★Solid Records
Live: First Flight
Delight in Hiroshi Fukumura's live brilliance, where his unusual approach to the instrument shines. This quartet, featuring Hiroshi Tamura on piano, Tsutomu Okada on bass, and Shinji Mori on drums, delivers open, flowing tracks reminiscent of Japanese piano trios. Fukumura's solos, crafted like trumpet lines, boast a gritty yet lyrical power, this live session captures the essence of Fukumura's unique artistry and musical strides.
Love In Song
Helen Merrill's masterpiece, featuring arrangements by the genius Masahiko Sato, who adds new pop tunes to jazz standards. The album is composed of a very well-balanced selection of jazz standards, including Barbra Streisand's "Reminiscence," Paul McCartney's "Love in Song," and "I Remember Clifford," dedicated to Helen's golden partner, Clifford Brown.
Maracaibo Cornpone
This is Masaaki Kikuchi's first produced work. This is a spiritual masterpiece with a floating feeling produced with superb ECM members, including the title track with its primitive rhythm and Kikuchi's pleasant electric piano.
Elegant Evening
Elegant, but also incredibly powerful work from Fumio Karashima, exactly the kind of record that shows why he's one of our favorite Japanese jazz talents ever!
Round Midnight
Recorded over two days at the Sound Inn Studio, Tokyo in 1983. Fumio Karashima’s Round Midnight is a solid straight ahead session featuring the esteemed pianist at his prime. Featuring Ikuo Sakurai on bass, Motohiko Hino on drums and guest jazz-fusion guitarist Larry Coryell on Side B of the LP. Post bop, cool jazz with a touch of Latin-fusion courtesy of Coryell. Perfect listening for anyone looking for a well-rounded session of classic jazz standards. Fumio Karashima, born March 9, 1948 in Oit…
Red Apple
In contrast to their previous work "Impact", which had a large ensemble, they welcomed Kazutoki Umezu as a guest and performed a relaxed performance with a small ensemble. A masterpiece released in 1986, which he himself admits was a really good one, with an effortless performance (from the LP liner). What shines is the trio composition of "Alicante" and "Don't Say Goodbye," a masterpiece that allows you to enjoy Itabashi's singing spirit. "Don't ~" can be said to be an answer song to the popula…
Watarase At Watarase
Post bop groovy album by Japanese pianist Fumio Itabashi recorded in 2011.
Aya's Samba
CD reissue of Eiji Nakayama’s incredible 1978 album, a crate diggers dream find for many years, this is deep spiritual jazz, post-modal impressionism and grooves at the top
My Present Song
Dive into the brilliance of 1970s Japanese jazz with this exceptional bass-led trio session. While piano trios had their spotlight, the bassists led equally enchanting ensembles. Eiji Nakyama's bass takes center stage, weaving lyrical lines complemented by energetic guitar and drums. The album seamlessly blends straight jazz and modal explorations, showcasing creativity without gimmicks. A testament to Japanese jazz greatness, this session stands out for its dynamic and innovative approach.
Individual Beauty
The long awaited second album by Colored Music, the avant-rock unit of Atsuo Fujimoto and Kazuko Hashimoto, is now available on vinyl. In 1983, two years after the release of their first album "Colored Music" in 1981, which has been reevaluated worldwide, they released their second album "Individual Beauty", which was planned to be released as a cassette book but ended up being put aside. In 1983, two years after the release of "Colored Music," the album was released as a cassette book. This is …