Jiro Inagaki - 1974 - Funky Stuff

Jiro Inagaki

1974 

Funky Stuff

01. Painted Paradise

02. Funky Motion

03. Breeze

04. Scratch

05. Funky Stuff

06. One For Jiro

07. Gentle Wave

08. Four Up

Electric Piano – Hiromasa Suzuki

Drums – Hajime Ishimatsu

Electric Bass – Akira Okazawa

Guitar – Hiroshi Yasukawa

Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Flute, Producer – Jiro Inagaki

Trombone – Takashi Imai

Recorded on August, 1974.

Released on January, 1975.

I recently found this album and it is quite rare from what I can find out about it. The album was recently reprinted on CD, but due to its limited release in Japan it is very hard to find. It's hard to put this album in any one genre because it has elements of funk, jazz, and other crossover elements. There is an instrumental cover of Kool & the Gang's "Funky Stuff" which is quite memorable and would fall firmly in the funk genre. Yet, tunes like "Breeze" and "Gentle Wave" sound like they belong on a Bob James album in that they are so heavily dominated by the use of the Fender Rhodes piano. Even when the horns come in they are so uncharacteristic of funk and that's what gives this album its multi-genre aspect. The tune "One for Jiroh" is a reworking of the jazz standard "I Remember Clifford," and while I couldn't find any info on this, it is quite possible Jiro lost a musician friend close to him ("I Remember Clifford" and its various reworkings seem to serve this purpose). In my own opinion, the most memorable track is "Four Up" which closes the album. Rhythmically and harmonically it reminds me a lot of Herbie Hancock's famous chart "Chameleon" and is a great solo vehicle for solos on saxophone and trombone. From what I could find on him, Jiro Inagaki was a saxophonist who was associated with jazz-rock and other hybrid genres of the late 60s-early 70s. If you like 70s Maynard Ferguson, Bob James and other types of mellow jazz-funk, you would probably enjoy this album.