The Masaru Imada Trio

This album is dedicated to Duke Ellington, and it features Duke Ellington tunes - but overall the set is a very personal moment from pianist Masaru Imada - maybe one of his strongest dates of the 70s! The music opens up with that beautifully creative Japanese piano trio approach of the 70s - lots of new ideas and new styles brimming forth throughout, but always in a way that's respectful of tradition while pushing things forward - swinging back to familiar modes one minute, then soaring forth with a personal spirit the next. Masaru's trio-mates here are a great match - the excellent Isoo Fukui on bass and Tetsujiro Obara on drums.

Really lovely piano work from Masaru Imada - a player who's a bit gentler than some of his Japanese contemporaries of the early 70s, but who also works with this wonderfully lyrical tone! Imada does a great job of balancing a sense of flow with a punctuated approach to the keys - never overdone, and often with this spacious sensibility - but more pointed than a Bill Evans style as well. The first half of the album is solo material, and the second features a trio - bass is by Isoo Fukui and drums are by Mashiko Ozu - both players who step into Imada's world in a way that's subtle, but extremely effective.

Masaru Imada Trio +2 - Green Caterpillar (1975) {2013 Japan Three Blind Mice Mini LP Blu-spec CD Remaster THCD-222}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 284 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 104 Mb | Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 1975, 2013 Three Blind Mice / Sony Music Direct (Japan) / Think! Records | THCD-222 | LP TBM-39
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Post Bop / Electric Piano / Piano

Three Blind Mice Blu-spec CD reissue series! Limited paper sleeve edition! Pianist Imada Masaru was 42 years old when he recorded this album in 1975. His adventurous spirit led him to use the electric piano for the first time in a recording, and thanks to his musicianship, he made it sound like he'd been playing the instrument for years. The program opens with the title track, a sophisticated urban funk. Guitarist Kazumi Watanabe plays a big role here. It is followed by a more intricate, fusion-like "Straight Flash."

Masaru Imada is a Japanese jazz pianist and composer. He played jazz in student bands while a student at Meiji University, after which he worked in business for a year. He then decided to pursue music professionally. From 1953 he was part of clarinetist Eiji Kitamura's band. Imada had his own trio from 1964. He played internationally at jazz festivals from the 1970s. In the 1980s he worked in New York and Tokyo with Tom Browne, Grover Washington Jr. (Blue Marine), Randy Brecker, David Sanborn, Kazumi Watanabe, Will Lee, Steve Gadd and Guilherme Franco (A Day in the Paradise, 1983) as well as with their own formations. In 1984 he founded the fusion band Now’in.

A nicely bold record from pianist Masaru Imada – one of his most strongly-grooving records of the 70s, and a set that features some great hork work as well! The core trio features Kunimitsu Inaba on bass and Fumio Watanabe on drums – both of whom bring out a more soulful groove than on some of Imada's other albums of the time – which then gets really expanded by some excellent work from Seiichi Nakamura on tenor and Shigeharu Mukai on trombone – both very welcome players here, who really make the album shine! Titles include "Seeking Blue", "Piko", "Wake Up", and "Morning Sunrise".

A nicely bold record from pianist Masaru Imada – one of his most strongly-grooving records of the 70s, and a set that features some great hork work as well! The core trio features Kunimitsu Inaba on bass and Fumio Watanabe on drums – both of whom bring out a more soulful groove than on some of Imada's other albums of the time – which then gets really expanded by some excellent work from Seiichi Nakamura on tenor and Shigeharu Mukai on trombone – both very welcome players here, who really make the album shine! Titles include "Seeking Blue", "Piko", "Wake Up", and "Morning Sunrise".

A nicely bold record from pianist Masaru Imada – one of his most strongly-grooving records of the 70s, and a set that features some great hork work as well! The core trio features Kunimitsu Inaba on bass and Fumio Watanabe on drums – both of whom bring out a more soulful groove than on some of Imada's other albums of the time – which then gets really expanded by some excellent work from Seiichi Nakamura on tenor and Shigeharu Mukai on trombone – both very welcome players here, who really make the album shine! Titles include "Seeking Blue", "Piko", "Wake Up", and "Morning Sunrise".