Hiroshi Suzuki

Hiroshi Suzuki is probably the best know japanese jazz trombonist with Hiroshi Fukumura. Hiroshi started his professional career in the Nobuo Hara' Sharps & Flats big band, played for various jazz artists as well as Sadao Watanabe, Takeshi Inomata, Yuji Ohno or Shungo Sawada. In 1969, he recorded for Takt Jazz Series, the japanese jazz masterpiece Variation with the Masahiko Togashi Quintet, and Up Up And Away with his big band, The Happy Cats. Later, Hiroshi joined the new super Jazz combo formed by Akira Ishikawa & Hiromasa Suzuki, the Freedom Unity, featuring saxophonist Takeru Muraoka & bassist Kunimitsu Inaba, all present on this recording. Titles include the familiar Jazz standard Walk Tall composed by Joe Zawinul for Cannonball Adderley, Cat by Takeru Muraoka and Romance by Hiromasa Suzuki plus two original compositions by Hiroshi Suzuki, Shrimp Dance & Kuro To Shiro.

Keiichi Suzuki ( 鈴木 慶一 ) is a Japanese composer and musician. He is known to audiences outside of Japan for his musical contributions in the Nintendo video games Mother and EarthBound, both of which have been released on several soundtracks. Suzuki's true notoriety comes from his work with the long-lived Moonriders, a group which became one of Japan's most innovative rock bands. More recently, he has composed film scores including The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi, Tokyo Godfathers, Uzumaki, Hiroshi Shimizu's Chicken Heart, as well as Takeshi Kitano's Outrage and Beyond Outrage films. This is Suzuki's solo album, released in collaboration with another Keiichi, Keiichi Sokabe, touring together in late spring 2008.

Universounds, HMV Record Shop and 180g team up for an exceptional release: from blazing hard bop to free jazz, to introspective saxophone solos and massive big band sounds, renowned Japanese jazz expert Yusuke Ogawa presents an essential 14 track collection of “WaJazz” music taken from the Nippon Columbia vaults. Featuring Jiro Inagaki, Minoru Muraoka, Hiroshi Suzuki, Hozan Yamamoto, Count Buffalo, Takeshi Inomata, and much more!

Universounds, HMV Record Shop and 180g team up for an exceptional release: from blazing hard bop to free jazz, to introspective saxophone solos and massive big band sounds, renowned Japanese jazz expert Yusuke Ogawa presents an essential 14 track collection of “WaJazz” music taken from the Nippon Columbia vaults. Featuring Jiro Inagaki, Minoru Muraoka, Hiroshi Suzuki, Hozan Yamamoto, Count Buffalo, Takeshi Inomata, and much more!

Kimiko Kasai is a Japanese jazz singer (now - retired). Throughout her career Kimiko recorded numerous jazz albums in collaboration with some of the most renowned musicians in the jazz field, such as Billy Higgins, Gil Evans, Stan Getz, Oliver Nelson, and Herbie Hancock. "Yellow Carcass in the Blue" is considered an important album by Kimiko Kasai in which she really began to show her original qualities. At the same time, as the "double bill" credit suggests, it was also a showcase for the Kosuke Mine Quartet, which plays two tunes on their own.

Down By The Naked City is a 1971 album by Japanese jazz quintet The Freedom Unity. This is a remastered version of the album, released on CD in 2009 by Hayabusa Landings/Birdsong.