Early Press

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - At the Cafe Bohemia Vol.1 (1955) {Blue Note Japan, CP32-5242, Early Press}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 402 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 156 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 182 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1955, 1986 Blue Note / Toshiba EMI Japan | CP32-5242 | Mono
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Drums

This is Art Blakey's early period Jazz Messengers featuring trumpeter Kenny Dorham, saxophonist Hank Mobley, bassist Doug Watkins, and pianist Horace Silver. This first volume of live performance from the Cafe Bohemia in New York City circa late 1955 is a rousing set of hard bop by the masters who signified its sound, and expanded on the language of modern jazz.

John Coltrane - Coltrane Time (1958) {LIBERTY, CP32-5189, Japan Early Press, Black Triangle}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 220 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 80 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 44 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1958, 1986 Liberty / Toshiba-EMI | CP32-5189
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Hard Bop / Saxophone

This is a most unusual LP due to the inclusion of Cecil Taylor on piano. Although Taylor and John Coltrane got along well, trumpeter Kenny Dorham (who is also on this quintet date) hated the avant-garde pianist's playing and was clearly bothered by Taylor's dissonant comping behind his solos. With bassist Chuck Israels and drummer Louis Hayes doing their best to ignore the discord, the group manages to perform two blues and two standards with Dorham playing strictly bop, Taylor coming up with fairly free abstractions, and Coltrane sounding somewhere in between. The results are unintentionally fascinating.

Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings (1956) {Pacific Jazz Japan, CJ32-5005, Early Press}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 187 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 82 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 198 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1956, 1988 Pacific Jazz / Toshiba-EMI Japan | CJ32-5005 | Early Press
Jazz / Cool Jazz / West Coast Jazz

As Gerald Heard's liner notes point out, it's difficult to decide whether Chet Baker was a trumpet player who sang or a singer who played trumpet. When the 24-year-old California-based trumpeter started his vocal career in 1954, his singing was revolutionary; as delicate and clear as his trumpet playing, with a similarly bright and vibrato-free tone, Baker simply didn't sound like any previous jazz singer.

John Coltrane - Live In Japan Vol.1 (1966) {Impulse! Japan, 55XD-573~574, Early Press, 2CD}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 654 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 306 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 162 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1966, 1987 Impulse! / MCA Records Japan | 55XD-573~574
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Saxophone

This very interesting four-CD set contains two sets of music by the 1966 John Coltrane Quintet, recorded in Tokyo, Japan. Most of the music had not been released in the United States until 1991. Coltrane (heard on tenor, soprano, and alto) engages in some ferocious interplay with Pharoah Sanders (on tenor, alto, and bass clarinet), pianist Alice Coltrane, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Rashied Ali; fans of Trane's earlier records may not like these atonal flights. However, listeners who enjoy avant-garde jazz will find many stirring moments among the very lengthy performances. The shortest piece is the 25-minute version of "Peace on Earth," and "My Favorite Things" goes on for over 57 minutes.

Charles Mingus - Presents Charles Mingus (1960) {Candid Japan, 32JDC-101, Early Press rel 1987}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 242 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 108 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 169 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1960, 1987 Candid Japan | 32JDC-101 | Early Press
Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz

Charles Mingus has a fascinating way of offering music that is grounded in tradition while remaining startlingly original. The freshness of a disc like Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus, has the effect of rendering much of what passes for jazz as tedious. The band is small for Mingus, and includes Eric Dolphy on alto saxophone and bass clarinet, Ted Curson on trumpet, and Dannie Richmond on drums. It would be one of Dolphy and Curson's last recording dates with the artist, and they seem determined to go all out for it. The leader's bassline kicks off "Folk Forms No. 1," followed by Dolphy outlining the melody, and then joined by Curson.

Wes Montgomery With Strings - Fusion! (1963) {Riverside Japan VDJ-1671, Early Press, rel 1989}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 233 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 100 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 108 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1963, 1989 Riverside / Victor Japan | VDJ-1671 | Early Press
Jazz / Hard Bop / Guitar

Although most Wes Montgomery fans associate his playing with strings with his later A&M and Verve recordings, the influential guitarist actually fronted a string section for the first time on this Riverside date from 1963, which had the ironic name of Fusion. As with his later albums, Montgomery's guitar solos here are brief and melodic but the jazz content is fairly high even if the emphasis is (with the exception of "Tune Up") on ballads.

Art Blakey Quintet - A Night at Birdland Vol.1 (1954) {Blue Note Japan, CP32-5201, Early Press}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 325 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 127 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 201 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1954, 1986 Blue Note / Toshiba EMI Japan | CP32-5201
Jazz / Hard Bop

During Blue Note vault research in 1975, four additional full performances from this historic Birdland recording were discovered. three of them were issued in the U.S. in 1978 as part of a Blakey double album. All four were issued in 1983 in Japan as A NIGHT AT BIRDLAND, Volume Three, which had a short playing time. Due to the expanded time limitations of the CD, half of these discoveries have been added to each of the original Birdland volumes. -Michael Cuscuna

Eric Dolphy - At The Five Spot, Vol. 1 (1961) {Prestige VDJ 1504, Japan Early Press}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 341 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 128 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 64 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1961, 1985 Prestige / Victor Japan | VDJ 1504
Jazz / Hard Bop / Saxophone / Clarinet

After having left the ensemble of Charles Mingus and upon working with John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy formed a short-lived but potent quintet with trumpeter Booker Little, who would pass away three months after this recording. Despite all of the obstacles and subsequent tragedy, this quintet became legendary over the years – justifiably so – and developed into a role model for all progressive jazz combos to come. The combined power of Dolphy and Little – exploring overt but in retrospect not excessive dissonance and atonality – made them a target for critics but admired among the burgeoning progressive post-bop scene.

Erik Satie Piano Music - Ikuyo Kamiya (1985) {RCA Japan RCCD-105, Early Press}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 159 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 121 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 70 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1985 RCA / Red Seal Japan | RCCD-1057
Classical / Early 20th Century / Impressionism / Piano

Acclaimed a master of her generation, Ikuyo Kamiya is one of the most prominent pianists in Japan. Beginning the piano at the age of eight, she studied under Aiko Iguchi at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo and following her first prize at the Japan Music Competition, was chosen to study at the Essen National Academy in Germany, where she studied with Klaus Hellwig and Stefan Askenaze. Ms. Kamiya´s international career was launched following her victory at the 1972 Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition, after which she was invited to perform throughout Belgium at various festivals in recital as soloist with orchestras including the Brussels National Orchestra and the Antwerp Orchestra. A review of her subsequent London debut described her playing as being “abundant in musicality and powerful presentation” and “the result of a through analysis.´

Bud Powell - The Scene Changes (1958) {Blue Note, CP32-5207, Japan Early Press}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 247 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 109 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 38 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1958, 1986 Blue Note / Toshiba-EMI | CP32-5207
Jazz / Bop / Piano

Bud Powell was unquestionably a major talent. Sadly, he was also unquestionably mad. The legend of the tortured, tragic jazz genius exists because of people like Charlie Parker and Bud Powell. Both are bebop legends, among the greatest of the greats, founding fathers of the genre. Both were brought down by drugs and mental illness—Parker at 34, Powell at 41.