Three Tune Tuesday / Evening Groove・More Japanese Jazz
Greetings and salutations Hivers. Today let's go into another Evening Groove / Three Tune Tuesday post. I haven't done one of these in a few weeks... let's see if I remember how.
As always, thanks to @ablaze for making this series. Lots of people participate in it! Follow the tags to find a ton of good music recommendation.
Today I have more Japanese jazz. This time, we are going with pianist Masabumi Kikuchi who is one of the greats of the genre. He dabbled in many styles of jazz and even did some classical. He had a long career, ranging from the 70s jazz scene in Japan all the way up until his passing in 2021, six years after which his studio released a final album.
In Fourth Way
This is from his 1969 album Matrix. Unlike some of his other songs, this is very straight bebop or post bop jazz. It has some nice things going on throughout. Enjoy!
Drizzling Rain
This is from his 1973 album End of the Beginning. It features some great piano work. If you think it starts slow, just wait till the sax comes in. It keeps a relaxed meandering pace throughout, never getting too fast, but just enough to keep us riding along. This is a great track!
City Snow
Next let's jump a decade ahead to his 1981 album Susto. This is another easy going track. This is the perfect track for drinking an adult beverage, leaning back, and just drifting along with the music. See what you think.
Here's the full album if you want to give it a shot.
Let's do a bonus track. Here is his interpretation of My Favorite Things. It's probably not quite what you expect, but get all expectations out of your head and you may enjoy it more.
Did you like any of those? He had a long career and plenty of albums to explore if you want more. I will warn you though: I picked his more mild and traditional pieces for this post, but some of his stuff can get pretty wild.
Anyway, let me know your favorites in the comments!
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David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. |
You may have covered this before, but is there any Japanese jazz that uses traditional instruments or styles? For example, I have really started to get into Latin Jazz. It has a very traditional style that you would expect, Spanish guitars and the like.
Traditional Japanese instruments are fairly common in regular Japanese rock and pop. They even make it into Western rock every now and then, probably mostly the shamisen, which a lot of western bands love. But I don't know if I've ever heard a jazz song composed entirely of Japanese instruments. But now you've made me curious. I'm going to look and see if I can find anything.
I can't wait to see what you find! I remember back when I was in school we played a song called "Variations on a Korean Folk Song". It was pretty cool and had some memorable pieces to it. My mom also has jewelry box that my dad bought when he was in a Vietnam that has a distinct tune. Probably a folk song. I know, not Japanese, but the regional influence is there.
Awesome, meaningful and excellent playlist and post, mate! Very nice job, @dbooster
Thanks!
No need to do that, @dbooster. Jazz posts are always welcome here. Nice job, mate!
Always bringing something new and interesting for my ears man, these tracks (I am half way through the second one as I type) are great to just have on in the background as I get a few things done, and I will be sure to give City Snow a listen one of the days with an "adult beverage" and see how that goes. I must say I am really enjoying the Japanese Jazz and to be fair I probably would never have heard it without these posts, so thanks a lot man.