J-Jazz (Japanese Jazz)

Skalap said:
RIP Hidefumi Toki. Japanese saxophonist died on June 26th at the age of 71. He released a few albums on Three Blind Mice and more recently on Days of Delight.

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Bummer. I just picked up his sole release on Frasco, Sky View. It is great and not too expensive if you can find it.
 
indiana45s said:
Bummer. I just picked up his sole release on Frasco, Sky View. It is great and not too expensive if you can find it.
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Is it me or this label is severly underated? I have many Frasco records, mostly Yosuke Yamashita albums, and never got disappointed. These are indeeed very cheap when compared with other J-Jazz OG releases (hello TBM). I'll give a look on Sky View.
 
Skalap said:
Is it me or this label is severly underated? I have many Frasco records, mostly Yosuke Yamashita albums, and never got disappointed. These are indeeed very cheap when compared with other J-Jazz OG releases (hello TBM). I'll give a look on Sky View.
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It is not a label that gets talked about very often. Yosuke Yamashita has numerous releases on this label for some reason. I have Umbrealla Dance and it is an intense journey.

Here are some of the non-free releases I have and have enjoyed:

Fumio Itabashi Trio - Toh
Toki Hidefumi - Sky View
Furusawa Ryojiro Quartet - You Wanna Rain
Ohtomo Yoshio Quartet - Oh! Friends
 
Hello all, @Selaws let me know about this thread. I been aware of J Jazz for long while now. I am huge Fukai-san fan, have Sounds Of Three Blind Mice Vol1 set. I have a jazz friend in Tokyo who turns me onto stuff like Tsuyoshi Yamamoto and the J Jazz sets (Volume 1 is on my list for Sept).

If anyone has any other starter recommendations please feel free to share

I hope to learn more, ask questions, get recommendations, etc. and go down this rabbit hole with you all.
 
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JohnnyCashFan said:
Hello all, @Selaws let me know about this thread. I been aware of J Jazz for long while now. I am huge Fukai-san fan, have Sounds Of Three Blind Mice Vol1 set. I have a jazz friend in Tokyo who turns me onto stuff like Tsuyoshi Yamamoto and the J Jazz sets (Volume 1 is on my list for Sept).

If anyone has any other starter recommendations please feel free to share

I hope to learn more, ask questions, get recommendations, etc. and go down this rabbit hole with you all.
Click to expand...

Hello and welcome to this thread. IMO the best way to start with Japanese Jazz are compilations J Jazz: Deep Modern Jazz From Japan made by BBE and Spiritual Jazz 8 dedicated to Japan made by Jazzman. From there, you can go in many different directions depending on the tracks you like the most. Though, if you want to go deeper into Japanese jazz, I strongly suggest following Project Re:Vinyl records serie selected by Yusuke Ogawa.

Back to Sounds Of Three Blind Mice Vol1, this is my best sounding record in my collection and an excellent start to dig the most famous J-Jazz label. If you are into CD as well, Craftman Records are reissuing a lot of TBM albums under there Supreme Collection serie (80 so far). It is, IMO, the easiest and cheapest way to have a physical copy of these albums.

I also suggest giving an ear to Days Of Delight, a youngest J-Jazz label (CD only). There are only 16 releases so far but all very good with a mix of legends (Kosuke Mine or the late Hidefumi Toki) and younger artists.
 
BTW, news addition to the Project Re:Vinyl serie :

diskunion.net

石川晶とカウント・バッファローズ「アフリカン・ロック」がLP再発｜ニュース&インフォメーション｜JAZZ｜ディスクユニオン･オンラインショップ｜diskunion.net

石川晶とカウント・バッファローズ「アフリカン・ロック」がLP再発｜ニュース&インフォメーション新品CDからレコード、紙ジャケ、中古のレア盤など各種を取り扱う、ディスクユニオン・オンラインショップのニュース&インフォメーションページです。
diskunion.net diskunion.net
 
Skalap said:
Hello and welcome to this thread. IMO the best way to start with Japanese Jazz are compilations J Jazz: Deep Modern Jazz From Japan made by BBE and Spiritual Jazz 8 dedicated to Japan made by Jazzman. From there, you can go in many different directions depending on the tracks you like the most. Though, if you want to go deeper into Japanese jazz, I strongly suggest following Project Re:Vinyl records serie selected by Yusuke Ogawa.

Back to Sounds Of Three Blind Mice Vol1, this is my best sounding record in my collection and an excellent start to dig the most famous J-Jazz label. If you are into CD as well, Craftman Records are reissuing a lot of TBM albums under there Supreme Collection serie (80 so far). It is, IMO, the easiest and cheapest way to have a physical copy of these albums.

I also suggest giving an ear to Days Of Delight, a youngest J-Jazz label (CD only). There are only 16 releases so far but all very good with a mix of legends (Kosuke Mine or the late Hidefumi Toki) and younger artists.
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What GREAT Primer Skalap, Thank you! I was not not familiar with the Spiritual Jazz collections. There is I & II, correct ?

I do a mix if digital and vinyl and have a J -Jazz playlist now :)
 
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JohnnyCashFan said:
What GREAT Primer Skalap, Thank you! I was not not familiar with the Spiritual Jazz collections. There is I & II, correct ?

I do a mix if digital and vinyl and have a J -Jazz playlist now :)
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CD's are way more available and cheaper if you are looking to start a collection - The BBE sets are incredible, full of very rare stuff that is near impossible to source on vinyl these days if the bug really hits...

lots of fun stuff and cool sounds to appreciate these days...
 
And the latest J-Jazz Vol 3 has 3 additional tracks not on the records. Maybe Vol 2 does as well. I think Vol1 has an extra track on the Vinyl.

I have got a few OG J-Jazz from Terumasa Hino, Yosuke Yamashita , Masabumi Kikuchi and a few others.The late 60's- 70's is the golden age I think, a lot of stuff after that goes into more smooth jazz-fusion lite I guess by a lot of the Great artists, like Sadao Watanabe, Hino etc.
JohnnyCashFan said:
What GREAT Primer Skalap, Thank you! I was not not familiar with the Spiritual Jazz collections. There is I & II, correct ?

I do a mix if digital and vinyl and have a J -Jazz playlist now :)
Click to expand...
 
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indiana45s said:
It is not a label that gets talked about very often. Yosuke Yamashita has numerous releases on this label for some reason. I have Umbrealla Dance and it is an intense journey.

Here are some of the non-free releases I have and have enjoyed:

Fumio Itabashi Trio - Toh
Toki Hidefumi - Sky View
Furusawa Ryojiro Quartet - You Wanna Rain
Ohtomo Yoshio Quartet - Oh! Friends
Click to expand...
Toh is one of those records that is now becoming incredibly expensive, I think Frasco records are interesting because they ran the gamut, the Yosuke stuff isn't my jam but if you can find them there are some great sessions mixed in.

Kazunori Takeda side Gentle November is also worth seeking out.
 
New Musilogue release Yosuke Watanabe - My Invisible Tree

Musiloigue releases a new album by a percussionist Yosuke Watanabe. Together with five musicians, he has created this album full of tension and atmosphere, with an emphasis on improvisation. With the exception of the percussion solo on the first track, every track is a duo performance between Watanabe and the musicians, which highlights the individuality of each player. A succession of genre-less waves of sound, including ethnic collaborations with players familiar with traditional music such as the fiddle (Ireland), gadulka (Bulgaria) and kokyu (Japan), and sessions with violin and guitar using effects pedals in contemporary style. Watanabe's evolving hybrid set of drums and percussions freely performances between static and dynamic in this ultra distinctive work.

 
Skalap said:
BTW, news addition to the Project Re:Vinyl serie :

diskunion.net

石川晶とカウント・バッファローズ「アフリカン・ロック」がLP再発｜ニュース&インフォメーション｜JAZZ｜ディスクユニオン･オンラインショップ｜diskunion.net

石川晶とカウント・バッファローズ「アフリカン・ロック」がLP再発｜ニュース&インフォメーション新品CDからレコード、紙ジャケ、中古のレア盤など各種を取り扱う、ディスクユニオン・オンラインショップのニュース&インフォメーションページです。
diskunion.net diskunion.net
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I highly recommend this release. Really, one of his best and not at all easy to obtain in the original. I was told that it would have been reissued but for licensing issues, but it looks like those got sorted out.
 
bornard said:
Toh is one of those records that is now becoming incredibly expensive, I think Frasco records are interesting because they ran the gamut, the Yosuke stuff isn't my jam but if you can find them there are some great sessions mixed in.

Kazunori Takeda side Gentle November is also worth seeking out.
Click to expand...
I agree on Gentle Rain. I would love for someone to sort the Yosuke releases by order of importance so I could sip the juice. I have Umbrella Dance and it is good, but a little too far out for my taste. I prefer a post-bop, modal or in/out jazz.
 
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