Friday, November 5, 2021

Pat Martino - 1970 - Desperado

Pat Martino
1970
Desperado



01. Blackjack
02. Dearborn Walk
03. Oleo
04. Desperado
05. A Portrait Of Diana
06. Express

Drums, Bells – Sherman Ferguson
Electric Bass – Tyrone Brown
Electric Piano – Eddie Green
Soprano Saxophone – Eric Kloss (tracks: 1)
Twelve-String Guitar – Pat Martino




Guitarist Pat Martino's first five recordings as a leader were made for the Prestige label, and this one (the fifth) has been reissued on CD by Original Jazz Classics. Martino performs Sonny Rollins' "Oleo" and five of his originals, using the 12-string guitar. The rhythm section (keyboardist Eddie Green, electric bassist Tyrone Brown, and drummer Sherman Ferguson) is funky in spots, electric, and swinging when called for. Eric Kloss makes a guest appearance on soprano for the opening "Blackjack," but otherwise, most of the focus is on Martino's consistently inventive playing.

A key album in the shift in Pat Martino's sound at the end of the 60s -- with one foot in the soul jazz camp in which he got his start, and the other in the freer, open-minded style he used a lot in the 70s!

For Pat Martino, this is a pretty wankerish set. It was recorded in 1970 but for some reason it sounds like it easily could have been from the late '70s or early '80s, kind of a premonition of overblown fusion to come. It's kind of surprising, because Martino usually displays great taste and restraint in his work, but the level of subtlety here is limited to one song, the so-so ballad "A Portrait of Diana". The pedal effects on Martino's guitar (which is played past the point of exhaustion on several tracks), the inclusion of electric pianist Eddie Green, and the busy drumming of Sherman Ferguson all make Desperado sound like a knock-off of late-period Return To Forever, even though this session preceded that band's eventual sound by several years. There is plenty of energy, but the songs lack the spiritual depth one is accustomed to from Martino, and aren't all that memorable besides.

Pat Martino - 1968 - East!

Pat Martino 
1968
East!




01. East
02. Trick
03. Close Your Eyes
04. Park Avenue Petite
05. Lazy Bird

Pat Martino – Guitar
Eddie Green – Piano
Ben Tucker – Bass, Tambourine
Tyrone Brown – Bass (on East)
Lenny McBrowne – Drums

Recorded January 8, 1968 in New York City, NY


Despite the title and the cover of this CD reissue (which makes it appear that the performances are greatly influenced by music of the Far East), the style played by guitarist Pat Martino's quartet is very much in the hard bop tradition. Martino was already developing his own sound and is in excellent form with pianist Eddie Green, drummer Lenny McBrowne, and either Ben Tucker or Tyrone Brown on bass during two group originals, Benny Golson's "Park Avenue Petite," John Coltrane's "Lazy Bird," and the standard "Close Your Eyes." It's a good example of Pat Martino's playing in his early period.

Thursday, November 4, 2021

Pat Martino - 1968 - Baiyina (The Clear Evidence)

Pat Martino
1968 
Baiyina (The Clear Evidence)




01. Baiyina 11:54
02. Where Love's A Grown Up God 6:35
03. Israfel 6:18
04. Distant Land 13:08

Alto Saxophone, Flute – Gregory Herbert
Bass – Richard Davis
Drums – Charlie Persip
Guitar [Second] – Bobby Rose
Guitar – Pat Martino
Tabla – Reggie Ferguson
Tambura – Balakrishna

Recorded in New York; June 11, 1968. A psychedelic excursion through the magical mysteries of the Koran.



Martino’s third album on the Prestige label is probably his first major contribution to modal indo-jazz fusion as a guitarist, though the Indian-born John Mayer was a also contemporary and working with Joe Harriott in London. Though electric guitar in jazz was not exactly new (I can think of Belgian René Thomas), Martino is contemporary to Wes Montgomery and earlier than George Benson, let alone the McLaughlin or Coryell. Recorded over a single day at the beginning of the NY summer of 68, Baiyina is thought to be “a psychedelic excursion though the magical mysteries of the Koran”, whatever that means, but it sports the subtitles The Clear Evidence, which might not be obvious to everyone at first hear.

So the album is a typical fusion product of its time, and even if the word “psychedelic” is more associated with rock music, its jazz equivalent might just sound like the present album, mainly due to the transient presence of tamboura and tabla drums. The Indian music part of this album is more to do the spiritual side of things and complexities of the music (both in scales and time signatures), rather than drug use usually associated with psychedelics.

Clearly, Baiyina is a groundbreaking foray in Indo-jazz fusion, and maybe even one of the precursors in the territory.

Baiyina is quite different from Pat Martino's debut release, El Hombre the year before. For starters it's an acquired taste. Things get pretty trippy as the album cover suggests. There's still some flute but the organ is absent and the tabla is thrown into the mix. The music is a conceptual suite related to the Koran with quite a variety of time signatures. Gregory Herbert reminds me of John Handy when he plays the alto sax, instead of the flute. Bassist Richard Davis is amazing as usual. I thought that Pat Martino would have to change his style significantly to match the theme but amazingly enough he is able to blend Eastern themes with the Blues to achieve the psychedelic feel he wanted.

Pat Martino - 1967 - Strings!

Pat Martino
1967
Strings!



01. Strings 5:57
02. Minority 9:20
03. Lean Years 8:37
04. Mom 7:20
05. Querido 6:07

Bass – Ben Tucker
Drums – Walter Perkins
Flute – Joe Farrell
Guitar – Pat Martino
Percussion – Dave Levin (tracks: 1), Ray Appleton (tracks: 1)
Piano – Cedar Walton
Tenor Saxophone – Joe Farrell

Recorded in New York City, October 2, 1967.




I’ve been on the lookout for snippets of Pat Martino ever since my college years. Once there was a guy in college who asked me about my favorite jazz guitar players. When I mentioned that one of them was Pat Martino the guy, a sophomore guitarist, sneered: “O, that single-line player.” I’m glad I’ve never seen that guy since, I need him as a hole in the head. He’s probably drooling over the umteenth remastering of Kind Of Blue. So very sound.

Naturally, Mr. Kind Of Blue had every right to his own particular tastes. Yet, in denouncing Martino as merely a player with a ‘lineair conception’, he obviously was oblivious to the emotional effect of Martino’s approach; and furthermore traded objective critique for subjectivism. Because surely it would be hard to find a Pat Martino record or side date on which the single-line maestro omits Wes Montgomery-style octave playing.

It’s there on Strings!, Martino’s second album on Prestige in 1967; particularly in Minority, Gigi Gryce’s Impressions-type composition, a driving piece in which Martino’s pyrotechnical, flowing statements create a whirlwind of ecstatic feelings. And pianist Cedar Walton is in fine enough form to follow this up with perhaps a just as impressive solo.

One would expect a breather after this, but what follows in the footsteps of Minority, Lean Years, is the same type of tune, but less interesting compositionally, and a bit crudely formed. It doesn’t seduce us enough to take heed of the solo’s.

Two more originals encompass the start and finish of the guitarist’s endearing follow-up to his debut on Prestige El Hombre. Opener and title track Strings! is a real treat. It consists of a smooth, effective Latin rhythm made up off drums and percussion and a joyful theme flavoured with thrilling breaks, stated by Joe Farrell’s flute and Martino’s guitar, that intelligently alternates between licks and chords. Reedman Farrell proves to be a proficient flutist and Martino an astute improviser, not interested in virtuosity for virtuosity’s sake, but instead in what it brings about as concerned to feeling.

Strings! is the most enjoyable tune of the album, but Querido, the last track, has the same Latin-American atmosphere and is also worthwhile. Mom is a slow mood piece that basically revolves around three chords, in which not much is happening until the third minute, when Martino follows up ebullient romantic with hard speed phrases. Other ballad work of Martino of this kind comes to mind, such as his contribution to Embraceable You from Don Patterson’s Four Dimensions. Martino’s comprehension of balladry is striking.

Early Martino was a striking period. With or without single lines.

Pat Martino - 1967 - El Hombre

Pat Martino
1967
El Hombre



01. Waltz For Geri 6:20
02. Once I Loved 5:35
03. El Hombre 5:50
04. Cisco 4:00
05. One For Rose 5:40
06. A Blues For Mickey-O 8:00
07. Just Friends 5:45

Bongos – Vance Anderson
Congas – Abdu Johnson
Drums – Mitch Fine
Flute – Danny Turner
Guitar – Pat Martino
Organ – Trudy Pitts

Producer – Cal Lampley
Recorded By – Rudy Van Gelder




What a journey this hombre has had. The man in question, Italian-American guitarist Pat Martino, as it has been often reported, fought through a series of severe predicaments throughout his career. After undergoing diverse medical treatments, he resiliently baby-stepped his way back in the music business. He has since catered to his creative force and connected it to others' in live and recorded performances and by getting involved in music education. Martino was still a young man when he released El Hombre, his first solo effort for the late Bob Weinstock's Prestige label. Forty years later, Concord has reissued the original 1967 soul-jazz session with an additional track.

El Hombre is a blowing affair. It mainly features the guitarist, who even takes two solos on some tracks; organist Trudy Pitts and flutist Danny Turner take few, succinct outings. The influence of Wes Montgomery (introduced to Martino by label owner and fellow Philadelphian Joel Dorn) is evident throughout the record, and so is the kinship with George Benson. He plays long bouncy eighth-note lines and verbatim ideas interspersed with high-register double-stops and bluesy slides—flawlessly, using a similar tone and approach.

The title track captures the vibe of the era well. The brisk, almost trance-inducing flux of percussion rhythms, organ riffs and lengthy improvisations are reminiscent of the trippy dance gyrations and tie-dyed psychedelic swirls the late '60s are known for. "Jazz for Deadheads" might be a not-so-serious way of describing it.

Most compositions here are dedications. "A Blues For Mickey-O is a straight-ahead walking blues for the guitarist's performer-father, Carmen Azzara (pka Mickey Martino). It offers an opportunity for jazz guitar cognoscenti to hear Martino comp. The decision to cover Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Once I Loved as a cha-cha may have stemmed from producer Cal Lampley (the late pianist, critic, radio host and Columbia Records producer led an orchestra known for its recording of "red hot cha-chas). Martino shares the spotlight with Pitts on the other standard, "Just Friends, both swinging hard behind drummer Mitch Fine's shrill ride cymbal work. The previously unreleased "Song For My Mother, an evasive ballad, closes the record with an inspired Wes-like octaves solo.

As the CD player stopped, and silence slowly crept in, a thought came to my mind: - it hardly gets better than this, namely with 1st albums.

Exposed to Jazz at an early age by a father who used to sing in clubs, briefly learned guitar with Eddie Lang and carried Pat to guitar lessons as soon as he recognized some talented in his son around age 12, and having honed his craft as a side man for Jack McDuff and Don Patterson among others, Pat already owned a rich and distinctive vocabulary at 22, when he entered the studio to record “El Hombre”.

That the 1st instrument he felt in love with was the trumpet, also shows in his style, using spaces to breath as horn players do, instead of debiting uninterrupted flows of notes like many guitarists tend to do, but similarly shows the effect caused by Wes Montgomery, whom Pat had been introduced to by his father as a youngster, and whose album “Grooveyard” he’d later wear out, and although tribute album The Visit! is still years away, it’s an influence he won’t disguise.

On the other hand, and unlike others who had to immerse themselves in the music or search for Native partners, Pat wears his Latin, Flamenco and Afro-Cuban influences naturally, as a result of his exposition to the Spanish and Puerto Rican neighborhoods of his native Philadelphia; to further stress that vibe, he beefed up his team of percussionists, which besides drummer Mitch Fine, include Abdu Johnson and Vance Anderson on congas and bongos. Furthermore, and although he borrowed Jobim’s “Once I loved” – giving it a heartfelt treatment – many of his compositions (he’s the author of the remainder except for the last track) lend themselves perfectly to be infected with a Latin vibe, as either the waltz-y “Waltz for Geri” or the Hard swing of “One for Rose”; also amazing, is the enviable dynamism that allows him to keep the flame shining bright during long solos (“Waltz for Geri”), effortlessly renewing the drive on the ternary pulsating Funky drive of “El Hombre” or on the Hard Bop modulations of the standard “Just Friends”.

Pat’s connection with organ combo’s is translated with the inclusion of organ player Trudy Pitts, who accompanies him throughout the album with a contained but enfolding performance, mellow or abrasive but always with a disconcerting velvet touch; Blues seems to be her idiom of choice as she puts her captivating style to good use on the relaxed swinging mid tempo of the 12 bar blues “A Blues for Mickey-O” , but the way she injects adrenalin on the brisk “Just friends” proves she’s a girl of many talents.

Flute player Danny Turner is the sixth element, enlarging the sound spectrum on a trio of tracks, soaring gracefully on the intense “One for Rose”, building ravishing unisons with the guitar on the title track thus making the alternating rhythm parts stand out with extra impact or just bookending Pat’s articulate and sensitive solo, stating “Cisco” Bluesy theme dexterously, along with the guitar.

Perfectly balanced, without a single weak moment and a never waning vitality, Pat’s debut is a criminally forgotten jewel.

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Tatsuya Takahashi & Tokyo Union Orchestra - 1973 - The Rock Seasons

Tatsuya Takahashi & Tokyo Union Orchestra
1973
The Rock Seasons




01. Ga = 雅
02. Kan = 寒
03. Kai = 解
04. Ho = 萌
05. Kai = 開
06. Ketsu = 結
07. Ju = 授
08. Sei = 盛
09. Kyoku = 極
10. I = 移
11. Jitsu = 実
12. Ju-Sei = 充・静
13. Introduction = イントロダクション
14. The Black Spot = ファイブ・ブラック・スポット
15. Wax And Wane = ワックス・アンド・ウエイン
16. First Fast = ファースト・ファースト

Arranged By, Written By – Kiyoshi Yamaya

Guitar – Tsunehide Matsuki
Leader, Tenor Saxophone – Tatsuya Takahashi
Performer – Tatsuya Takahashi & Tokyo Union Orchestra



Lead by saxophonist Tatsuya Takahashi, The Rock Seasons is basically instrumental electric big band music. There's a minor fuzz edge here, but in principle, this is rock music for the coat and tie set. The themes are decidedly mid 60s, and one could hear this as being a soundtrack to a frivolous film of that era. Being a former stage band performer myself, music like this can be challenging to play, and the horn charts are often complicated. It's all a bit of good fun though, and truth be told, there isn't a whole a lot of this kind of music on the open market.

Like many Japanese rock albums from the early 70s, The Rock Seasons is about as common as finding government employees working on official holidays.

This was one of the last CDRWL submissions from the AC (early 2015), who has gone missing since. We definitely miss his contributions - not just to that blog, but to my overall knowledge. Come back man!

His comments are: "Late saxophonist and band leader Takahashi appeared on about a million different recordings in his heyday, but seems to be most known outside of Japan for some of his mid 70s work on the Three Blind Mice label. From my perspective however, his most interesting work might be this obscure set recorded with his Tokyo Union big band during the height of Japan's "New Rock" era of major label experimentation. There's some kind of seasonal/elemental theme going on here, but it's not too relevant honestly, as what we're presented with is a fun sequence of instrumental electric big band/jazz rock pieces that are propelled along by melodic sax/flute, tight horn charts, groovy bass lines and even the occasional fuzz/wah guitar lick. Lacks the depth and atmosphere of a contemporaneous work like Toshiyuki Miyama's "Tsuchi no Ne", but is quite an entertaining listen nonetheless."

If someone could help me out with the names of the orchestra members, i would surely appreciate it!

Kiyoshi Yamaya - 1976 - Tsugaru Osore-Zan

Kiyoshi Yamaya
1976
Tsugaru Osore-Zan




01. 恐山 / Osore - Zan
02. じょんがらの里 / Jongara No Sato

Composed By, Conductor – 山屋清 (Kiyoshi Yamaya)

Kiyoshi Yamaya & Contemporary Sound Orchestra:
Bass – Kimio Koizumi, Kunimitsu Inaba
Drums – Kanji Harada, Kazuyoshi Okayama
Guitar – Kiyoshi Sugimoto
Percussion [Latin Percussion] – Tadaomi Anai
Piano – Hiromu Hisatomi, Keisuke Egusa, Minoru Kuribayashi
Tenor Saxophone – Jake H. Concepcion
Trombone – Tadataka Nakazawa, Yoshitsugu Nishimura
Trumpet – Takehisa Suzuki, Tetsuo Fushimi
Vibraphone – Isao Kanayama, Kazuo Yoshikawa

+

Biwa – 平山万佐子 (Masako Hirayama) (tracks: 1)
Shakuhachi – 三橋貴風 (Kifu Mitsuhashi) (tracks: 2), 郡川直樹 (Naoki Korikawa) (tracks: 1)
Shamisen – 沢田勝秋 (Katsuaki Sawada) (tracks: 2)
Taiko – 畑中健三 (Kenzo Hatanaka) (tracks: 1), 瀬上養之助 (Yonosuke Segami) (tracks: 1), 林あきら (Akira Hayashi.) (tracks: 1)




Kiyoshi Yamaya - 1976 - Ryukyu

Kiyoshi Yamaya
1976
Ryukyu




01. Ryukyu Miyabi = 琉球みやび
02. Ryukyu No Umi = 琉球の海
03. Ryukyu No Sora = 琉球の空
04. Ryukyu No Matsuri = 琉球の祭

Composed By, Conductor – 山屋清 (Kiyoshi Yamaya)

Kiyoshi Yamaya & Contemporary Sound Orchestra:
Bass – Kimio Koizumi, Kunimitsu Inaba
Drums – Kanji Harada, Kazuyoshi Okayama
Guitar – Kiyoshi Sugimoto
Percussion [Latin Percussion] – Tadaomi Anai
Piano – Hiromu Hisatomi, Keisuke Egusa, Minoru Kuribayashi
Tenor Saxophone – Jake H. Concepcion
Trombone – Tadataka Nakazawa, Yoshitsugu Nishimura
Trumpet – Takehisa Suzuki, Tetsuo Fushimi
Vibraphone – Isao Kanayama, Kazuo Yoshikawa
Koto – 山内喜美子 (Kimiko Yamanouchi)
Shamisen – 豊寿 (Toyohisa)
Taiko – 林あきら (Akira Hayashi)



The Shamisen or Samisen (三味線, literally means; "three flavor strings"), is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi. All Maiko are taught in playing a multitude of traditional songs and tunes. The Japanese pronunciation is usually "shamisen" but sometimes "jamisen" when used as a suffix (e.g., Tsugaru-jamisen). (In western Japan, and often in Edo-period sources, it is sometimes "samisen.")

A really unusual set from the Japanese scene of the 70s – and a record that represents some of the higher pinnacles of their recording technology at the time! The songs here are billed as "Japanese traditional melodies by PCM Recording Systems" – and they are hardly traditional at all – as after an initial orchestral part, they they mix funky jazz with larger strings on side one – almost a blend of Kudu Records and Philly International! Side two has a bit more traditional Japanese instrumentation at the start, but again with a more modern setting – then moves again into some nice funky fusion elements, then blends the two by the end of the record!

A lovely album by Kiyoshi Yamaya from 1976, re-issued for Japanese Record Store Day 2021. 'Ryukyu = 琉球 ' mixes Japanese min'yō (Japanese Folk Music) with jazz, funk, and other genres. Well, recommended!

Kiyoshi Yamaya - 1976 - KYO

Kiyoshi Yamaya
1976 
KYO


01. 古都 = Koto
02. 京 祇園 わらべうた = Kyo Gion Warabe-Uta

Kiyoshi Yamaya & Contemporary Sound Orchestra:
Bass – Kimio Koizumi, Kunimitsu Inaba
Drums – Kanji Harada, Kazuyoshi Okayama
Guitar – Kiyoshi Sugimoto
Percussion [Latin Percussion] – Tadaomi Anai
Piano – Hiromu Hisatomi, Keisuke Egusa, Minoru Kuribayashi
Tenor Saxophone – Jake H. Concepcion
Trombone – Tadataka Nakazawa, Yoshitsugu Nishimura
Trumpet – Takehisa Suzuki, Tetsuo Fushimi
Vibraphone – Isao Kanayama, Kazuo Yoshikawa




Kiyoshi Yamaya & Yoshio Nakagawa - 1977 - Debussy World In Shinobue

Kiyoshi Yamaya & Yoshio Nakagawa
1977
Debussy World In Shinobue




01. グラドス・アド・パルナムル博士 (Doctor Gradus Ad Parnassum)
02. 像の子守唄 (Jimbos Lullaby)
03. 人形へのセレナード (Serenade For The Doll)
04. 雪は踊っている (Snow Is Dancing)
05. 小さい羊飼 (The Little Shepherd)
06. ゴチウォグのケーク・ウォーク (Golliwog's Cake-Walk)
07. 夢 (Réverie)
08. 月の光 (Clair De Lune)
09. 亜麻色の髪の乙女 (La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin)
10. 牧神の午後への前奏曲 (Prélude A L'après-Midi D'un Faune)

Arranged By, Conductor – Kiyoshi Yamaya
Composed By – Claude Achille Debussy*
Ensemble – Kiyoshi Yamaya & Contemporary Sound Orchestra

Kiyoshi Yamaya & Contemporary Sound Orchestra:
Bass – Kimio Koizumi, Kunimitsu Inaba
Drums – Kanji Harada, Kazuyoshi Okayama
Guitar – Kiyoshi Sugimoto
Percussion [Latin Percussion] – Tadaomi Anai
Piano – Hiromu Hisatomi, Keisuke Egusa, Minoru Kuribayashi
Tenor Saxophone – Jake H. Concepcion
Trombone – Tadataka Nakazawa, Yoshitsugu Nishimura
Trumpet – Takehisa Suzuki, Tetsuo Fushimi
Vibraphone – Isao Kanayama, Kazuo Yoshikawa

+
Shinobue – Yoshio Nakagawa

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Kiyoshi Yamaya - 1984 - Exotic Sound on The Synthesizer - Journey Through the Orient

Kiyoshi Yamaya
1984
Exotic Sound on The Synthesizer - Journey Through the Orient



01. Prologue; Beautiful Japan
02. Journey
03. Esashi Oiwake
04. Mogamigawa Funa-Uta
05. Oshima Bushi
06. Kaigara Bushi
07. Kariboshi Kiri Uta
08. Nishinjo Bushi - Asadoya Yunta - Tanchame
09. Torah - Ariran
10. Riyansen Inui
11. Sampa Guita
12. Gamelan
13. After Noon
14. Coming Home
15. Epilogue; Epoch Of Japan

Kiyoshi Yamaya: Synthesizer



Mega obscure release from the man behind Ryu Kyu and other fine LP's on the DENON label. This time his Japanese sonorities are mixed with retrofuturistic, spacy ambient sounds. Definitely a must have for fans of Shigeo Sekito or Akira Ito.

Toshiko Yonekawa & Kiyoshi Yamaya - 1976 - Tapestry Koto & The Occident Sea

Toshiko Yonekawa & Kiyoshi Yamaya 
1976
Tapestry Koto & The Occident Sea




01. 佐渡おけさ = Sado Okesa
02. 十三の砂山 = Tosa No Sunayama
03. 斉太郎節 = Saitaro-Bushi
04. ソーラン節 = Soran-Bushi
05. 三階節 = Sangai-Bushi
06. 島原の子守唄 = Shimabara No Komoriuta
07. 貝から節 = Kaigara-Bushi
08. 串本節 = Kushimoto-Bushi
09. 金比羅船々 = Konpira Fune Fune
10. 谷茶前 = Tanchame
11. 磯浜盆唄 = Isohama Bon-Uta
12. 大島節 = Oshima-Bushi

Arranged By – Kiyoshi Yamaya
Bass – Kimio Koizumi, Kunimitsu Inaba
Drums – Kanji Harada, Kazuyoshi Okayama
Guitar – Kiyoshi Sugimoto
Koto – Chikatoyo Tsujimoto, Hiroe Yonekawa, Toshiko Yonekawa
Koto [17-String Koto] – Megumi Yonekawa
Percussion [Latin Percussion] – Tadaomi Anai
Piano – Hiromu Hisatomi, Keisuke Egusa, Minoru Kuribayashi
Tenor Saxophone – Jake H. Concepcion
Trombone – Tadataka Nakazawa, Yoshitsugu Nishimura
Trumpet – Takehisa Suzuki, Tetsuo Fushimi
Vibraphone – Isao Kanayama, Kazuo Yoshikawa




Toshiko Yonekawa & Kiyoshi Yamaya - 1976 - Tapestry Koto & The Occident Hillside

Toshiko Yonekawa & Kiyoshi Yamaya
1976
Tapestry Koto & The Occident Hillside




01. 津軽山唄 Tsugaru Yama-uta
02. 竹田の子守唄 Takeda No Komori-uta
03. 最上川舟唄 Mogami-gawa Funa-uta
04. ホーハイ節 Hohai-bushi
05. ひえつき節 Hietsuki-bushi
06. 中国地方の子守唄 Chugoku-chiho No Komori-uta
07. 祖谷の粉ひき唄 Iya No Kohiki-uta
08. 田原坂 Tabaruzaka
09. 木曽節 Kiso-bushi
10. 会津磐梯山 Aizu Bandai-san
11. こきりこ節 Kokiriko-bushi
12. 刈干切唄 Kariboshikiri-uta


Arranged By – Kiyoshi Yamaya
Bass – Kimio Koizumi, Kunimitsu Inaba
Drums – Kanji Harada, Kazuyoshi Okayama
Guitar – Kiyoshi Sugimoto
Koto – Chikatoyo Tsujimoto, Hiroe Yonekawa, Toshiko Yonekawa
Koto [17-String Koto] – Megumi Yonekawa
Percussion [Latin Percussion] – Tadaomi Anai
Piano – Hiromu Hisatomi, Keisuke Egusa, Minoru Kuribayashi
Tenor Saxophone – Jake H. Concepcion
Trombone – Tadataka Nakazawa, Yoshitsugu Nishimura
Trumpet – Takehisa Suzuki, Tetsuo Fushimi
Vibraphone – Isao Kanayama, Kazuo Yoshikawa




Toshiko Yonekawa & Kiyoshi Yamaya - 1976 - Tapestry Koto & The Occident Country

Toshiko Yonekawa & Kiyoshi Yamaya
1976 
Tapestry Koto & The Occident Country




01. よさこい節 = Yosakoi-Bushi
02. 秋田おばこ = Akita Obako
03. 真室川音頭 = Mamuro-Gawa Ondo
04. 相馬盆唄 = Soma Bon-Uta
05. おてもやん = Otemoyan
06. 五木の子守唄 = Itsuki No Komori-Uta
07. 宇目の唄げんか = Ume No Uta-Genka
08. 西武門節 = Nishinjo-Bushi
09. 郡上節 = Gujo-Bushi
10. 八木節 = Yagi-Bushi
11. ぶらぶら節 = Bura Bura-Bushi
12. 黒田節 = Kuroda-Bushi

Arranged By – 山屋清 (Kiyoshi Yamaya)
Drums – 原田寛治 (Kanji Harada), 岡山和義 (Kazuyoshi Okayama)
Electric Bass – 小泉僖美雄 (Kimio Koizumi), 稲葉国光 (Kunimitsu Inaba)
Guitar – 杉本喜代志 (Kiyoshi Sugimoto)
Koto – 米川敏子 (Toshiko Yonekawa)
Koto [十七絃] – 米川めぐみ (Megumi Yonekawa)
Koto [第2琴] – 米川裕枝 (Hiroe Yonekawa)
Koto [第3琴] – 辻本親登代 (Chikatoyo Tsujimoto)
Percussion [Electronic] – 穴井忠臣 (Tadaomi Anai)
Piano – 久富ひろむ (Hiromu Hisatomi), 江草啓介 (Keisuke Egusa), 栗林稔 (Minoru Kuribayashi)
Trombone – 中沢忠孝 (Tadataka Nakazawa), 西村吉次 (Yoshitsugu Nishimura)
Trumpet – 鈴木武久 (Takehisa Suzuki), 伏見哲夫 (Tetsuo Fushimi)
Vibraphone – 金山功 (Isao Kanayama), 吉川一夫 (Kazuo Yoshikawa) , 松崎竜生 (Ryusei Matsuzaki)




Born 1913 in Himeji city, Hyogo prefecture, as the eldest daughter of Yonekawa Kinō (1883-1969). She received lessons of koto and sangen from her father. He was the first Ikuta school koto and sangen player who started artistic activity in Tokyo in Taishō period (1912-1926). He himself was an excellent musician and performed traditional repertoire with a striking accuracy in pitches and rhythms. He was also creative in composition, inventor of the low-registered 13-stringed koto and inventor of new notations for koto and sangen.

Educated by such a creative father, Yonekawa Toshiko showed her progress even while she was a primary school pupil. It was very natural that she performed in a public concert when she was only 8 years old. She was only 12 years old when her performance was broadcast by nation wide radio. In addition to her performing activity, she began to compose. With her initial work Kokemizu ('Water running through moss') (No 1) she showed her talent as composer. Soon after that in 1942 she became recipient of the Education Minister's Award by her work Ohaguruma ('Sacred Palanquin') (No. 10). When she published her epoch-making composition, Chidori to asobu Chieko ('Chieko playing with plovers') (No. 33), in 1953, she was given the Art Festival Prize as Encouragement by the Ministry of Education.

As koto and sangen player, she extracted musical charms from new works written by her contemporaries. The extreme accuracy of intonation and rhythm as well as the unequaled beauty of sonority are well-known as her characteristics. In 1978 she succeeded to the position of iemoto (head of artistic clan) of the Kenso-kai. For these multifaceted activities numerous awards including the Medal with a Purple Ribbon, the Matsuo geino award, the Fourth Class Order, and the Mobil Music Prize were successively offered to her.

Since 1994 as third Iemoto of the Japan Kenso-kai. Designated Living National Treasure in 1996. Since 1997 honorary citizen of the Shinjuku ward in Tokyo, she has been leading her colleagues and students and directing the musical activity of the koto and sangen performers. Her two daughters, Yonekawa Megumi and Yonekawa Hiroe, are very active in the same field as Yonekawa Toshiko and are already highly evaluated for the solidness of musical basis and flexibility in musicality transmitted from their mother.

What can I say about this album... sheer beauty!

Sunday, October 31, 2021

Kifu Mitsuhashi & Kiyoshi Yamaya - 1977 - Komuso World In Shakuhachi

Kifu Mitsuhashi & Kiyoshi Yamaya
1977
Komuso World In Shakuhachi




01. Fuke Jobutsu (普化成仏) I. Yobidake Ukedake (呼竹 受竹)
02. Fuke Jobutsu (普化成仏) II. Tori (通り)
03. Fuke Jobutsu (普化成仏) III. Kado Zuke (門付)
04. Fuke Jobutsu (普化成仏) VI. Hachi Gaeshi (鉢返し)
05. Fuke Jobutsu (普化成仏) V. Yobidake Ukedake (呼竹 受竹)
06. Marobashi-Sugagaki ( 転管垣)
07. Reibo (鈴慕)
08. Mukaiji (霧海)

Composed By, Arranged By, Conductor – Kiyoshi Yamaya (山屋清)

Bass – 稲葉国光 (Kunimitsu Inaba)
Drums – 岡山和義 (Kazuyoshi Okayama)
Guitar – 杉本喜代志 (Kiyoshi Sugimoto), 村上光雄 (Mitsuo Murakami)
Percussion [Latin] – 梅沢弘男
Piano – 久富ひろむ (Hiromu Hisatomi) , 江草啓介 (Keisuke Egusa), 松岡直也 (Naoya Matsuoka)
Vibraphone – 金山功 (Isao Kanayama) , 泉一男 (Izumi Kazuo)
Shakuhachi – Kifu Mitsuhashi (三橋貴風)




Born in Tokyo in 1950, Kifu Mitsuhashi studied Kinko-school shakuhachi with Sofu Sasaki and the classical honkyoku repertoire of the Fuke school with Chikugai Okamoto.

He was awarded the Prize for Excellence by the Agency for Cultural Affairs for his first recital (1980) and the Arts Festival Prize by the same agency for his 1989 solo recital. He was awarded the Osaka Cultural Festival Prize in 1981, the 10th Nakajima Kenzo Music Prize in 1992, the Arts Festival Works Prize for his CD of works by Makoto Moroi, Chikurin Kitan, and the Yokohama Cultural Encouragement Award.

He traveled to Europe as a soloist with the Tokyo Philharmonia in 1994, gaining high acclaim for performances in venues such as the London Festival Hall.

He has also become active as a producer, organising events at the Serbia Expo and Festival Asia. He has given 77 recitals to date overseas, and twenty in Tokyo alone. He holds the qualification of shihan (master) in the Kinko school, and runs his own group for shakuhachi performance, the Kifu Kai.

Japanese folk meets psychedelic jazz ! And the use of the bamboo flute (or shakuhachi) puts me in trance
Kifu Mitsuhashi is playing the shakuhachi, and you’ve got some tasty, heavy breaks too ! And keep in mind that it’s very very rare, even in Japan.

Kifu Mitsuhashi & Kiyoshi Yamaya - 1976 - Shakuhachi (Ballads Of The Village)

Kifu Mitsuhashi & Kiyoshi Yamaya
1976
Shakuhachi (Ballads Of The Village)




01. 花笠音頭 (Hanagasa Ondo)
02. 秋田おばこ (Akita Obako)
03. 相馬盆唄 (Soma Bon-Uta)
04. おてもやん (Otemoyan)
05. 真室川音頭 (Mamuro-Gawa Ondo)
06. 五木の子守唄 (Itsuki No Komori-Uta)
07. よさこい節 (Yosakoi-Bushi)
08. 八木節 (Yagi-Bushi)
09. 郡上節~かわさき~ (Gujo-Bushi ~Kawasaki)
10. 北海盆唄 (Hokkai Bon-Uta)
11. 安里屋ユンタ (Asadoya Yunta)
12. 黒田節 (Kuroda-Bushi)


Arranged By – Kiyoshi Yamaya

Bass – 稲葉国光 (Kunimitsu Inaba)
Drums – 岡山和義 (Kazuyoshi Okayama)
Guitar – 杉本喜代志 (Kiyoshi Sugimoto), 村上光雄 (Mitsuo Murakami)
Percussion [Latin] – 梅沢弘男
Piano – 久富ひろむ (Hiromu Hisatomi) , 江草啓介 (Keisuke Egusa), 松岡直也 (Naoya Matsuoka)
Shakuhachi – Kifu Mitsuhashi
Vibraphone – 金山功 (Isao Kanayama) , 泉一男 (Izumi Kazuo)



Any more info about these sessions would be really appreciated!

Kifu Mitsuhashi & Kiyoshi Yamaya - 1976 - Shakuhachi (Ballads Of The Sea)

Kifu Mitsuhashi & Kiyoshi Yamaya
1976
Shakuhachi (Ballads Of The Sea)



01. 江差追分 (Esashi Oiwake)
02. 大島節 (Oshima Bushi)
03. 佐渡おけさ (Sado Okesa)
04. ソーラン節 (Soran Bushi)
05. 磯浜盆唄 (Isohama Bon Uta)
06. 貝殻節 (Kaigara Bushi)
07. 串本節 (Kushimoto Bushi)
08. 磯節 (Iso Bushi)
09. 斎太郎節 (Saitaro Bushi)
10. 金比羅船々 (Konpira Fune Fune)
11. 十三の砂山 (Tosa No Sunayama)
12. 谷茶前 = (Tanchame)

Arranged By – Kiyoshi Yamaya

Bass – 稲葉国光 (Kunimitsu Inaba)
Drums – 岡山和義 (Kazuyoshi Okayama)
Guitar – 杉本喜代志 (Kiyoshi Sugimoto), 村上光雄 (Mitsuo Murakami)
Percussion [Latin] – 梅沢弘男
Piano – 久富ひろむ (Hiromu Hisatomi) , 江草啓介 (Keisuke Egusa), 松岡直也 (Naoya Matsuoka)
Shakuhachi – Kifu Mitsuhashi
Vibraphone – 金山功 (Isao Kanayama) , 泉一男 (Izumi Kazuo)



Any more info about these sessions would be really appreciated!