★Three Blind Mice
Ginparis Session
For the better part of the 50s and 60s, Masayuki Takayanagi was among Japan's best-respected jazz guitarists. But it wasn't until his experiments with tabletop guitar led him down the seductive path of sonic experimentation that he became the stuff of legend. “Ginparis” (literally translated as Silver Paris) was known as the chanson cafe in Tokyo, Ginza, and the performances often centred around chansons but eventually became the session venue for young jazz musicians. They left their mark on a…
Lonely Woman
*2022 stock* Guitarist Masayuki "Jojo" Takayanagi (1932-1991) was a towering leader in the Japanese jazz world. His first influence was Lennie Tristano, but through the 1960s and 1970s he explored and pushed the boundaries in free form jazz, leading a group called New Direction, among others. Ever a fighting spirit, in 1982, shortly after recovering from a life-threatening medical condition and surgery, Takayanagi decided to take on a challenging task for any guitarist: To record an entire solo …
Moon Ray
"Otomo is an alto player from the Jackie McLean school of tone and the Art Pepper institute for improvisation. In other words, his tone has an edge, but he always phrases and improvises melodically. With Tsuyoshi Yamamoto leading the rhythm section, the other two members, Tamiko Kawabata on bass and Arihide Kurata on drums, had to be ever watchful and vigilant that these proceedings didn't escape them altogether. The set opens with the hard blues wing of the title cut by Artie Shaw. Otomo pushes…
cool jojo
Third volume in a series of Takayanagi reissues on this Japanese jazz label. As with the prior Free Form Suite, this features super deluxe hardbound book-like packaging and "extended resolution CD" sound. First reissue of this obscure album, originally recorded in Dec. of 1979; with four bonus alternate takes issued for the first time. Takayanagi (guitar), Kenji Kohsei (piano, electric piano), Nobuyoshi Ino (bass), Yasuhiro Yamazaki (drums). A "cool jazz" recording in the Tristano tradition, All…