This latest Cosmic Jazz show is dedicated once more to the wonderful world of Japanese jazz. We’d say that the golden age of jazz in Japan was from the 1960s through to the present day, with the jazz message being celebrated in concert halls, night clubs and jazz kissa bars in the major cities.
And for more on the kissa phenomenon, check out other editions of the show here and here. In fact, in the 1980s, Japan was the biggest per capita market in the world for jazz records. It’s even been said that Japanese jazz fans kept the jazz record industry alive through the lean years of the 1970s, when jazz was less of an influence in the USA. We’re featuring a couple of tunes we played in that 2020 show but the rest are new to Cosmic Jazz. The jazz café culture in Japan grew organically in the years after WWII as places where fans could gather and listen to the latest records from the United States. Imported records – let alone turntables and speakers – were a luxury few could afford as Japan recovered from the war years. The act of going to a café and listening to a new release in a social, group setting became the norm for a generation of Japanese jazz fans. At its height, areas like Shibuya and Shinjuku in central Tokyo had dozens of these cafes and bars. Many of these places specialised in playing the new jazz releases on high quality vinyl hifi systems and the vinyl revival has sparked an interest in such venues around the world. Whilst there are still over 100 such jazu kissa in Tokyo alone, London now has several including the well-established Spiritland in the Coaldrops Yard redevelopment behind King’s Cross Station and Brilliant Corners in the hipster heartland of Dalston. Since we first explored this phenomenon in 2018, more kissaten have opened both in the UK and around the world – Lazy Bird in Brighton, Public Records in Brooklyn, and Le Djoon in Paris (where one of Singapore DJ pals Dean Chew played last month) along with many others in Bucharest, Lisbon, Istanbul and Milan and more. Finally, check out the Tokyo Jazz Joints website and buy the beautiful accompanying book!
- Hideo Shiraki – Groovy Samba from Hideo Shiraki Plays Bossa Nova/J Jazz: Deep Modern Jazz from Japan Vol. 3
So let’s get to the music. First up is drummer Hideo Shiraki from his album Plays Bossa Nova from 1962 and from the influential King Records. You can hear how heavily he is influenced by hard bop and particularly Horace Silver (indeed, he gigged with Silver while on a US visit) and – like drummer Art Blakey – he was quick to recognise and reward homegrown talent. So great Japanese jazz musicians like Terumasa Hino, Akira Miyazawa, Jiro Inagaki and more all found their feet with Shiraki and contributed to many of his big selling albums. If you can find it, …Plays Bossa Nova is a terrific record, but this tune also appears on Volume 3 of the superb J Jazz series of records – and we’ll come back to this series throughout this show.
2. Yoshio Ikeda – Whispering Weeds from Sketch of My Life/Spiritual Jazz Vol. 8: Japan
Bassist Yoshio Ikeda is from Osaka but moved to Tokyo and became part of the progressive jazz scene there in 1964. Sketch of My Life from 1978 is another King Records album and features two pianists – Aki Takase and Ichiko Hashimoto (who also contributes vocals to Whispering Weeds) alongside Terumasa Hino’s drummer brother Motohiko Hino. As noted in the comprehensive liner notes on the excellent Spiritual Jazz compilation, Ikeda’s musical philosophy was that a person’s music should be a natural reflection of themselves and their experience – my music is comprised of the state of being natural and what comes out from my daily life.
3. Terumasa Hino – Ode to Workman from Meets Reggie Workman – A Part/J Jazz: Deep Modern Jazz from Japan Vol. 1
This extended 15 minute track does indeed feature ex-Coltrane bassist Reggie Workman alongside Takao Uematsu on tenor sax, Hideo Ichikawa on piano and Fender Rhodes, Kiyoshi Sugimoto on guitar, Motohiko Hino on drums and Terumasa Hino on trumpet and flugelhorn. You can find it on the vinyl version of the first J Jazz – Deep Modern Jazz from Japan compilations, issued on the BBE label in 2018. All of the currently four compilations are superb, with the extensive liner notes by the great Tony Higgins and including lots of information about the Japanese jazz scene and the musicians involved. If you are just starting out on your discovery of Japanese Jazz then these are the place to begin. Several of the original albums have been released on the BBE label and are worth checking out with many of them available in all formats vinyl, CD and download.
4. Akira Miyazawa – Yamame from Yamame/King Jazz RE:Generation Vol. 5 download
Saxophonist Akira Miyazawa was known for his deep love of fishing, and here he gives a masterful performance that conjures the image of fish reflecting light through the water of a mountain stream – or that’s certainly what the cover image suggests… Yamame is the Japanese name for a kind of freshwater salmon and was recorded in 1962. It may have been Miyazawa’s first album but Neil thinks it has a surprising modernity. Supporting Miyazawa here is the great saxophonist Sadao Watanabe – one of the most important musicians on the J jazz scene. He was something of a smooth jazz icon in later years, but see if you can track down the superb 1970 album Road Trip recorded with Chick Corea, Jack DeJohnette and Miroslav Vitous which features Watanabe on flute and soprano sax. Also check out this live version recorded the same year with Japanese guitarist Yoshiaki Masuo. Miyazawa himself is undoubtedly one of the musicians who laid the foundation of the Japanese jazz scene, dedicated to the pursuit of a genuine Japanese jazz rather than an imitation of American styles. This first album was reissued with the name Yamame in 1977 but you can find a DL version from Sound Fuji here on Bandcamp. This choice comes from the one of the excellent King Jazz RE:Generation DL compilations, a series of digital compilations and albums from Sound Fuji which explores King Records’ legendary catalogue, all carefully selected by Japanese jazz expert Yusuke Ogawa. Ogawa runs the Universounds store in Tokyo, specialising in jazz and second-hand, rare, and collector records. He is also a reissue supervisor, label manager, DJ, and music writer and his King Jazz collection now runs to eight volumes. You can find them all here on Bandcamp – listen and then buy!
5. Kohsuke Mine Quintet – Daguri from Daguri/J Jazz: Deep Modern Jazz From Japan Vol. 2
Here we go with another excellent tune from the second J Jazz collection but also an album that is readily available on vinyl right here on Bandcamp. Saxophonist, bandleader and composer Kohsuke Mine is a key figure on the Japanese jazz scene. Daguri comes from 1973 and features Fumio Itabashi on piano (see later) and incendiary drummer Hiroshi Murakami. Mine also appeared on the first record for the audiophile label Three Blind Mice – one to look our for if you’re collecting Japanese vinyl or CDs.
6. Fumio Itabashi – Alicante from Red Apple/King Jazz RE:Generation Vol. 5 download
We’ve long been fans of pianist Fumio Itabashi here on Cosmic Jazz and have featured his version of Watarase (see below) several times over the years. This time though, we’re showcasing his album Red Apple, released in Japan only in 1986. A This is a great session on which Itabashi rounds out his trio with guest alto sax and guitar on a few of the cuts, creating a more soulful groove to the set. There’s a great version of Sam Rivers’ classic Beatrice along with a bunch of Itabashi originals.
7. Shigeharu Mukai – Toppu from For My Little Bird/J Jazz: Deep Modern Jazz from Japan Vol. 4
Shigeharu Mukai is one of the leading jazz trombonists in Japan. He’s recorded extensively with local and international musicians including Astrud Gilberto, Elvin Jones and pianist Yosuke Yamashita. The 15 minute epic Toppu is a relentless jazz fusion assault featuring saxophonists Tomoki Takahashi and Hidefumi Toki, drummer Kenichi Kameyama and bassist Mitsuaki Furuno along with keyboard work by Toshiyuki Daitoku. For My Little Bird is another recommended Japanese release (from 1975) and you can find copies here on Discogs – but it won’t come cheap!
8. Takeo Moriyama – Watarase from Smile/Spiritual Jazz Vol. 8: Japan
Watarase – once heard, never forgotten. There are many versions of this traditional Japanese folk tune with perhaps the most famous interpretations by Fumio Itabashi. Discogs still has available the Itabashi double CD with eight versions – all remarkably different. We can’t recommend this record highly enough. This version can be found on drummer Moriyama’s Smile album from 1980 with Itabashi again on piano. Liner notes from the original release note Moriyama’s friendship with Coltrane drummer Elvin Jones, recognising each as kindred spirits who have mastered the same instrument and shared meals together (!).
And don’t miss the closing night of this year’s London Jazz Festival in November which will celebrate the sound of Japanese Jazz. The iconic singer, songwriter and pianist Akiko Yano will perform a solo piano set and she’ll be followed by a quintet with tenor sax player Kosuke Mine, pianist Fumio Itabashi, drummer Takeo Moriyama, bassist Takashi Sugawa, and the alto sax of Miyuki Moriya coming together for what will be a powerful set. Neil will be there and we’ll have a follow-up Cosmic Jazz celebration.
Also, check out our accompanying feature on why Japan is a jazz paradise – you can access it right here.