Hideo Shiraki was a Japanese jazz drummer and bandleader, best known for his work in the 1950s and 1960s. Famed earlier on for hard bop, he later explored world music and became a pioneer of fusing traditional music forms with jazz structuring.
He emerged in the new Japanese jazz scene of the 1950s that grew out of the influence of the US occupying forces. He studied percussion at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts and, during this period, played with Masashi Nagao's Blue Coats.In the late 1950s and early 1960s, his quintet was popular in Japan and was associated with the "funky boom" craze for hard bop. Hidehiko "Sleepy" Matsumoto, Terumasa Hino and Yuzuru Sera all passed through his quintet. Notable albums include 1961's In Fiesta (Teichiku Japan), which included a version of Benny Golson's "Five Spot After Dark". Performers on the album included Hidehiko Matsumoto on tenor and flute and Yuzuru Sera on piano.
He also played with Toshiko Akiyoshi, including two tracks on her 1961 album Toshiko Meets Her Old Pals. On July 22, 1966, he played with the John Coltrane quintet in Tokyo while the group was touring Japan.
In this album, originally Released by King Records in 1962 is expanding the sound slightly, as group's a sextet – with Hidehiko "Sleepy" Matsumoto on tenor and flute, Akira Fukuhara on trombone, and Hisaya Omata on trumpet – all providing a nice three-tiered frontline that then breaks out into solo formation. Pianist Joe Sera handles Horace's role on the tunes – and titles include "Senor Blues", "The Preacher", "Blowing The Blues Away", "Filthy McNasty", "Doing The Thng", and "Swinging The Samba".
Arranged By: Hidehiko Matsumoto
Composed By: Horace Silver
Drums: Hideo Shiraki
Bass: Hachiro Kurita
Piano: Yuzuru Sera
Tenor Saxophone, Flute: Hidehiko Matsumoto
Valve Trombone: Akira Fukuhara
Trumpet: Naoya Omata
Remastered By: Noah Mintz
Art Restoration: Steve Lewin
Originally Released by King Records in 1962.
Recorded September 3 & 4, 1962.
Under Exclusive License to We Are Busy Bodies for vinyl reproduction.