Masabumi

Disc 1 recorded on April 1 and 2, 1994 at Onkio Haus, Tokyo. Disc 2 to 4 recorded on March 29, 1994 at Pit-Inn, Tokyo.

Masabumi Kikuchi - Black Orpheus (2016) {ECM-Universal Music Japan UCCE-1160}
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© 2016 ECM Records / Universal Music Japan | UCCE-1160
Jazz / Modern Creative / Modern Jazz / Piano

A document of a 2012 Japanese solo recital – not only the last in his homeland but the last anywhere – by idiosyncratic improviser Masabumi Kikuchi (1939-2015). One of the uncategorisable greats, Kikuchi occupied his own musical universe and in his final years was quietly and systematically severing his ties to jazz, drifting instead towards what he called ‘floating sound and harmonies’, introspective and poetic improvisations. Song forms still sometimes materialized. Kikuchi revisits “Little Abi”, a ballad for his daughter, which the pianist once recorded with Elvin Jones. And there is a surprising and very touching version of the wistfully yearning theme from the 1959 Brazilian film Black Orpheus.

Masahiko Togashi + Masabumi Kikuchi - Concerto (1991) {Japan Studio Songs Remaster YZSO Series rel 2016}
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© 1991, 2016 Studio Songs Japan / Nippon Crown | YZSO-10064
Jazz / Post Bop / Chamber Music / Avant-Garde Jazz / Piano / Percussions

Two Japanese jazz greats pianist Masabumi Kikuchi and percussionist Masahiko Togashi recorded “Concerto” in 1991 – quite prolific period for both (especially for Kikuchi who founded one of his most successful project Tethered Moon with Gary Peacock and Paul Motian right at that time). Released soon after, this duo album hasn't been noticed and became an obscurity. Many Kikuchi fans even don't know such release exists. In 2016 it has been re-issued in Japan so it is much more accessible now. Being mostly known as an object of discussions between collectors (as rule no-one of them ever heard its content) – is this album really all that good?

Masabumi Kikuchi, Masahiko Togashi, Gary Peacock - Poesy (1971) {2015 Japan We Remember Poo Complete Series} [CD5of8]
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© 1971, 2015 Philips / Universal Japan | UCCJ-9207
Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Modern Free / Piano / Percussions

A set that definitely lives up to the poetry promised in its title – with none of the too-clean sounds you might guess from its hand-washing reference either! The album's one of the freest, most organic sessions we've heard from pianist Masabumi Kikuchi – almost improvised at points, but with a poetic cohesion in the piano lines that's really great – kind of an offbeat sense of lyricism that points in the same directions that Steve Kuhn or Keith Jarrett were heading in the late 60s. Drummer Masahiko Togashi plays lots of cool percussion and even a bit of gong – and Gary Peacock's bass here is as great as on any of his other excellent Japanese recordings. Titles include "Dreams", "The Trap", "The Milky Way", "Apple", "Get Magic Again", and "End".

Elvin Jones & Masabumi Kikuchi - Hollow Out (1972) {2015 Japan We Remember Poo Complete Series} [CD7of8]
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© 1972, 2015 Philips / Unversal Japan | UCCJ-9209
Jazz / Post Bop / Piano Trio

Pianist Masabumi Kikuchi joins drummer Elvin Jones in a really great trio date – one that draws extra power from the mighty bass of Gene Perla, whose soulful tones help push the music along strongly! The Jones/Perla combination is always great, but it seems to take on a whole new level of sensitivity in the presence of Kikuchi – showing more sense of space to allow Masabumi's piano some great placement in the date, yet without any of the "hollowed out" modes you might guess from the title. Perla can be bold one minute, very subtle the next – and his presence is always appreciated on the record, making us wish he'd recorded more with Kikuchi over the years. Titles include "Apple", "Ginkai", "Little Abi", "Bell", and "Hollow Out".

Masabumi Kikuchi - End For The Beginning (1973) {2015 Japan We Remember Poo Complete Series} [CD8of8]
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© 1973, 2015 Philips / Unversal Japan | UCCJ-9210
Jazz / Post Bop / Piano

One of the most soulful sessions we've ever heard from Japanese pianist Masabumi Kikuchi – a brilliant quintet outing that features some really great work on tenor and soprano sax! Kikuchi's piano is usually enough to grab our attention, but the album's got a great added bonus in the presence of Kosuke Mine on soprano sax and Hideo Miyata on tenor – both players whose horns bring in some added sharpness to the date, and further underscore the spiritual elements in Kikuchi's music – almost with the same mix of reeds and driving rhythms you'd find in the post-Coltrane work of Elvin Jones. Titles include "Green Dance", "Bell", "Admire But Destest", "Gin Kai", and "Drizzling Rain".

Masabumi Kikuchi - One Way Traveller (1982) {2016 Japan Crossover & Fusion Collection 1000 Series SICJ 170}
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© 1982, 2016 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICJ 170
Jazz / Fusion / Electric Jazz / Jazz Funk / Keyboards

Reissue with the latest DSD remastering. Comes with liner notes. A gem of a record from Japanese keyboardist Masabumi Kikuchi – one of those massive Japanese fusion classics that was partly recorded overseas, partly here in the US – with a sound that brings together all the best soulful aspects of both scenes! Kikuchi can create some really weird, wonderful sounds when he wants – but can also slide into a groove with the best of them – and, given the vintage of the record, may well be more inventive than Herbie Hancock ever was at this point in his career! The lineup's filled with great talents – trumpeter Terumasa Hino, reedman Steve Grossman, and guitarist James Mason – coming together wonderfully on titles that include "Sky Talk", "Madjap Express", "Alacalder", and "Sum Dum Fun".

Masabumi Kikuchi - Poo-Sun (1970) {2015 Japan We Remember Poo Complete Series UCCJ-9204} [CD2of8]
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© 1970, 2015 Philips / Universal Japan | UCCJ-9204
Jazz / Fusion / Post Bop / Jazz Rock / Piano

Masabumi Kikuchi plays some really great electric piano here – often using the album with loud, bold tones that lie somewhere between Joe Zawinul's work with Cannonball Adderley and Miles Davis! The album's an extremely sweet electric side from the Japanese keyboardist – and it also features great work on reeds from Kosuke Mine, who plays both alto and soprano sax on the set – the latter with a wonderfully soulful, lyrical tone. Other players include Motohiko Hino on drums and Hideo Ichikawa on additional electric piano and organ – and titles include "Dancing Mist", "Thanatos", "Yellow Carcass In The Sun", "EJ", "My Companion", and "Puzzle Ring".

Masabumi Kikuchi - Susto +2 (1981) {2016 Japan Crossover & Fusion Collection 1000 Series SICJ 169}
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© 1981, 2016 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICJ 169
Jazz / Fusion / Jazz Funk / Keyboards

Reissue with the latest DSD remastering. Comes with liner notes. A great album of funky Japanese fusion – one of the few sets from the Japanese scene of the late 70s that got any sort of wider release in the US – and a treasure that we've loved for years! The set's got a really great sound – soulful and funky, but sharp too – in a lineup that features a variety of keyboards from Masabumi Kikuchi, plus work by Terumasa Hino on trumpet, Steve Grossman and Dave Liebman on saxes, and James Mason on guitar! The best cuts have a funky feel that's in the CTI/Kudu mode – perhaps mixed with a bit of Herbie Hancock keyboard jamming – and the album's a surprisingly lost funky gem in the Columbia catalog of the early 80s, with a much harder edge than some of the other work on the label at the time!

Masabumi Kikuchi, Gary Peacock, Paul Motian - Tethered Moon - Triangle (1991) {2015 Japan King Super Jazz Collection KICJ-2487}
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© 1991, 2015 King Record Japan | KICJ-2487
Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Piano Trio

Reissue with the latest remastering. A stunning follow-up to the first Tethered Moon album from the trio of Masabumu Kikuchi on piano, Gary Peacock on bass, and Paul Motian on drums – material recorded at the same time as the first record, but with a vibe that's sometimes slightly different! As before, the acoustic tones of Kikuchi ring out strongly – with those sharper, modern edges that he first brought to play on his key albums of the 70s – but there's also almost a looser quality to some tracks, as Peacock's bass works as a strongly subtle force, as does Motian's drums – both with those special sound-shaping qualities that have made them such unique musicians. Titles include a take on Ornette Coleman's "Turnaround", plus "Little Abi", "Gaia", "True You", and "Conception Vessel".