Another fine example of
Japanese jazz from the mid-1970s, this set is led by cellist and bassist Isao
Suzuki and features the earliest recorded performances of guitarist Kazumi
Watanabe. Four tracks make up the recording, of which two are covers, the opening
standard "Body and Soul" (complete with opening melody played on the
bass) and "Play Fiddle Play," and two originals, which stack up very
well against such classic material. This set was a follow-up to a huge
breakthrough album for Suzuki called Blow Up, recorded a year earlier in 1973.
Along with his standard setup with Watanabe, pianist Kunihiko Sugano, and
Tetsujiroh Obara on drums, Suzuki, in order to use the cello more fully within
the small group setting, added bassist Nobuyoshi Ino on two tracks, including
"Body and Soul." What's most compelling about the music made in Japan
during that era is that the notion that all jazz had to swing, swing, swing
seems almost perverse now in contrast to the stilted, dated sounding riffs that
the current American jazzmen heralded as saviors of the music. While free jazz,
groove jazz, and jazz/rock fusion were sweeping the popular template in America
and Europe, the Japanese, as evidenced here, were listening with reverence
(perhaps too much) to the roots of the music. "Body and Soul" and
"Play Fiddle Play" have been done by so many hundreds of artists,
that it's tough to stack up these versions except to say that they are played
with aplomb and emotion. But it's the originals that make Suzuki's group stand
out and sound current even in the 21st century. "45th Street (at 8th
Ave.)" features the cello as a saxophone, coursing through the melody with
fluidity and grace, creating a resonant mode for the band to climb in under.
Ino's bass is a lovely counterpart to the tinny sound of the cello being played
pizzicato, and Watanabe sounds like Wes Montgomery in his George Shearing days.
The rest is as gently swinging and solid with the band becoming a quartet with
Suzuki on bass for the last two tracks. In all, it's no masterpiece, but it is
an excellent jazz record, made at a time when jazz as it was known in the 1950s
and 1960s was a memory. And that it sounds current today is a testament in
itself to its quality. ~ by Thom Jurek, AMG.
Three Blind Mice, TBM-24,
1974
Three Blind Mice, TBM-XR-0024, 1998
Recorded 4th March, 1974 at
Aoi Studio, Tokyo Japan
Musicians:
Isao Suzuki - Bass, Cello
Kunihiko Sugano - Piano
Kazumi Watanabe - Guitar
Nobuyoshi Ino - Bass
Tetsujiro Obara - Drums
Tracks:
1. Body And Soul {Edward
Heyman, Frank Eyton, Robert Sour} (9:28)
2. 45th Street [At 8th
Avenue] {Isao Suzuki} (11:14)
3. Play Fiddle Play {Arthur
Altman, Emery Deutsch} (10:20)
4. Blue City {Isao Suzuki}
(10:07)
Total Time: 41:12
Credits:
Producer - Takeshi Fujii
Recording & Mixing
Engineer - Yoshihiko Kannari
Collaboration, Executive -
Akisuke Fukutomi
Engineer [Cutting] - Makoto
Nakamura
Photography [Cover] - Isao
Suzuki
Art Direction, Cover - Ben
Nishizawa
Liner Notes - Osamu Uchida,
Teruo Isono
