Kunihiko Sugano, Isao Suzuki - Sincerely Yours (1980)

A sublime set of piano and bass duets from two Japanese jazz masters; pianist Kunihiko Sugano and bassist Isao Suzuki, originally released in 1980 on the legendary Paddle Records. These wonderful players set about to create a truly great exploration and interpretation of some of jazz's fine and enchanting jazz tunes of that era. The engineers at King Records have produced an excellent reissue of this masterpiece, the sound quality is so good, that it invites the listener to reappraise many a time, enjoy! 

Paddle Wheel; K28P-6012, 1980
Recorded 28th January, 1980 at King Record Studio #2, Tokyo, Japan 

Musicians:
Kunihiko Sugano - Piano, Synthesizer [Solina]
Isao Suzuki - Bass, Piccolo Bass, Synthesizer [Solina]

Tracks:
1. Mean To Me {Fred E. Ahlert, Roy Turk} (5:15)
2. The Midnight Sun Will Never Set {Cochran, Salvador, Jones} (8:07)
3. Moon River {Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer} (5:14)
4. Autumn In New York {Vernon Duke} (6:59)
5. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You {Bassman, Washington} (4:46)
6. The Very Thought Of You {Ray Noble} (3:19)
7. Goodbye {Gordon Jenkins} (4:10) 

Total Time: 37:50 

Credits:
Producer - Isao Suzuki, Motohiko Takawa
Recording, Mixing Engineer - Hatsuro Takanami
Assistant Engineer - Michio Mikami, Takao Suga
Mastering Engineer - Shogo Sakamaki
Photography - K. Abe
Liner Notes - Takao Ogawa 

The Midnight Sun Will Never Set

Manhattan Jazz Orchestra - Moanin' (1989)

The Manhattan Jazz Orchestra's first album. The selection of songs is superb, from Caravan to the exciting Moanin' to My Funny Valentine! Each member has outstanding technique and the arrangement is excellent. The performance and atmosphere are hot. Starting with Duke Ellington's "Caravan," "Summertime," "Moanin'," "My Funny Valentine," "Sidewinder," and "Autumn Leaves," famous songs that represent jazz history are performed one after another. The recording is excellent, the horns are crisp, and the roar of the bass and the sound of the drums are realistic. ~ fleamarket. 

Heat Relief: Oh, yeah? Blow away the intense heat, the performance was immediately MJQ's genealogy, very pleasant! It is exhilarating. It will be a piece that will listen to with a good quality device! ~ ACE, 5 Stars, [Translated from Japanese] Amazon.com. 

Paddle Wheel, 292E 6046, 1989
Recorded 12th, 15th & 21st August, 1989 at A&R Studio, New York 

Personnel:
Dave Matthews - Piano
Alan Rubin, Joe Shepley - Trumpet (#1,3-5,7)
Jon Faddis - Trumpet (#1,3,4)
Earl Gardner, Robert Millikan, Tony Kadleck - Trumpet (#2,6)
Lew Soloff, Randy Brecker - Trumpet (#5,7)
Birch Johnson - Trombone (#1,3-5,7)
Jim Pugh, Keith O'Quinn, Urbie Green - Trombone (#2,6)
Paul Faulise - Bass Trombone (#1,3-5,7)
David Taylor - Bass Trombone (#2,5-7)
Fred Griffin, John Clark - French Horn (#1,3-5,7)
Chris Hunter, Dick - Alto Saxophone Oatts (#2,6)
George Young - Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet
Lawrence Feldman - Tenor Saxophone (#2,6)
Roger Rosenberg - Bass Clarinet, Baritone Saxophone (#2,6)
Hiram Bullock - Guitar (#2)
Chip Jackson - Bass
Danny Gottlieb - Drums (#1-4,6)
Dave Weckl - Drums (#5,7)

Tracks:
1. Caravan {Duke Ellington, Juan Tizol} (7:43)
2. Moanin' {Bobby Timmons} (4:45)
3. My Funny Valentine {Richard Rodgers} (7:13)
4. Summertime {George Gershwin} (10:03)
5. The Sidewinder {Lee Morgan} (8:25)
6. Big Apple Jam {David Matthews} (8:42)
7. Autumn Leaves {Joseph Kosma} (8:19) 

Total Time: 55:14 

Credits:
Producer - David Matthews (#1,2-7), Kenzo Yokokura (#2)
Reissue Producer - Yoichi Nakao
Engineer - Michael Farrow
Mastering Engineer - Hatsuro Takanami
Cover Design - Shigo Yamaguchi, Takuya Watanabe
Art Direction - Munco Hanzawa
Notes - Yasuki Nakayama 

Moanin'

Masahiro Sayama Trio - Vintage (2010)

Masahiro Sayama (26th November, 1953 - 14th November, 2018) was an active Japanese jazz pianist. Sayama began playing piano as a child and became interested in jazz after seeing the film The Glenn Miller Story. He studied music at Kunitachi College of Music and began playing jazz professionally in the early 1970s, working with Toshiyuki Honda, Shigeharu Mukai, and Kazunori Takeda. He was a member of Shuichi Murakami's trio Ponta Box and also led his own ensembles. In 1991 he began playing with Masahiko Osaka. In later years Sayama formed a number of trio groups, this wonderful album being an excellent example of his leader and playing skills. For this album he joined by bassist Yosuke Inoue and drummer Masahiko Osaka, together they interpret an array of jazz standards expressing brilliant lyrical tones and emotions. Overall, an excellent album, whereby the talents and style of the Masahiro Sayama Trio are showcased with exacting beauty, enjoy! 

Paddle Wheel\King Records, KICJ-608, 2010
Recorded 12th,13th & 14th October, at King's Sekiguchidai 1st Studio, Tokyo, Japan 

Musicians:
Masahiro Sayama - Piano
Yosuke Inoue - Bass
Masahiko Osaka - Drums

Tracks:
1. Bittersweet {Don Sebesky} (5:58)
2. James {Patrick Metheny} (5:32)
3. Waltz For Debby {Bill Evans} (5:42)
4. Summertime {George Gershwin} (5:17)
5. Summer Knows {Michel Legrand} (4:17)
6. My Funny Valentine {Richard Rodgers} (5:10)
7. Rhapsody In Blue {George Gershwin} (14:59)
8. Isfahan {Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn} (4:25) 

Total Time: 51:20 

Credits:
Producer - Susumo Morikawa
Engineer - Shinji Yoshikoshi
Assistant Engineer - Teruhiko Suzuki
Piano Tuner - Makoto Ide
Photographer - Yasuhisa Yoneda
Front Cover - Makoto Wada
Design - Toshihiro Takeda
Liner Notes - Miruko Yamagushi 

Isfahan

Isao Suzuki with Tsuyoshi Yamamoto - Samba Club (1980)

A wicked, wicked set of tracks from Japan - one that blends together jazzy riffing and Brazilian rhythms, all played with a surprisingly soulful bent! Suzuki's on bass and piccolo bass, and Yamamoto plays not only electric piano but also a bit of electric harpsichord - which adds a cool feel to the album, and one that's almost like some lost European soundtrack. Rhythms are mostly in a breezy sort of style that mixes samba with bossa jazz - and Donald Bailey is in the group on drums, providing some very nice bottom to the set. The whole thing's great, with a really unique style - one that's so great it even transforms older numbers like "Night And Day", "Sweet Georgia Brown", "Greensleeves", and "La Vie En Rose". Also features an especially great take on Michel Colombier's "Overture". 

Paddle Wheel, K28P-6091, 1981
King Records, KICJ 2295, 2012
Recorded 17th July, 1980 at King Studio #2, Tokyo, Japan 

Musicians:
Isao Suzuki - Bass, Bass [Piccolo Bass]
Tsuyoshi Yamamoto - Piano, Spinet
Ichiro Doi - Electric Piano, Vocoder
Takayuki Kato - Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Donald Bailey - Drums, Harmonica
Francis - Percussion, Vocals 

Tracks:
1. Overture {Michel Colombier} (6:01)
2. Tenderly {Jack Lawrence, Walter Gross} (7:22)
3. Night And Day {Cole Porter} (5:37))
4. Sweet Georgia Brown {Ben Bernie, Kenneth Casey, Maceo Pinkard} (4:37)
5. Greensleeves {Traditional; Arr. Isao Suzuki} (6:43)
6. La Vie En Rose {Louis Guglielmi, Édith Piaf} /
    Moon Glow {Eddie DeLange, Irving Mills, Will Hudson} (5:24) 

Total Time: 35:48 

Credits:
Producer - Isao Suzuki, Motohiko Takawa
Director - Shigeyuki Kawashima
Recording & Mixing Engineer - Hatsuro Takanami
Engineer [Assistant] - Takao Suga
Mastering Engineer - Shogo Sakamaki
Photography [Cover] - Pete Turner 

Bass play with a unique melody
=========================
The recording was made in 1980, which is when Japan Fusion was at its peak. Isao Suzuki's bass is still a unique melody. feel well. The piano in this album is Mr. Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, but when I saw this title, I thought that I wanted to hear the collaboration with Mr. Naoya Matsuoka and Mr. Masaru Imada. ~ TOMOFIVE, Amazon.com. 

Tenderly