Article: Three Blind Mice Supreme Collection 1500 | A Treasure Trove Of Music

[Mike Rubin]

TBM isn’t the only Japanese label with great content and sonics.  Not to get this thread too far off track, I commend the East Wind label to those interested in J-Jazz.  
 

https://jazzmf.com/east-wind-records-list/

 

That’s just a listing of the catalogue, not a sales site.  I have no idea how to score these records, most if not all of which were reissued on CD, other than the occasional offer of used versions on eBay.  The sound is pristine, if not a bit dry in some cases.  

 

For the most part, the issues by Japanese artists are more creative and less tradition-bound than the TBM stuff.  (Ironically, some of the stuff from American artists on the label couldn’t be more hidebound and predictable. Yes, Great Jazz Trio and LA4, I am talking about you.)

 

Almost any of the Hino’s are superb, with “Hogiuta” being unlike anything I ever have heard, very Japanese-specific, verging on avant-garde yet highly rhythmic.  It also is crazy dynamic, making it a fabulous system demo piece.  It’s one of the best things from both content and sonic viewpoints in this music hoarder’s pointlessly-large collection.

Alto saxophonist Sadao Watanabe is one of the J-Jazz musicians best known outside of Japan, with maybe 75 albums to his credit, including one (“Round Trip”) with Chick Corea, Miroslav Vitous, and Jack DeJohnette.  Much of Watanabe’s work has been either derivative or commercial schlock, but there are some serious, creative works in his discography.  “Recital” is my preferred album on the East Wind label.  It’s a live performance featuring a J-Jazz all-star lineup that includes reed player Kohsuke Mine, trombonist Hiroshi Fukumura, pianist Takehiro Honda, guitarist Kazumi Watanabe, and world-class percussionist Masahiko Togashi.

 

Yoshiaki Masuo is a guitarist best known for his work with Sadao Watanabe, but he spent some time in NYC.  “111 Sullivan Street” is a surprisingly conservative and “straight” album of ballads and standards, some solo, a couple in a trio with Bob Cranshaw and David Lee, and a couple with altoist Bob Mover.

 

Also worthy of your time are the Kikuchi, Mine, Imada, Masuda and Togashi albums.  The stuff by American artists Andrew Hill, David Friedman, Don Friedman, and Walter Bishop, Jr. is highly listenable, if not essential.  Two albums by Miles Davis sidemen Sam Morrison and Reggie Lucas are considered essentials of the electric jazz fusion genre.

 

You can sample some of this music on YouTube.

 

[Mike Rubin]

24 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Why did you do this to me. Now I'm on a mission to find the unfindable :~(

EBay is a decent start.  

[Mike Rubin]

38 minutes ago, sutherla said:

BBE has been doing a really great job on the Japanese Jazz beginning with the samplers. They also have the “J Jazz Masterclass Series” that are full albums by musicians found on the sampler, currently there are 4 releases in the series.

1.     Tohru Aizawa Quartet - Tachibana

2.     Koichi Matsukaze – Earth Mother

3.     Takeo Moriyama – East Plants

4.     Makoto Terashita meets Harold Land – Topology

 

All of them are incredible IMO and it amazes me that this music has gone ignored for so long outside of Japan. All of the pressings I have on the BBE label are really good. I was lucky enought o spend some time in Japan over the years and had some friends that were really into the small jazz clubs. 

With regards to the TBM collection, Motohiko Hino “Ryuhyo” is one of the most incredible albums I have ever heard. I picked up the CD based on the cover and the description not having a clue what it would be. The first time I listened to it I was completely blown away, really amazing stuff. I actually found it for sale yesterday for $17.50 new so I picked up a couple of copies for my sons.

Agreed about “Ryuhyo.” On a couple of his other albums, Terumasa’s long-deceased drummer brother has a few “interesting “ treatments of old rock songs like  “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” “Angie,” Lady Jane,” “Dazed and Confused,” and “Stairway to Heaven.”  The first three are on “Sailing Stone,” which was recorded in NYC and distributed in the US on Gramavision.  The last two are on “It’s There,” on a Japanese label called Fun House, a label about which I otherwise know nothing.  Motohiko also appears on most of Terumasa’s albums, including “Hogiuta,” which I mentioned above, and behind other important Japanese musicians like Isao Suzuki and Masabumi Kikuchi.

 

 Also, I forgot to add that, in addition to the Hino brothers, “Hogiuta” includes some monster bass playing by Cecil McBee, who is prominent in the mix, and percussion by Mtume, always a master of the craft.  I hadn’t realized it was recorded in NYC rather than Japan, but I shouldn’t have been surprised because both Hinos were based there in the seventies.  

[Mike Rubin]

On 2/14/2020 at 1:02 PM, ronfint said:

To add to the confusion, I’d like to recommend these two terrific compilation albums:

 

J-Jazz - Deep Modern Jazz from Japan 1969-1984

https://bbemusic.bandcamp.com/album/j-jazz-deep-modern-jazz-from-japan-1969-1984

 

and Volume 2:

https://bbemusic.bandcamp.com/album/j-jazz-volume-2-deep-modern-jazz-from-japan-1969-1983

 

 

 

Was listening to Vol. 1 today for the first time since I first got it.  What struck me the most is how well the Japanese players have mastered the vocabulary of John Coltrane, if not the emotion.  The technique is at an extremely high level and the players’ ears are pretty big.

[Mike Rubin]

2 minutes ago, charlesphoto said:

I'm going to be in Osaka next month. This could be dangerous.

My experience last September was that it was easier to find American jazz than Japanese jazz in Japan, but I didn’t have a lot of time to go spelunking.  Good luck! Maybe you will find some gems. 

[Mike Rubin]

I like the Terumasa Hino, Kohsuke Mine, and Teruo Nakamura titles (although the latter has a throwaway vocal track so bad as to be laughable). These all are a bit more '70's cutting edge than the Yamamotos.