Suche:the famous sound of three blind mice

Ten of Tee Fujii’s favourite Three Blind Mice tracks, including “Misty” have been freshly remastered and finally available for the first time on Impex Records’ deluxe 180-gram LP. Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, Isao Suzuki, Ayako Hosokawa, Shoji Yokouchi, and other popular TBM musicians showcase their artistry and passion for jazz under the guidance of Fujii-san and engineer Yoshihiko Kannari. Impex’s 2-LP set is placed in a special gatefold jacket and features heavy board backing, new art and special finishes for a truly bespoke audiophile package.

Limited to 3,000 individually numbered pressings, the famous sound of Tee Fujii won’t be the same when they’re gone.

BBE Music’s acclaimed J Jazz Masterclass returns with its 20th release, a super rare private press from one of the more laudable female jazz figures of Japan, saxophonist and composer Sachi Hayasaka, together with her band, Stir Up! Released in 1988 on the private label Mobys, Free Fight was Hayasaka’s debut album and announced the arrival of an essential and primal force onto the Japanese jazz scene. Part free jazz, part post-bop, and part heavy groove, Free Fight is one of the most varied yet engaging albums BBE Music has reissued in the J Jazz Masterclass Series, showcasing Hayasaka’s inventive and muscular playing as well as her highly original and surprising compositional powers. Given the album’s eclectic yet cohesive sound, it’s no surprise that it originally found a home at Mobys, the label established by esteemed jazz critic and promoter Teruto Soejima. Mobys only issued a handful of albums from some of the leading free and open players including J Jazz Masterclass alumnus, pianist Aki Takase, as well as free jazz guitar icon Masayuki Takayanagi, and free jazz figureheads Itaru Oki and the great Masahiko Satoh. Born in Tokyo in 1960, Hayasaka took lessons from saxophonist and recording artist Toki Hidefumi and fully immersed herself in the jazz life, working part-time at various jazz kissas including Peter-Cat, a kissa managed by novelist Haruki Murakami. She has performed regularly across Japan at venues like the famous Pit Inn and formed a strong alliance with the classic Tokyo jazz kissa Paper Moon, which continues to this day. Heavily influenced by players such as Roland Kirk, David Murray and Ornette Coleman, Hayasaka has played with free jazz legend Yosuke Yamashita and performed around the world (as well as up Mount Fuji!). In the late 1980s she moved to New York for several years and worked with notable musicians including drummer Pheeroan akLaff and pianist Cliff Korman. She has recorded a number of albums to her name for Japanese jazz labels such as Three Blind Mice and Kitty as well as leading European imprints such as Enja.

As the BBE Music J Jazz Masterclass Series hits its 19th title, the milestone is suitably matched by a collaboration between two giants of jazz brought together to deliver an exceptional album, working with a band of the very best Japanese jazz musicians. ‘Reminicent Suite’ by American pianist Mal Waldron and Japanese trumpeter Terumasa Hino was originally released in 1973 on the famed Victor label and was one of several Japan-only albums recorded and released by Waldron over a thirty-year period, most of which have never been available outside Japan. ‘Reminicent Suite’ comprises two extended tracks, both taking up a side each. The title track on Side A is composed by Waldron, and is a dark, brooding heavy groove typical of his early 70s sound. ‘Black Forest’ on side B is written by Hino and is a vivid and energetic piece, layered and textured with dense percussion and Hino’s signature trumpet tone. Mal Waldron started out in the early 1950s working extensively on the Prestige label with notable figures such as Gene Ammons, Jackie McLean and Charles Mingus. Most famously, he worked with Billie Holiday before leaving the States in the mid-60s and relocating to Europe where he established himself as a major figure working across many countries including France, Italy, and Germany, where he made his home in Munich. In 1969, Waldron recorded the first releases for two major European jazz labels, ECM and Enja, before visiting Japan on tour for the first time in 1970. Waldron instantly fell in love with Japan and, over the next three decades, extensively toured and recorded there for numerous labels. Terumasa Hino is one of the towering figures of post-war modern jazz in Japan. Coming to prominence via the Hideto Shiraki and Sadao Watanabe bands in the mid-60s, Hino soon emerged as one of the prime movers in new jazz generation that changed the direction of jazz in Japan. He explored a more open, freer, and improvised sound, mixing psychedelic and rock elements with freeform and post-bop jazz. Hino recorded for many of the leading jazz labels of the era including Columbia, Three Blind Mice, and East Wind and would go on to relocate to the US in the mid-70s, immersing himself with the leading fusion players of the New York scene including Larry Corryell, Mtume, Al Foster, Dave Liebman and many more. In the early 80s, Hino’s jazz funk tracks were dancefloor smashes on the UK jazz dance scene. Joining Waldron and Hino on ‘Reminicient Suite’ is a band made up of the very best Japanese jazzman of their day: Takeo Uematsu on sax, Terumasa’s brother, Motohiko Hino, on drums, and the legendary bass master, Isao Suzuki. Together, they deliver one of the very best albums of the era, a richly articulated and dynamic session that exemplifies the very best that the Japanese jazz scene was doing in the early 1970s. ‘Reminicent Suite’ is pressed on 200g vinyl presented in a gatefold sleeve plus obi strip, with new photos by Tadayuki Naito; translated original sleeve notes; and a 7500-word essay including interview with Terumasa Hino from Tony Higgins, co-curator of the J Jazz Masterclass Series. This is the first time this album has been available outside of Japan