(2021) VA – J Jazz Volume 3 : Deep Modern Jazz from Japan


Review:
Compiled by jazz aficionados Tony Higgins and Mike Peden, BBE’s J Jazz: Deep Modern Jazz from Japan continues the work of celebrating the music of Japan’s rich jazz history. For the third installment of the series, Peden, Higgins, and the BBE crew continue to peel back even more musical layers, unearthing private pressings and rare cuts. The album opens with Yasuhiro Kohno Trio + One’s ambitious composition “Song of Island.” Kohno sets the stage with some furious and abstract playing, gliding up and down the keyboard with passion and intricate virtuosity before launching into the tune’s delightfully melodic main theme. Kohsuke Mine’s “Morning Tide” comes out swinging with hardcore bop soloing and interplay. Hideo Shiraki’s “Groovy Samba” and Hiroshi Murakami & Dancing Sphinx’s ecstatic jazz-funk groover “Phoebus” round it all out, adding to the wide stylistic range of the album. J Jazz Volume 3: Deep Modern Jazz from Japan is a gift to listeners, and further proof of the richness and diversity of Japanese jazz. Mastered at the Grammy-nominated Carvery studio in London, many of the tracks featured are reissued for the first time, including mega-rare private press cuts from the YasuhiroKohno Trio, Masaru Imada Trio, and Hideyasu Terakawa Quartet. There’s heavy post modal bop by J Jazz legends Kohsuke Mine and Koichi Matsukaze; samba heat from Tatsuya Nakamura, Hideo Shiraki and Seiichi Nakamura; and funky dance floor energy by Hiroshi Murakami, Ryojiro Furusawa Quartet and Shigeharu Mukai.





Tracklist:
01. Yasuhiro Kohno Trio + One - Song of Island
02. Kohsuke Mine - Morning Tide
03. Masao Nakajima Quartet - Kemo Sabe
04. Hideo Shiraki - Groovy Samba
05. Aki Takase Trio - Song for Hope
06. Eiji Nakamura - Cumorah
07. Hiroshi Murakami & Dancing Sphinx - Phoebus
08. Tatsuya Nakamura - ¼ Samba II
09. Shigeharu Mukai - Cumulonimbus
10. Masaru Imada Trio + 1 - Planets
11. Katsuyuki Itakura Trio - Honey Sanba
12. Hideyasu Terakawa Quartet - Black Nile (feat. Hiroshi Fujii)
13. Koichi Matsukaze Trio - Acoustic Chicken (feat. Ryojiro Furusawa)


Media Report:
Genre: Jazz
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits