Hozan Yamamoto - 2009 - Jazz Box 1967-1986

Hozan Yamamoto

2009

Jazz Box 1967-1986

Shakuhachi & Bossa Nova (1968)

01. Sanosa - 3:12

02. Kiso Bushi - 3:01

03. Hietsuki Bushi - 2:28

04. Komoro Mago Uta - 2:57

05. Kuroda Bushi - 2:41

06. Sanchuu Bushi - 3:25

07. Sado Okesa - 3:14

08. Yosakoi Bushi - 2:27

09. Itsuki no Komori Uta - 2:53

10. Seki no Gohon Matsu - 3:18

11. Sansa Shigure - 2:29

12. Kariboshi Kiri Uta - 3:20

Hozan Yamamoto - shakuhachi

Shungo Sawada - guitar

Takeru Muraoka - saxophone

You Tokuyama - piano

Yoshio Ikeda - bass

Motohiko Hino - drums

Harlem Nocturne (1969)

01. Harlem Nocturne (Hagen) - 2:55

02. Summertime (Gershwin) - 3:02

03. Autumn Leaves (Kosma) - 3:13

04. Night and Day (Porter) - 2:27

05. 'Round Midnight (Monk) - 3:40

06. Lover, Come Back to Me (Romberg) - 2:16

07. Stardust (Carmichael) - 2:59

08. Night in Tunisia (Gillespie-Paparelli) - 2:23

09. Love Letters (Young) - 2:43

10. Blues in the Night (Arlen) - 3:29

11. The Very Thought of You (Noble) - 2:54

12. Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise (Romberg) - 2:25

Shakuhachi Easy Listening (1969)

01. Hey Jude (Lennon-McCartney) - 3:21

02. Twenty-Ten (Cochrane-Hill) - 3:25

03. Light My Fire (Morrison-Densmore-Manzarek-Krieger) - 3:02

04. Amen (Redding) - 2:33

05. I'm Gonna Make You Love Me (Rose-Gamble) - 2:57

06. The Dock of the Bay (Redding-Cropper) - 3:12

07. You Keep Me Hanging On (Holland-Dozier-Holland) - 3:42

08. Little Green Apples (Russell) - 3:17

09. Geraldine (Zerato) - 3:17

10. I Say a Little Prayer (Bacharach-David) - 2:39

11. A Whiter Shade of Pale (Brooker-Reed) - 3:09

12. The Fool on the Hill (Lennon-McCartney) - 2:21

Hozan Yamamoto - shakuhachi

Sadanori Nakamure - guitar

Norio Maeda - harpsichord

Tatsuro Takimoto - bass

Takeshi Inomata - drums

Yonosuke Segami - percussion

Beautiful Bamboo-Flute (1971)

01. Kokiriko Bushi - 4:06

02. Sado Okesa - 3:55

03. Tairyo Utaikomi - 3:16

04. Soma Bon Uta - 2:56

05. Komoro Mago Uta - 3:08

06. Nanbu Ushioi Uta - 3:49

07. Itsuki no Komori Uta - 4:37

08. Hietsuki Bushi - 4:07

09. Yasuki Bushi - 3:38

10. Yosakoi Bushi - 4:09

11. Kuroda Bushi - 4:26

Hozan Yamamoto - shakuhachi

Sharps & Flats - orchestra

Nobuo Hara - conductor

Recorded at Victor Studio, Tokyo on January 11-14, 1971.

Komoro Mago Uta (1974)

01. Shin Souma Bushi - 3:46

02. Kokiriko Bushi - 2:53

03. Awa Odori - 4:19

04. Itsuki no Komori Uta - 2:57

05. Nanbu Yoshare Bushi - 3:17

06. Tosa no Sunayama - 4:01

07. Komoro Mago Uta - 3:33

08. Owase Bushi - 3:03

09. Mugiya Bushi - 3:20

10. Nanbu Ushioi Uta - 3:44

11. Kagoshima Ohara Bushi - 2:52

12. Kushimoto Bushi - 4:06

Hozan, Friesen +1 (1980)

01. Morning Fair (Satoh) - 7:46

02. Skies/Set (Friesen) - 12:29

03. Inori (Prayer) (Yamamoto) - 8:58

04. Landscape (Yamamoto) - 9:23

Hozan Yamamoto - shakuhachi

David Friesen - acoustic bass, shakuhachi (#1)

Masahiko Satoh - piano, electric piano (#1)

Recorded on March 23-24, 1980.

The Shakuhachi (1981)

01. American Patrol (Gray-Whitney) - 3:24

02. In the Mood (Garland-Razaf) - 3:22

03. Little Brown Jug (Trad.) - 3:27

04. Tuxedo Junction (Dash-Hawkins-Johnson-Feyne) - 3:36

05. Moonlight Serenade (Miller-Parish) - 2:35

06. The Shadow of Your Smile (Mandel-Webster) - 3:43

07. Parker's Mood (Pleasure) - 3:43

08. Summertime (Heyward-Gershwin) - 3:49

09. Take the "A" Train (Strayhorn) - 2:47

10. Aranjuez Mon Amour (Rodrigo-Bontempelli) - 4:19

Hozan Yamamoto - shakuhachi

Shakuhachi 1979: Taizan Kawamura, Seizan Ishigaki, Suizan Sakai, Hozan Nomura, Chikuzan Nanba - shakuhachi

Osamu Kitajima, Minoru Kuribayashi - piano

Sadanori Nakamure - electric guitar, acoustic guitar

Masaaki Ito - electric bass

Hajime Ishimatsu, Koji Takeda - drums

Recorded on July 22 - September 17, 1981.

Breath (1984)

01. Breath Prologue (Togashi) - 5:12

02. Joy (Yamamoto) - 9:32

03. Bamboo Holyday (Yamamoto) - 4:52

04. Eastern Ceremony (Togashi) - 7:53

05. Encounter (Yamamoto-Togashi) - 9:31

06. Basic Flight (Yamamoto) - 5:32

07. Rainbow (Yamamoto) - 8:16

08. Breath Epilogue (Togashi) - 2:34

09. Hakone Hachiri (bonus track) - 4:13

10. Midare (bonus track) - 4:17

11. So Tired (bonus track) - 3:02

12. Rokudan Kuzushi (bonus track) - 5:19

#1-8:

Hozan Yamamoto - shakuhachi

Masahiko Togashi - percussion

Yosuke Yamashita - piano

Recorded at Nippon Columbia Studio No.1 on April 13, 1984.

#9-11:

Recorded live at "Newport's Sharps and Flats", Newport Jazz Festival in 1967.

#12:

Recorded live at "All Japan Jazz Festival '68" in 1968.

Again and Again (1985)

01. We Are (Berger) - 5:57

02. Again (Berger) - 5:50

03. Home (Berger) - 5:18

04. Fragments (Berger) - 3:08

05. Lines and Spaces (Berger) - 4:49

06. Smile (Berger) - 5:13

07. Jump for Joy (Berger) - 4:50

08. Passing Rain (Berger) - 5:46

09. Lullaby (Berger) - 7:08

Hozan Yamamoto - shakuhachi (#1-3,5,6,8,9)

Karl Hans Berger - piano, vibraphone

Yoshio Ikeda - bass (#1,5,6,7,9)

Takeshi Watanabe - drums (#1,5,9)

Recorded at Victor Aoyama Studio, Tokyo on March 15-16, 1985.

Silky Adventure (1986)

01. Iberian Sunset (Satoh) - 8:00

02. Bamboo Shoots (Satoh) - 6:00

03. Tail Wind (Satoh) - 5:08

04. Commodore Drive (Satoh) - 6:05

05. Silky Adventure (Satoh) - 7:04

06. Funauta (Satoh) - 6:52

07. Earlham Blues (Satoh) - 5:22

08. Village West (Satoh) - 7:15

Hozan Yamamoto - shakuhachi

Masahiko Satoh - piano

Recorded at Sound City Studios, Tokyo on August 26, 1986.

Hozankai Shakuhachi Concert (1975)

01. Haru - 7:04

02. Natsu - 8:00

03. Aki - 9:18

04. Fuyu - 8:10

Recorded on November 4, 1975.

Limited ediition 10 CD box set of shakuhachi maestro Hozan Yamamoto's extraordinary jazz output. A Living National Treasure, born in 1937, Yamamoto, head of the Hozan-kai school, caused a sensation when he made these albums. The ten jazz albums in this box set were released between 1967-1986 and include some live recordings such as 'Hakone Hachiri' 'Midare' and 'So Tired' from the 1967 Newport Jazz Festival.

Hōzan Yamamoto (山本邦山, Yamamoto Hōzan; October 6, 1937 - February 10, 2014 in Ōtsu, Shiga prefecture) was a Japanese shakuhachi player, composer and lecturer.

Yamamoto started playing the Japanese bamboo flute shakuhachi from the age of nine. He was initially taught by his father and then by Chozan Nakanishi. After graduating from Kyoto Junior College of Foreign Studies in 1958, he participated in UNESCO's World Folk music Festival and graduated from Seiha Music College in 1962. Together with kotoplayer Shinichi Yuize and Tony Scott he recorded the album Music for Zen Meditation and Other Joys in February 1964.

After formation with Reibo Aoki and Katsuya Yokoyama of the widely acclaimed "Shakuhachi Sanbon Kai" trio in 1966, he electrified the conservative traditional scene by applying his talents to a variety of crossover collaborations. These have led him to work with such world-renowned musicians as Ravi Shankar, Helen Merrill, Gary Peacock and Karl Berger, but also with flute colleagues Jean-Pierre Rampal and Chris Hinze.

In 1980 he was invited to the renowned Donaueschingen music festival with his trio. He recorded the music to the Samurai Reincarnation film and the album Masters of Zen: Shakuhachi & Organ (together with Wolfgang Mitterer at the organ) which he composed for his instrument. Through the 1970s and 1980s to the present he has led the shakuhachi world receiving innumerable honours, including Japanese Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Education Ministerial awards for his performances, recordings (numbering in the hundreds) and compositions. He served as lecturer at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and as head of the Hozan-kai Shakuhachi Guild.

In 2002 he became designated Living National Treasure of Japan. In 2004, he was awarded a Medal with Purple Ribbon. In 2009, he was awarded an Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette.

Masahiko Sato & Jiro Inagaki - 1971 - Bridge over Troubled Water

Masahiko Sato & Jiro Inagaki

1971

Bridge over Troubled Water

01. Bridge over Troubled Water (Simon) - 5:49

02. Love and Peace (Adams) - 5:41

03. Somethin' Goin' On (Kooper) - 5:59

04. Guru (Sato) - 6:25

05. Serenity (Sato) - 7:59

06. Sniper's Snooze (Sato) - 6:40

Jiro Inagaki - tenor saxophone

Ryo Kawasaki - guitar

Yasuo Arakawa - bass

Ohunzo Ohno - trumpet

Tadataka Nakazawa - trombone

Tadayuki Harada - baritone saxophone

Takeshi Inomata - drums

Masahiko Satoh - piano, electric piano, arranger

he Jazz Rock anthem by the revolutionary pianist Masahiko Sato featuring Jiro Inagaki & his progressive Jazz Rock Band, the Big Soul Media where evolve Ryo Kawasaki, Yasuo Arakawa, Tadayuki Harada, Shunzo Ohno & Takeshi Inomata from the Sound limited. This versatile and prolific pianist has left his mark on the japanese jazz history thanks to several experimental projects & free jazz albums, was arranger for japanese & international artists, has also composed music for various television programs, films & animated movies whose the best known are Miyazaki's Panda Kopanda (1972) and the cult Belladonna (1973). Masahiko Sato started as professional musician in the Masaaki Fujita Quintet (1961) and joined the Toshiyuki Miyama's New Herd Big Band in the late sixties. In 1966, he entered the Berklee College of Music in order to become arranger and formed the Masahiko Sato Trio with the bassist Yasuo Arakawa & drummer Masahiko Togashi (1968-1971), recorded with it the first of three serie discs and won, for the first (Palladium), the Japan Jazz Award in the best debut album category. In 1970, with french violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, he released Astrorama (feat. Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Yoshiaki Masuo & Motohiko Hino) which paving the way for future international collaborations in considerable recordings as composer & arranger, inter alia, for Nancy Wilson, Wayne Shorter, Roy Haynes, Gary Peacock or Art Farmer, played also with Yohsuke Yamashita, for the singers Yoshiko Gotoh & Hirota Mieko, Motohiko Hino, Anthony Braxton or Hank Jones. In 1971, he formed the Sound Breakers featuring drummer Louis Hayes with whom released the experimental Free/Jazz Fusion album Amalgamation and joined in 1975, the Electro Keyboard Orchestra group alongside Yuji Ohno, Hiromasa Suzuki & Masao Yagi. In the late seventies, he participated with Hiromasa Suzuki, to the Tri Piano project created by Norio Maeda which released Pianic Pianism & Super Tri Piano (both recorded in 1977). Masahiko Satoh plays here in a groovy approach with free improvisations & sophisticated arrangements associated to the psychedelic expressions of Ryo Kawasaki plus the powerful skills of a swinging Inomata (as the great drum solo on Sniper's Snooze), all backed by the Soul Media Big Band led by Jiro Inagaki. Titles include three originals composed by Satoh, the Pop cover Bridge Over Troubled Water from Simon & Garfunkel, the Al Kooper' Somethin Goin On and the Psychedelic Soul tune Love & Peace. All tracks arranged by Masahiko Satoh.

Kimio Mizutani - 1971 - A Path Through Haze

Kimio Mizutani
1971
A Path Through Haze

01. A Path Through Haze
02. Sail In The Sky
03. Turning Point
04. Tell Me What You Saw
05. One For Janis
06. Sabbath Day’s Sable
07. A Bottle Of Codeine
08. Way Out

Kimio Mizutani / guitars
Takeshi Inomata / drums
Hiromasa Suzuki / electric piano
Masahiko Satoh / electric piano
Hideaki Takebe / bass
Masaoki Terakawa / bass
Hiro Yanagida / Hammond organ
+
Kayoko Isshu (scat vocal), Toyama Strings Quartette, and Etoh Wood Quartette.

Kimio MIZUTANI was born in Japan on June 17th, 1947. He appeared on stage as a guitarist in his teenaged days and formed OUT CAST in 1966, which currently were considered as the Japanese Garage Punk progenitor. 1971 was the special year for him. He carried out two important progressive rock project - LOVE LIVE LIFE + ONE and PEOPLE - with his improvised guitar play and terrific sound production. And also as a solo player he released 'A Path Through Haze' in the same year. 

He is very active as a session guitarist and sound creator but for over 30 years he had not released any album under his credit. But at last in 2003 the project of Kimio and Hiro Yanagida named MA-YA produced an album 'Floating'. 

Ultra-rare ‘70s Japanese rock album. Kimo Mizutani was the guitarist in the excellent Japanese Freak-out group, Love Live Life + 1 and this reissue is of his first solo album from 1971. Mizutani plays electric and “folk” guitar and leads a largish ensemble (bass, drums, organ, Moog and vocals) through what is widely regarded as one of the true psychedelic masterpeices of the ‘70s Japanese scene. Sensitive interludes (accompanied by the Toyama String Quartet and the Etoh Wood Quartet) , tasteful nods to progressive/fusionist extension and a lovely, hovering psych guitar from Mizutani dominate proceedings. A nice merger of hard rock concxeptualisation and the complexities that would evolve from it…and until now, almost impossible to hear within the confines of Western Society.

What if King Crimson or Soft Machine were founded in Japan in 1971? The first impression is about the big attention in the sounds choice.

The title track starts with a melodic keyboard that reminds to Wakeman's Six Wives, but it's only the first minute. Guitar and drums add an acid touch and the athmospheres are closer to Steve Hillage. the background "noise" makes it space rock. As first approach it's really not bad.

"Sail In The Sky" is where the connection with KC starts to appear. It's a long track with a spacey start that after 1 and half minute turns to soft psychedelia and later to a jazzy guitar solo.

"Turning Point" starts melodic and after the usual minute is again jazzy. Great guitar and electric piano. Short but impressive.

"Tell Me What You Saw" is pure progressive. ELP and KC seems to be the influences, so I could say "Greg Lake" instead. But keep in mind that this is original music. There may be influences, or this can be how my mind elaborates the listening experience trying to map it on something already known. This is a psychedelic track with a noisy central part. Noisy in the sense of free jazz. It seems to be chaotic but I don't think there's a lot of improvisation. It's a free jazz composition.

I don't know if "One for Janis" is dedicated to Janis Joplin. The acid guitar sound can remind to her live performances with Big Brother and the Holding Company. It's an acid blues piece, very enjoyable. In the scond part, keyboards make it more acid with background sounds, but it remains bluesy until the end.

"Sabbath Days Sable" is a slow track with a melodic piano base that guitar and strings (keyboard maybe) make non.trivial by adding few dissonances. Soft Machine can be a reference.

"A bottle of Codeine" is driven by the bass line. it's another acid blues track. It's a slow 7 minutes trip with an excellent guitar solo.

"Way out" starts with keyboard electronic experimentalisms, but unexpectedly, bass and acoustic guitar change the situation. Pure space rock. 

What a fantastic sound creator he is - one of pioneers in Japanese Progressive Rock scene, this phrase can be exactly fit for Kimio MIZUTANI. Anyway the Japanese title of this album is 'Uchu No Kukan (Space in the universe)' and this might mean his magnificent guitar style I suppose? And look at the support members - Masahiko Satoh and Hiromasa Suzuki (jazz-pianists), Takeshi Inomata (jazz-drummer), Masaoki Terakawa (nu-rock bassist; Love Live Life + One), Hideaki Takebe (session bassist), and Hiro Yanagida (keyboardist; needless to say) - surprisingly Kimio can surpass them (what fascinating supporters!) in loudness and magnificence. His guitar has various faces ... mainly of heavy rock but sometimes bubbling and noisy, sometimes folksy, and sometimes jazzy ... but all of them are absolutely Kimio's ROCK appearances. For example, Turning Point, composed by Kuni Kawachi, is characterized by a heavily spacey and minimalistic guitar solo, based on simple keyboard sounds. On the contrary, Tell Me What You Saw by Kimio himself is a violently exploded heavy guitar rock. Various genre artists can season Kimio's solo album with various essence and spice ... we can see eclecticism in it.

Listen to a Japanese Rock progenitor's album.