Hiromasa Suzuki, a rare pianist / composer / arranger who wielded her skills in the group of Terumasa Hino and Akira Ishikawa. This work, combined with Big Soul Media, led by Jiro Inagaki, one of the best jazz rock groups of its time, is a concept that has the theme of “worldwide anti-war and peace”, which is unusual for a Japanese jazz work album.
A unique and breathtaking collaboration between revered pianist and composer Hiromasa Suzuki and famous jazz rock group Big Soul Media led by Jiro Inagaki
Jiro Inagaki left the Jazz Rock to focus himself on the Jazz Funk movement, with an album as The Jazz Crusaders know how best to do, as evidenced the cover songs of Wilton Felder (That's How I Feel) & Joe Sample (Put It Where You Want It). For this new route, Jiro has recruited new members for his Soul Media group featuring Akira Okazawa, Tsunehide Matsuki & Norio Maeda in charge of the arrangements and who contributes to three compositions. This blend of Smooth Jazz & Funk, approaches of the sound from CTI recordings that Creed Taylor has could produced in the seventies.
Nagaki Jirō born October 3, 1933 is a Japanese jazz saxophonist, bandleader, and producer. He plays tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute, and occasionally alto saxophone. Inagaki played tenor saxophone with Frankie Sakai's from 1954 to 1955, before joining Hajime Hana and the Crazy Cats. He performed with various Japanese jazz artists and band leaders such as George Kawaguchi and Hideo Shiraki during the 1950s and 60s.[1][2]
Inagaki formed the jazz-rock band "Jiro Inagaki & Soul Media" in 1969, which was active throughout the 1970s and included Shunzo Ohno, Tetsuo Fushimi, and ; Ryo Kawasaki (guitar); Masahiko Satoh (piano, arranger); (keyboards, arranger); (bass); and Takeshi Inomata and (drums) in its varying lineups. The band's albums Head Rock, In The Groove, and Funky Stuff have been reissued several times.
Sammy, a legendary female singer who was active for a short time in the early 1970s and suddenly disappeared from the scene. The powerful and soulful singing voice loved by jazz rock legends such as Akira Ishikawa and Jiro Inagaki has always numbed listeners. The three masterpieces are finally revived in analog.
This swell. This dynamism. An encounter with the soul media unleashed Sammy's soul. A dreadnought masterpiece containing the transcendental groovy "Rock Steady". A rare female singer, Sammy. Once you hear that soulful and powerful singing voice, you will never forget it. Jiro Inagaki, who heard the demo sound source for the first time, thought, "This is amazing. It's like Aretha Franklin." Not only the newly written original, but also old blues and hit songs of the same era are immediately dyed in "Sammy color". Fully backed up by Jiro Inagaki and Soul Media, who played a part in the development of jazz rock, this work has become a monster album with an extraordinary groove. "Rock Steady", which is often called the worst version, "Day Dreaming" like a breeze, groovy and emotional "Nobody Loves Me" and "Long Night" with Japanese lyrics are good. The songs are lined up. text by Yusuke Ogawa (UNIVERSOUND / DEEP JAZZ REALITY)
Long awaited releasing as CD of a secret masterpeice of soul music. Remarkable is the collaboration of Sammy and Jiro Inagaki & Soul Media. A Japanese rare groove masterpiece album, including the covers of -ROCK STEADY- and -WOMAN,
The songs, arranged by composer Yasuhiro Koyama (who also penned one side of Toshiyuki Miyama's "Tsuchi No Ne", another of Columbia's "Adventure In Sound" albums), are all actually variations and elaborations on traditional Japanese "minyou", old folk songs known to people all across Japan for countless generations. The whole album flows very nicely, running seamlessly from solemn folky songs to fuzz-guitar and piano led progressive pieces and back again, always maintaining a deeply Japanese atmosphere.
Extremely rare as an original. In fact, I didn't find one even for a price check, so I'm sure an original is a small fortune. Fortunately for the rest of us, Columbia has come through with a fine CD, housed in a sturdy and beautiful mini LP reproduction, with great sound. This was released through their Deep Jazz Reality series, even though this particular album isn't jazz based at all.
Vocalist Yasuhsi Sawada joins Jiro Inagaki & His Soul Media group this time around – but in a way that seems to create a whole new sound from both artists! The album's got a deeper, more sophisticated style than some of Inagaki's other records – not just funky soul, but a richer suite of tracks that still has plenty of soulful currents, but which also reaches towards some more ambitious emotional territory too – never in a way that's clunky or snoozy, but which takes all the best elements of the Soul Media groove, and pushes them a bit farther too! Sawada's vocals are all in Japanese, and have this very powerful approach – never dominating the music, but moving through the instrumentation in this evocative way that almost feels instrumental to our ears, given our lack of understanding of the language. The whole thing's almost got a spiritual undercurrent, althought the presentation is still more in the groovy mode of other Soul Media sets.
I love this, one of the best albums by Jiro Inagaki & His Soul Media IMO. Psychedelic jazz covers of Japanese folk songs, mostly instrumental with some spoken word sections. The band doesn't shy away from moments of quiet contemplation, which make the intense parts when they do come more interesting. Kimio Mizutani plays on this, whatever the man touches seems to instantly become much better.
Track 13, 14 : originally released as single (P-226) Jul 1, 1973.
The funky group of Jiro Inagaki gets a vocal treatment this time around – lead lyrics from Yasushi Sawada, whose a raspy-voiced singer with a surprisingly soulful edge! Much of the music follows in the same territory of Inagaki's instrumental records – with his group turning in a cool tripped-out blend of soul, funk, and jazz – often with some slight psych elements in the guitars and keyboards – as Sawada's Japanese lyrics bring a very unusual flavor to the record, and make the whole thing feel like some dream-like remake of an American funky soul album!
Heavy funk from Japan's Soul Media combo – and one of the group's great 70s outings with the engimatic Sammy on vocals! Sammy's got this raw, raspy style that might owe a bit to Janis Joplin at times – but also nods strongly to the work of the American underground at others – more than able to stretch out with the fierce sounds of the group on the record, especially when they take on some trippy or more freaked-out styles! The drums are often nice and bold, and the electric instrumentation is very well integrated with a tight horn section that gives the tunes plenty of punch.
