Three Blind Mice

Hideto Kanai Group - Q (1971) {2013 Japan Three Blind Mice Mini LP Blu-spec CD Remaster THCD-255}
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© 1971, 2013 Three Blind Mice / Sony Music Direct (Japan) / Think! Records | THCD-318 | LP TBM-6
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Bass

The sixth album released by Three Blind Mice turned the spotlight on Hideto Kanai a veteran bassist who had been pursuing a very progressive, unique and uncompromising kind of jazz since the early 1960s. With his passion for educating young musicians and adventurous nature, Kanai has drawn some comparisons to another great leader, Charles Mingus, whom he respected.

George Otsuka Quintet - Physical Structure (1976) {2013 Japan Three Blind Mice Mini LP Blu-spec CD Remaster THCD-239}
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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}
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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.

Kunihiko Sugano Trio +1 - Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (1974) {2013 Japan Three Blind Mice Mini LP Blu-spec CD THCD-256}
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© 1974, 2013 Three Blind Mice / Sony Music Direct (Japan) / Think! Records | THCD-256 | LP TBM-26
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Post Bop / Piano

Three Blind Mice Blu-spec CD reissue series! Limited paper sleeve edition! Kunihiko Sugano is a unique jazz pianist who is known for his huge talent, a pianistic approach reminiscent of Erroll Garner, and a sensitive nature that made it difficult for him to play in front of a large audience. Considering the latter issue, the live performances contained in this CD, recorded at a big hall in Tokyo for a jazz festival produced by the Three Blind Mice label, was a huge success. It is mesmerizing to hear Sugano's probing and exploratory introductions, relentless swing once he gets going, and palpable joy of making music on the spot. The trio, augmented with conga player Yoichi Ogawa, does a great job as well.

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Three Blind Mice, Volume 1 & 2 (1962) {2CD Set Blue Note rel 1990}
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© 1962, 1990 United Artists / Blue Note / Capitol | CDP 7 84451 2 / CDP 7 84452 2
Jazz / Hard Bop

Phenomenal live material from the sextet-era version of the Jazz Messengers! This 2-volume CD series takes a small amount of live material that was originally issued under the 3 Blind Mice title, and adds a huge amount of previously unreleased tracks to expand both CDs into a whopping batch of hardbop killers. The group includes Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, Curtis Fuller, and Cedar Walton – and the live setting shows the band at their finest, able to trade lines and invent solos with amazing dexterity.

Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio - Blues For Tee (1974) {2014 Japan Three Blind Mice Mini LP Blu-spec CD Remaster}
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© 1974, 2014 Three Blind Mice / Sony Music Direct (Japan) / Think! Records | THCD-316 / LP TBM-41
Jazz / Post Bop / Piano Trio

Three Blind Mice Blu-spec CD reissue series. Limited paper sleeve edition. Blues For Tee is the second of the three albums that came out of the legendary Christmas sessions at the Misty, a Tokyo jazz club, which took place on December 1974. The Three Blind Mice producer Takeshi "Tee" Fujii wanted to record Yamamoto before he left for the U.S. to study at Berklee School of Music, and almost all of the performances were so good that he decided to release three LPs instead of one that was originally planned.

Isao Suzuki Sextet - Ako's Dream (1976) {2013 Japan Three Blind Mice Mini LP Blu-spec Remaster, THCD-248}
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© 1976, 2013 Three Blind Mice / Sony Music Japan | THCD-248 | LP TBM-76
Jazz / Fusion / Post Bop / Cello

Three Blind Mice Blu-spec CD reissue series. Limited paper sleeve edition. With his stunning debut album Blow Up in 1973, bassist Isao Suzuki quickly became a star musician in the roster of the Three Blind Mice label. Ako's Dream was his seventh album, and as the jacket and the title suggest, it is dedicated to his young baby girl named Ako.

Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio - Girl Talk (1975) {2013 Japan Three Blind Mice Mini LP Blu-spec Remaster, THCD-228}
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© 1975, 2013 Three Blind Mice / Sony Music Japan | THCD-228
Jazz / Post Bop / Piano

Three Blind Mice Blu-spec CD reissue series. Limited paper sleeve edition. Girl Talk was Tsuyoshi Yamamoto's sixth leader album released by the Three Blind Mice label in a short span of two years. With a huge hit of Midnight Sugar, the young pianist –who was 28 at the time of recording – had become one of the most popular jazz pianists in Japan. With bluesy and soulful style influenced by Red Garland and Wynton Kelly, Yamamoto and his trio tackled well-known jazz standards and a popular movie tune ("The Way We Were"). One of the highlights is "Take the 'A' Train" which begins with a free style introduction and moves into a high-speed, high-spirited swing.

Koji Moriyama & Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio - Smile (1977) {2013 Japan Three Blind Mice Mini LP Blu-spec Remaster}
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© 1977, 2013 Three Blind Mice / CS Record / Sony Music Japan | THCD-229 | LP TBM-5002
Jazz / Hard Bop / Modal Music / Vocal Jazz / Contemporary Jazz

Three Blind Mice Blu-spec CD reissue series. Limited paper sleeve edition. Singer Koji Moriyama was just 33 years old, but had been singing professionally for over 15 years when he recorded this, his second full-length LP for Three Blind Mice, a label that began a trend of providing recording opportunities to talented but underappreciated Japanese jazz singers in the 1970s.