Mee Hae Ryo

Ryo Kawasaki was a Japanese jazz fusion guitarist, composer and band leader, best known as one of the first musicians to develop and popularise the fusion genre and for helping to develop the guitar synthesizer in collaboration with Roland Corporation and Korg. His album Ryo Kawasaki and the Golden Dragon Live was one of the first all-digital recordings and he created the Kawasaki Synthesizer for the Commodore 64. During the 1960s, he played with various Japanese jazz groups and also formed his own bands. In the early 1970s, he moved to New York City, where he settled and worked with Gil Evans, Elvin Jones, Chico Hamilton, Ted Curson, Joanne Brackeen amongst others. In the mid-1980s, Kawasaki drifted out of performing music in favour of writing music software for computers. He also produced several techno dance singles, formed his own record company called Satellites Records, and later returned to jazz-fusion in 1991.

While program music is more strongly associated with the Romantic Era in music than any other era, It was by no means new with that era. This 1754 composition by one of the most popular composers of pieces in concerto grosso form is a set telling a popular tale of the First Crusade, based on Tasso's Gerusalemme liberata. This tale of chivalry, bravery, and romance has been made into countless operas and ballets over the years. Although it was published in 1754 as a purely instrumental work, it had been staged the year before in Paris, as a ballet-pantomime.

Joanne Brackeen & Ryo Kawasaki - Trinkets And Things (1978) {2015 Japan Timeless Jazz Master Collection Complete Series}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 219 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 103 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 273 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1978, 2015 Timeless Records / Solid Records Japan / Ultra-Vibe | CDSOL-6371
Jazz / Post Bop / Piano / Guitar

Reissue with the latest remastering. Features original cover artwork. Comes with a descripton in Japanese. A wonderful little record from pianist Joanne Brackeen – unlike anything the artist ever recorded, as it's just a set of duets with guitarist Ryo Kawasaki, who brings in some really beautiful elements to the mix! Ryo plays an acoustic nylon string guitar, but with a dexterity that most other players would use on electric – and the balance of his instrument with Brackeen's piano is sublime – full of colors and imaginative tones, but also a fair degree of rhythmic impulses too – which guide the duo in ways that are completely refreshing throughout!

Ryo Fukui - Ryo Fukui In New York (1999) {Sapporo Jazz Create SJC-9901}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 260 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 117 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 138 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1999 Sapporo Jazz Create | SJC-9901
Jazz / Post Bop / Modal Music / Piano

A smoking trio set from Japanese pianist Ryo Fukui – recorded in New York with help from Lisle Atkinson on bass and Leroy Williams on drums! The date's a bit later than some of the classics from the golden age of Japanese piano trio recordings, but has a very similar vibe – and in addition to very deft, expressive work from Fukui – a player who's maybe got more bop elements here than in his early days – the group also really sparkles with the work of Atkinson, a player who's sometimes overlooked, but who always brings a subtle depth to his sessions. Titles include "All The Things You Are", "Embraceable You", "Hot House", "Red Carpet", "Bouncing With Bud", and a great remake of Fukui's earlier song "Mellow Dream".