George Otsuka Trio

George Otsuka Quintet - Physical Structure (1976) {2013 Japan Three Blind Mice Mini LP Blu-spec CD Remaster THCD-239}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 269 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 99 Mb
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© 1976, 2013 Three Blind Mice / Sony Music Direct (Japan) / Think! Records | THCD-239 | LP TBM-62
Jazz / Post Bop / Drums

Japanese drummer George Otsuka is always one hell of a hip cat – one of those players whose name on a record always means that we'll pick it up – and never fail to hear something wonderful! And while Otsuka first got his start working with a piano trio at the end of the 60s, this sweet set from the mid 70s really has him stretching out nicely – working with a freewheeling group that has plenty of spiritual elements – but in that gentler avant mode you'd find in the Japanese scene of the time. The set's got some especially great Fender Rhodes and piano from Fumio Karashima, plus tenor and soprano sax from Shozo Sasaki – and all tracks are nice and long, and really let the instrumentation build up in this flowing, organic sort of way. Mitsuaki Furuno plays bass, and Norio Ohno adds in a bit of extra percussion too – and titles include a nice reading of "Naima", with lots of fast-moving congas – plus "Physical Structure", "Mustard Pot", and "Little Island".

Isao Suzuki & Sunao Wada - Now's The Time (1974) {2014 Japan Three Blind Mice Mini LP Blu-spec CD Remaster THCD-315}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 327 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 121 Mb
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© 1974, 2014 Three Blind Mice / Sony Music Direct (Japan) / Think! Records | THCD-315 | LP TBM-29
Jazz / Post Bop / Contemporary Jazz

Three Blind Mice Blu-spec CD reissue series! Limited paper sleeve edition! Now's The Time captured two groups who performed at the Three Blind Mice's own jazz festival called "5 Days in Jazz 1974." The first group was the Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio with guest soloists Isao Suzuki on cello and Sunao Wada on guitar. They performed two songs on Side A of the original vinyl LP.

Hidehiko Matsumoto - The Session: Sleepy Meets The Great Jazz Trio (1980) {Universal Japan SHM-CD UCCJ-4101 rel 2009}
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© 1980, 2009 Next Wave /Universal Japan } UCCJ-4101
Jazz / Post Bop / Cool / Saxophone / Jazz Piano Trio

Hidehiko "Sleepy" Matsumoto (October 12, 1926, Okayama - February 29, 2000, Tokyo) was a Japanese jazz saxophonist and bandleader. Matsumoto played bebop in Japan in the late 1940s with the group CB Nine, then joined The Six Josés and The Big Four, a group which included George Kawaguchi, Hachidai Nakamura, and Mitsuru Ono. In 1959 he became a member of Hideo Shiraki's small ensemble, and played with Gerald Wilson at the 1963 Monterey Jazz Festival and Toshiko Akiyoshi in 1964. Starting in 1964 he led his own ensembles, which have included as sidemen Takeshi Inomata, Akira Miyazawa, George Otsuka, and Isao Suzuki.