Kenichi Tsunoda Big Bandu

Commemorating the 45th Anniversary of Mixer's Lab! Fifth in the Kenichi Tsunoda Big Band "BIG BAND SOUND" series produced by Mixer's Lab! 10 songs selected from Jazz and Latin masterpieces of the past! The famous performances by the Kenichi Tsunoda Big Band were recorded, mixed and produced by recording engineer Eiji Uchinuma (Chairman of Mixer's Lab and Honorary Chairman of the Music Studio Association of Japan), and recorded in high sound quality using the most advanced recording technology!

Arranger Kenichi Tsunoda's big band has been one of the top jazz orchestras in Japan since its formation in 1990. This set is particularly impressive for the wide range of the arrangements, the band's musicianship, and the individual solos. "Be Bop" is given a rapid treatment worthy of Jon Faddis, "My Favorite Things" has two heated soprano saxophonists (Yuji Kawamura and Tatsuya Sato) trading off at its climax, and altoist Hideo Oyama sounds very close to Johnny Hodges on "Memories of Duke." Also quite memorable are an explosive "For J.G.," an unusual jazz waltz version of "Shiny Stockings," and rollicking renditions of "Donna Lee" and "Night Train." Despite the lack of name recognition in the United States, the Kenichi Tsunoda Big Band should greatly interest fans of modern jazz orchestras.

Despite the economic difficulties in sustaining a large ensemble, trombonist, composer, and arranger Kenichi Tsunoda has kept his stellar, Tokyo-based big band together for over a decade. Showing off the band’s versatility, Tsunoda presents a program of his own compositions, a combination of the First Movement of “Concierto de Aranjuez” and Chick Corea’s “Spain,” as well as smart arrangements of standards such as “Caravan” and “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To.” The well-drilled ensemble includes a number of able soloists such as tenor saxophonist Tatsuya Sato, flutist Seiji Tada, alto saxophonist Keiji Hori, and pianist Yuichi Inoue…

The New Herd group of Toshiyuki Miyama was one of the most creative larger ensembles in Japan during the 70s – a group that was neither slavish to the sort of older modes you might guess from the "herd" reference to Woody Herman's band, nor tied up in some of the more commercial directions that some of the other big bands were taking at the time! Instead, they had an ear for the new developments in color, tone, and phrasing that opened up in groups like this in the post-Kenton generation – but managed to swing a bit more too – never too bogged down in their own sense of perfection to loosen up at all the right times. You'll hear the group at their best here on this late 70s album – on titles that include "Grand Guignol", "Fancy Ball", "A Falling Star", "Art Gallery", "Flower Arrangement", and "Blue Sail".

John Dowland - Sorrow Stay - Mutsumi Hatano & Takashi Tsunoda (1992) {Pardon Japan TH4628}
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© 1992 Pardon Japan | TH4628
Classical / Renaissance / Vocal / Lute

Mutsumi Hatano and Takashi Tsunoda began performing the lute songs of John Dowland together in 1990, and since then have never failed to enrapture audiences with their unique combination of Mutsumi's clear, expressive voice and the delicacy of Takashi's lute accompaniment, overflowing with emotion. In addition to the Dowland songs and other old English songs, their repertoire spans the renaissance to the baroque, including Italian madrigals, French air de cour and Spanish songs with vihuela accompaniment, and to each a new charm and vitality is introduced.

Blue Effect was a Czech rock band, also operating under the names M. Efekt, Modrý efekt, or The Special Blue Effect, since their formation in 1968. The band's main and only permanent member from its founding until his death in 2016 was guitarist Radim Hladík, formerly of The Matadors. Blue Effect changed their musical style several times, ranging from rhythm and blues, jazz fusion, to art rock.