in four years. Titles include featurings with Sondu on "Teamwork" & "Cool Mellow", Saylove on "On My Mind", Cosmonaut Seven (rappers collective from Boston scene including Dagha & Sondu) on "6MCs From My Area". All lyrics written by Insight, Cosmonaut Seven (6MCs From My Area), all cuts & scratches performed by DJ Ryow, saxophone on "Teamwork" by Kenichi Fukushima, produced by Shin-Ski for Badnews Records. 

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The Soul Medium - Woodstock Generation

Year : 1970
Label : Union
Genre : Jazz
Style : Jazz Rock, Funk/Soul

Behind "The Soul Medium" name hides saxophonist Jiro Inagaki, an iconic figure of the japanese Jazz Rock scene during the late sixties to the early seventies. Jiro is supported by his legendary quintet "Soul Media" under its first incarnation featuring Ryo Kawasaki (g) Yasuo Arakawa (b), Masaru Imada (org), Sadakazu Tabata (ds), with Tetsuo Fushimi & Shunzo Ohno on trumpet in addition. "Woodstock Generation" is a tribute album to the Woodstock Festival including songs performed on the stage by Sly & Family Stone (I Want To Take You Higher), The Who (Summertime Blues) or Ten Years After (Spoonful). Titles include also variations on the "Head Rock" theme, "The Ground For Peace" taken from his first album and original composition of Masahiko Sato "Knick Knack". All tracks arranged by Jiro Inagaki.

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Uyama Hiroto - A Son Of The Sun

Year : 2008
Label : Hyde Out Recordings
Genre : Electronic, Hip-Hop, Jazz
Style : Jazzy Hip-Hop, Downtempo

Debut album from japanese saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist & producer, Uyama Hiroto, who has regularly collaborated on various Nujabes productions. Uyama Hiroto performs mostly Hip-Hop music ranked as well as in Downtempo and Nu-Jazz styles including smooth/cool jazz influences. Titles include singles "81Summer/Color Of Jade", "One Dream/Carbon Rose", "Waltz For Life Will Reborn" (previously released on "Hydeout Productions - 2nd Collection" compilation), and featurings with Nujabes on "Ribbon In The Sea", Pase Rock from Five Deez on "Fly Love Song", Golden Boy from Specifics on "Vision Eyes". All tracks produced, mixed by Nujabes & Uyama Hiroto.

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S.Sawada = T.Muraoka & The All-Stars - Hit And Hit In Bossa Nova

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Year : 1968
Label : Nippon Columbia
Genre : Jazz, Latin Jazz, Pop
Style : Bossa Nova, Easy Listening

Twelve nice tracks to the latin mood recorded by one of japanese jazz greats, the guitarist Shungo Sawada featuring saxophonist Takeru Muraoka. They are supported by the Nippon Columbia All-Stars formed by Norio Maeda (p), Hiroshi Suzuki from Freedom Unity (tr), Yo Tokuyama (vb), Yoshio Ikeda (eb) and Nishikawa Takaaki (ds). It's not only talking about Bossa Nova but rather of a subtle blend of Pop, Easy Listening & Latin tunes including japanese classic pop songs of the 1968 year, revisited by Shungo Sawada and arranged by Norio Maeda. Titles include "Angel Love" (Jun Mayuzumi) and covers from various GS bands (for Group Sounds, a japanese rock genre) from The Tigers (Flower Necklace) to The Tempters (The Legend Of Emerald) by the Folk Crusaders (Kanashikute Yarikirenai).

Shungo Sawada And All Stars - Fool On The Hill

Year : 1969

Label : Victor

Genre : Jazz

Style : Contemporary Jazz

Influenced by the Wes Montgomery style, Shungo Sawada was one of the main actors of the japanese Bossa Nova Boom and who contributed also to the modern jazz guitar expansion in Japan. "Fool On The Hill" is an essential japanese jazz album and a masterpiece of jazz guitar including Modal, Soul Jazz (Chattanooga Choo Choo) and some Free improvistions (Fool On The Hill). Formed in quintet featuring Norio Maeda (p, org), Masahiko Sato (p), Yasuo Arakawa (b) & Takeshi Inomata (ds), the All Stars are supported by a big band as on the great Wes Montgomery's albums released in the sixties. Titles include the great jazz standards, "The Look Of Love", "Satin Doll", "Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise", "You And The Night And The Music". All tracks arranged by Norio Maeda & Masahiko Sato.

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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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Reuben Wilson - Blue Mode

Year : 1969
Label : Blue Note
Genre : Jazz
Style : Soul Jazz

Jazz organist Reuben Wilson's & the famous Hammond B-3 organ in probably his best album. Influenced by Richard 'Groove' Holmes and Jimmy Smith, Reuben worked with Grant Green, Sam Rivers or Roy Haynes,  formed his first group The Wildare Express in 1966 with Tommy Derrick who are also present on this record. The line-up consists of John Manning, Melvin Sparks and Tommy Derrick of course. Titles include huge groove Melvin' tune, Bamboo, Soul cover by Eddie Flyod (Knock On Wood). All tracks composed by Reuben Wilson except those mentionned. Produced by Francis Wolf and recorded at studio Rudy Van Gelder.
  
Reuben Wilson_organ
Melvin Sparks_guitar
Tommy Derrick_drums
John Manning_tenor saxophone

01. Bambu

02. Knock On Wood
03. Bus Ride
04. Orange Peel
05. Twenty-Five Miles
06. Blue Mode