Bill Evans Japanese

An accomplished, eclectic Japanese pianist, who looked to the beginning of jazz for inspiration.
Yamashita studied piano as a child and has played professionally since the age of 17. He attended Kunitachi College of Music in Tokyo from 1962-1967 and played for a time with saxophonist Sadao Watanabe. Yamashita formed a bassless trio in 1969; his Bill Evans-influenced style expanded to include free jazz, a rather radical step given the conservatism of the Japanese jazz scene at the time. Beginning in the '70s, his trio toured widely and played many major European events, including the Berlin and Montreux jazz festivals. Yamashita's U.S. debut was at the 1979 Newport Jazz Festival; he also recorded with members of the Art Ensemble of Chicago around that time…

Eddie Gomez is a brilliant bassist whose flexibility and quick reflexes make him an ideal accompanist (although his own albums tend to be a bit erratic jazz-wise). He grew up in New York and was with the Newport Festival Youth Band during 1959-1961. After studying at Juilliard, Gomez played with Rufus Jones' sextet, Marian McPartland (1964), Paul Bley (1964-1965), Giuseppe Logan, Gerry Mulligan, and Gary McFarland, among others. Gomez came to fame during his long period with the Bill Evans Trio (1966-1977).

Frank Minion - The Soft Land of Make Believe (1959-1960) {Bethlehem Japan CDSOL-6054 rel 2013}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 282 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 98 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 42 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1959-60, 2013 Solid Records Japan / Bethlehem Records | CDSOL-6054
Jazz / Bop / Vocal Jazz / Vocalese

Features the latest remastering. Includes a Japanese description and lyrics. Frank Minion's one and only recording is a fascinating window into the world of a jazz performer. Quite cynical and sarcastic toward the jaundiced American view of the jazz life, Minion minces no words in stating his case, his reasons why, and his conclusions as to the home country of the music so thoroughly dismissing the music he loves. As this project was done back in the late '50s and early '60s, it reflects a syndrome that unfortunately still exists 50 years later. The CD reissue begins with a five-part suite based on the talking points and songs reflecting the vagaries and perceptions of a fictional big city neighborhood, which just as easily could be the reality of renaissance Harlem, references to Atlanta, or perhaps his native Baltimore.

Tadd Dameron - The Magic Touch (1962) {Riverside OJCCD-143-2 rel 1992}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 276 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 111 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 8 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1962, 1992 Riverside / Fantasy | OJCCD-143-2
Jazz / Bop / Progressive Jazz

Tadd Dameron is known to proclaim that he became an arranger rather than stay an exclusive instrumentalist because it was the only way he could get his music played. In retrospect, considering his best-known works are widely revered, few of them are frequently played by other bands, and only the finest musicians are able to properly interpret them. Dameron's charts had an ebb and flow that superseded the basic approach of Count Basie, yet were never as quite complicated as Duke Ellington. Coming up in the bop movement, Dameron's music had to have been by definition holding broader artistic harmonics, while allowing for the individuality of his bandmembers.