Toshinori Kondo & IMA - 1984 - Taihen

Toshinori Kondo & IMA 

1984

Taihen

1 タイヘン = Taihen 7:42

2 ザ・デイ・アフター = The Day After 6:36

3 高雄Blue =Takao Blue 5:59

4 花祭 = A Song For Buddha 7:11

5 オイワケ = Oiwake 5:42

6 オハラ・ショースケ = Shosuke-San 7:22

Backing Vocals [Background Vocal] – Rika Tanaka, Fusako Fujimoto*

Drums – Cecil Monroe

Electric Bass, Voice, Guiro [Güiro] – Rodney Drummer

Electric Guitar – Taizo Sakai, Yoshinori Teramae

Electric Guitar – Reck

Percussion – Kiyohiko Semba

Tape – Bill Laswell

Trumpet, Vocals, Instruments [Little Instrument] – Toshinori Kondo

When a Trumpet Decides to Start a Riot

Ah, Taihen. The title alone is a punchline waiting to happen. In Japanese, "taihen" can mean "very" (as in very good, very bad, or very much), but it most commonly translates to something like "terrible," "disastrous," or "what a mess!" Imagine naming your debut album "Oh No!" or "Big Trouble." That's the kind of bold, self-aware humor that Toshinori Kondo brought to his music—avant-garde jazz fusion that sounds like it's gleefully causing chaos while winking at you. Released in 1984 on Polydor in Japan, this album marks the explosive birth of Kondo's band IMA, a group that fused free jazz squeals, funk grooves, rock riffs, and enough electric trumpet wizardry to make Miles Davis spill his coffee. It's energetic, electronically charged, and occasionally unhinged, like a polite Japanese tea ceremony interrupted by a heavy metal band crashing through the shoji screens.

Let's dive in, with all the reverence this cult oddity deserves—and a healthy dose of snark, because listening to Kondo's trumpet wail over funky basslines feels like being tickled by a swarm of electric eels.

The Man Who Blew Up the Trumpet

Toshinori Kondo (1948–2020) was born in Imabari, a quiet city on Japan's Shikoku island, where the biggest excitement was probably the annual citrus festival. He picked up the trumpet at age 12 in his school band, because nothing says "rebellion" like joining the brass section. By 1967, he was at Kyoto University, befriending percussionists and diving into experimental sounds. But Japan felt too insular for Kondo—he wanted universal chaos. In 1978, he bolted to New York, plunging into the downtown avant-garde scene like a trumpet-shaped torpedo.

There, he collaborated with everyone who mattered in noisy circles: Derek Bailey, John Zorn, Peter Brötzmann, Henry Kaiser, and especially Bill Laswell (who'd later mix Taihen). Kondo became famous for his electric trumpet—not just amplified, but processed through effects pedals until it sounded like a sci-fi laser beam having an identity crisis. He lived tri-continentally (Tokyo, New York, Amsterdam), played with DJ Krush, formed short-lived supergroups, and even dipped into industrial and hip-hop. Sadly, he passed in 2020 at 71, leaving behind a legacy of boundary-pushing that made traditional jazz purists clutch their pearls.

In 1984, back in Japan after years abroad, Kondo founded IMA (sometimes glossed as International Music Activities, but really just a cool acronym for his revolving crew). Taihen was their debut: a statement album where Kondo dragged American funk rhythms and Japanese sensibilities into a jazz-rock blender. It was his way of saying, "I'm home, and I'm about to make things taihen."

Recorded and mixed in 1984 at Sedic Studio in Tokyo, Taihen is pure analog warmth with a digital-edge twist (thanks to Kondo's effects). Produced by Kondo himself alongside Masa Marumo, with mixing duties handled by Bill Laswell (yes, that Laswell, the bass god and ambient dub maestro) and Seigen Ono. It's stereo all the way, originally released on vinyl (Polydor 28MX 2503), cassette, and even a rare promo CD in Japan. International versions trickled out in Germany and the Netherlands in 1985, with reissues popping up as late as 2020 on fancy remastered UHQCDs.

Personnel (the ragtag crew causing all this delightful trouble):

Toshinori Kondo: Trumpet (electric and processed to hell), vocals (occasional shouts and scats for extra flair)

Cecil Monroe: Drums (solid, funky backbone—think he could moonlight in a disco band)

Rodney Drummer: Electric bass, güiro (slapping those low-end grooves like he's auditioning for Parliament-Funkadelic)

Electric Guitars: Reck, Taizo Sakai, Yoshinori Teramae (layered riffs that veer from crunchy rock to jazzy stabs)

Kiyohiko Semba: Percussion (adding exotic shakes and rattles)

Backing Vocals: Rika Tanaka, Fusako Fujimoto (soulful touches that humanize the mayhem)

Six tracks, clocking in around 40 minutes—perfect length for an album that hits like a caffeine overdose.

What Does It Actually Sound Like? (Spoiler: Gloriously Bonkers)

Picture this: It's 1984. Reagan's in office, synth-pop rules the radio, and here's Kondo blasting an electric trumpet that squeals, wails, and warps like a possessed elephant trunk. Backed by a tight funk-rock band, he turns jazz fusion into something feral. Opener "Taihen" kicks off with groovy bass and drums, then Kondo's trumpet erupts—processed echoes, delays, and overblows that sound like he's arguing with the instrument. It's funky (think Herbie Hancock's Headhunters era), but with free-jazz tantrums thrown in for good measure. The guitars chug like early Red Hot Chili Peppers, but smarter and less frat-boy.

"The Day After" has a post-nuclear vibe—slinky bass, percussive clatter, trumpet lines that spiral into abstraction. "Takao Blue" slows it down with melancholic melodies, proving Kondo could be lyrical when he wasn't summoning demons. "A Song For Buddha" is the spiritual high point: meditative grooves undercut by wild solos, like chanting monks invaded by a rock band. "Oiwake" incorporates traditional Japanese folk elements (oiwake is a style of bluesy folk singing), blending them with fusion—culture clash done right. Closer "Shosuke-San" explodes into full-band frenzy, with backing vocals adding soulful hype.

Humorously, this album feels like Kondo asked, "What if Miles Davis went to a Tokyo disco and got into a fight with a guitar hero?" It's danceable in parts (those basslines slap), but the trumpet freakouts ensure no one's actually dancing—they're too busy wondering if their speakers are broken. Energetic? Yes. Cohesive? Mostly. Alienating to jazz purists? Absolutely, and that's the fun part.

Crickets, Cult Followers, and Occasional Cheers

Upon release, Taihen was... noticed, but not exactly a chart-topper. In Japan, it got some play in fusion circles, but mainstream audiences probably went, "Taihen desu ne!" (What a disaster!) and stuck to their pop idols. Internationally? Even more underground. Piero Scaruffi called it a rock-backed trumpet experiment, lumping it with Kondo's wilder works. Blogs and YouTube rips (the title track has a loyal slowed-down fanbase) praise its energy, calling it "electrically charged avant-fusion."

On sites like RateYourMusic (where it hovers around a solid but niche 3.5/5 from a few hundred ratings), fans dig its boldness, while detractors whine about the "dated" '80s production. No major reviews in Rolling Stone or anything— this was cult territory from day one. Bill Laswell's mixing touch gave it that downtown NYC polish, but it remained a hidden gem for crate-diggers.

The Trouble That Echoed Onward

Taihen launched IMA proper, leading directly to 1985's Metal Position (even heavier, more industrial). It showcased Kondo's shift toward accessible(ish) fusion without selling out his improv roots. His later work—blowouts with Brötzmann, ambient collabs with Laswell, even Tibetan-inspired electric trumpet—owes a debt to this album's fearless genre-mashing.

In 2026 hindsight, Taihen is a time capsule of '80s experimentation: when jazz, funk, rock, and effects pedals collided in glorious messiness. It's influential in niche scenes (Japanese fusion revivalists, electric trumpet nerds), and reissues keep it alive for new generations discovering Kondo via YouTube rabbit holes. Legacy score: Not world-changing like Bitches Brew, but a delightful "what the hell was that?" artifact that reminds us music doesn't always need to be safe.

If you're into adventurous fusion (Mahavishnu Orchestra fans, apply here) or just want something to blast when your neighbors deserve a little taihen, hunt down a reissue. Kondo's trumpet may cause temporary hearing weirdness, but the grins it'll induce? Priceless.

Highly recommended—with earplugs and a sense of humor.