Craftman

Yoshio Otomo - Moon Ray (1977) {Three Blind Mice TBM-3007 rel 2019}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (image)+CUE+LOG -> 239 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 87 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 10 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1977, 2019 Three Blind Mice / Craftman Records Japan | TBM-3007 / CMRS-0057
Jazz / Post Bop / Saxophone / Piano

Three Blind Mice Supreme Collection 1500 Series. This CD reissue of a 1977 date by Yoshio Otomo's fine quartet was his second as a leader where he had picked his band from among Japan's finest players. Otomo is an alto player from the Jackie McLean school of tone and the Art Pepper institute for improvisation. In other words, his tone has an edge, but he always phrases and improvises melodically. With Tsuyoshi Yamamoto leading the rhythm section, the other two members, Tamiko Kawabata on bass and Arihide Kurata on drums, had to be ever watchful and vigilant that these proceedings didn't escape them altogether.

For the better part of the 50s and 60s, Masayuki Takayanagi was among Japan's best-respected jazz guitarists. But it wasn't until his experiments with tabletop guitar led him down the seductive path of sonic experimentation that he became the stuff of legend. “Ginparis” (literally translated as Silver Paris) was known as the chanson cafe in Tokyo, Ginza, and the performances often centred around chansons but eventually became the session venue for young jazz musicians. They left their mark on a record, Ginpari Session, with Masayuki Takayanagi on guitar, Masahiko Togashi on drums, Masaaki Kikuchi and Yosuke Yamashita on piano, Terumasa Hino on trumpets.

Stunning duo comprised of two of the most important musicians of the Japanese underground/avant-garde, Otomo Yoshihide in a duo with the great Japanese drummer, Hiroshi Yamazaki – who has Kaoru Abe among his extensive list of past collaborators, and was also a member of Masayuki Takayanagi’s pioneering New Directions group. This album is dedicated to Masayuki Takayanagi.

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".

The New Herd of Toshiyuki Miyama was one of the greatest large ensembles in Japanese jazz during the 70s – and here, they've got an extra-special sort of sound, thanks to the presence of guitarist Kozaburo Yamaki – who not only solos on all tracks, but also wrote some great original material for the record! Yamaki's tunes have this rising sort of majesty that makes the Herd sound even more powerful than usual – some spiritual currents they don't always have, and which are underscored both by the guitar lines, and the way the rhythms build nicely on the longer tunes. Titles include "Sunday Thing", "Friends", "Plain Song", "Sweet Heart Blues", "Soft Rain", and "Memories".