Sadao

Sadao Watanabe - Front Seat (1989) {Elektra 9 60906-2}
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© 1989 Elektra / Warner | 9 60906-2
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Crossover Jazz / Smooth Jazz / Jazz Pop / Saxophone

Highly overlooked due to what some consider inconsistent albums that range from bop to pop, Sadao Watanabe is one of the jazz geniuses, especially in Japan. This cd is one of his best pop-type recordings. All songs are written by Sadao with the exception of the ones that feature vocals: one that was a duel collaboration with Robbie Buchanan and one other that was penned by Robbie Buchanan and Diane Warren.

Sadao Watanabe - Recital (1976) {2015 DSD Japan East Wind Masters Collection 1000 UCCJ-9178}
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© 1976, 2015 East Wind Music / Universal Japan | UCCJ-9178
Jazz / Post Bop / Neo Bop / Fusion / Saxopohone

A great live set from Sadao Watanabe – one that shows the wealth of influences he'd been drawing on, from post-Coltrane spirituality, to African-oriented rhythms, to a slight bit of funk! The group's great – with Watanabe on flute, alto, and soprano sax, Takehiro Honda on Fender Rhodes and piano, Kazumi Watanabe on guitar, plus added bass, trombone, and percussion – and we especially like Honda's keyboards, which make any session like this an instant treat! The album's got a warm, soulful feeling, but a sharper edge than most of Watanabe's smoother work of the time – and titles include "Hiro", "Maraica", "Wana Tanzania", and "Mathari Terbenam".

Sadao Watanabe - Orange Express (1981) {2016 Japan Crossover & Fusion Collection 1000 Series SICJ 167}
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© 1981, 2016 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICJ 167
Jazz / Fusion / Groove / Crossover Jazz / Saxophone / Flute

Reissue with the latest DSD remastering. Comes with liner notes. Sadao Watanabe hits a sweet fusiony groove – riding the Orange Express to LA, and picking up some great Dave Grusin arrangements on the way! The album's got the sweetly soulful finish of others from the classic years of Japanese fusion – a style that's as much influenced by mainstream soul as it is by jazz – but which comes across with some top-shelf playing throughout, thanks to a lineup that includes George Benson, Bobby Broom, Eric Gale, Richard Tee, and Marcus Miller – not to mention Watanabe and Grusin themselves! Titles include "Orange Express", "Ride On", "Straight To The Top", "Mbali Africa", and "Bagamoyo/Zanzibar".

Sadao Watanabe - California Shower (1978) {Flying Disk Japan VDP-5008 rel 1986)
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© 1978, 1986 Flying Disk / Victor Japan VDP-5008
Jazz / Fusion / Groove / Crossover Jazz / Saxophone / Flute

Sadao Watanabe (渡辺 貞夫, Watanabe Sadao) (born February 1, 1933) is a Japanese musician who plays the alto saxophone, sopranino saxophone and flute. He is known for his bossa nova recordings, although his work encompasses a large range of styles with collaborations from musicians all over the world. He has had 13 albums reach the top 50 billboard charts and 2 within the top 10. He has also had numerous albums reach number one on the jazz charts.

Sadao Watanabe with The Great Jazz Trio - I'm Old Fashioned (1976) {2015 DSD Japan East Wind Masters Collection 1000}
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© 1976, 2015 East Wind Music / Universal Japan | UCCJ-9167
Jazz / Mainstream Jazz / Neo Bop / Saxophone

Reissue with the latest DSD remastering. This album from 1976 is widely considered as one of the best, if not THE best, four-beat jazz albums by Sadao Watanabe, the legendary Japanese saxophonist. Watanabe went to New York, met with the original Great Jazz Trio – Hank Jones, Ron Carter and Tony Williams – before the super-group became well-known for its superb recordings.

Sadao Watanabe - Swiss Air (1975) {2014 Japan Jazz Collection 1000 Columbia-RCA Series SICP 4065}
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© 1975, 2014 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICP 4065
Jazz / Neo Bop / Saxophone

Reissue with the latest DSD remastering. Comes with liner notes. Sadao Watanabe Quartet for CBS Sony Japan from 1975. Sadao Watanabe (as,fl,sn) , Takehiro Honda (p) , Osamu Kawakami (b) , Shinji Mori (ds). Recorded at Montreux this powerful acoustic quartet session continues to reflects the African influences prevalent in Watanabes mid 70s sets "Mabali Africa" & "Kenya Ya Africa ". Over 5 original compositions Watanabe blows long and hard his playing a million miles from the fusion fluff he was to churn out in later years while Takehiro Honda nearly steals the show with his thunderous piano runs and vamps.

Sadao Watanabe - Pamoja (1975) {2015 DSD Japan East Wind Masters Collection 1000 UCCJ-9152}
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© 1975, 2015 East Wind Music / Universal Japan | UCCJ-9152
Jazz / Post Bop / Neo Bop / World Jazz / Fusion / Saxopohone

Later than Sadao Watanabe's classic period, but a great album with some really wonderful moments! The set was recorded live in Tokyo in 1975, and it features Watanabe working with a group that includes Isao Suzuki on bass, Yshiaki Masuo on guitar, and Takehiro Honda on piano. The four tracks are all long, with some of the searching Coltrane-ish playing that Watanabe brought to his earlier Sony albums, but they've also got a fair bit of the warmth he was reaching for during the 70s – combining elements of world jazz styles into a mode that really pushed his work on alto and flute. Titles include "Pamoja", "Vichakani", and "Musitoni".

Sadao Watanabe - Viajando (1998) {Polydor K.K. Japan POCJ-1410}
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© 1998 Verve / Polydor K.K. Japan | POCJ-1410
Jazz / Latin Jazz / Post Bop / Crossover Jazz / Saxophone

Recorded in New York in January/February 1998 this is Watanabe at his most mellow with a group of Latin friends, most notably a small group with Cesar Mariano on keyboards and programming, Paulo Braga on drums and Romero Lubambo on guitar. Add to that a lot of percussion and you have an album that simmers and from time to time introduces a range of vocalists who further add to the stew.For me the best tracks for me are the ones where Watanabe plays sopranino , notably "Afrozil", "On a Sunny Day" and the instrumental version of "Doco Seducao"( although I like the vocal version with Pamela Briggs on vocals as well!) It sounds as though the sessions were great fun and produced a mellow laid back album that presents a different side of Watanabe's playing.

Sadao Watanabe - Pastoral (1969) {2014 Japan Jazz Collection 1000 Columbia-RCA Series SICP 4231}
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© 1969, 2014 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICP 4231
Jazz / Post Bop / Fusion / World / Modal Music / Saxophone

Reissue with the latest DSD remastering. Comes with liner notes. A record as evocative as its title – part of a great flowering of talent from Japanese reedman Sadao Watanabe at the end of the 60s! Sadao started his career out as a hell of a bopper, then moved into some sweet Brazilian modes in the 60s – but by the time of this record, he was really emerging with a great vision of his own – a way of opening up in these longer, more lyrical ways on alto, soprano sax, and flute – with styles that were very different than any American or European players of the time!

A key fusion set from Sadao Watanabe a record that has him moving away from some of the bolder tones of the early 70s, into warmly soulful territory that would him him find a much bigger international audience! The album's still got a nice sharp edge, though as it's recorded in that key Japanese fusion stretch of the late 70s a time when the overseas scene was digging some of the best elements from American electric jazz, and putting them together with a style that was clean, lean, and still plenty soulful. Watanabe's reeds get some great help here from American players who include Dave Grusin on Fender Rhodes, Lee Ritenour on guitar, Oscar Brashear on trumpet, and Ernie Watts on tenor and rhythms feature tight drums from Harvey Mason, plus extra percussion from Paulinho Da Costa.