Herbie Hancock and Friends - Spotlight (Day 1)

The month of March this year will be special to me because I'm going to see one of my all-time favorite artists in concert for the first time. Around 20 years ago I was taking a history of jazz course and despite listening to jazz for most of my life, I learned that I didn't know as much about jazz as I thought. We studied each decade in chronological order and it was a great time. Eventually we landed in the 70s and learned about some of the artists that had moved towards playing electric jazz. At the forefront of that movement was the legendary Herbie Hancock. I don't remember which album got to me first but I do believe it was Man-Child. The music was far out but still groovy. I fell in love with jazz all over again. 

To honor the legend's career and to celebrate seeing him live in concert - I'd like to take a look into not only Herbie's catalog - but those that joined him along the way. I love the genealogy of jazz in the sense that every artist/album leads me to another. That's half the satisfaction for me. We'll start with his Mwandishi band and move on through the 70s. Exact release dates are sometimes hard to come by but we'll stick to a chronological order the best we can. Maybe at a later date we can look at the other decades of his career.

Naturally, the first album we'll look at is none other than Mwandishi. Released in 1971 on Warner Bros. Mwandishi translates to The Author in Swahili. On the back of the album, each player has a nickname in Swahili. I'm using Google Translate so hopefully it's accurate. 

Herbie Hancock on keys is Mwandishi - The Author
Bennie Maupin on bass clarinet and alto flute is Mwile - The Body
Eddie Henderson on trumpet and flugelhorn is Mganga - The Healer
Julian Priester on trombone is Pepo Mtoto - The Demon Child (!)
Buster Williams on bass is Mchezaji - The Player
Leon Chancler on percussion/drums is Ndugu - The Brother
Billy Hart on drums is Jabali - The Rock

With a runtime of around 45 minutes, we have 3 original tracks from the group. The first 2 are Hancock tunes with the closing tune from Priester. I'll mostly let the music do the talking but I feel this album is a perfect preview of what we have to come. What I would describe as free fusion, Mwandishi is the opening act to a decade chocked full of incredible music from Herbie. Although, technically it's his 2nd album from the decade. I really enjoy the bass clarinet and overall groove of "Ostinato (Suite For Angela)" and also really dig "You'll Know When You Get There." I would say that "Wandering Spirit Song" sounds exactly as you'd expect but I prefer the first 2 tunes, which are a touch more accessible. Enjoy!

The Keyboard Circle (1976)

Hey there - today I want to squeeze in a quick post for a one-off album I really dig. I've decided to start sharing albums regardless of digital availability - because why the heck not. I stumbled across this one strictly because of the release year, 1976. While the 1970s are my favorite decade musically, 1975-1979 are my favorite stretch of the decade. I often just spend time searching releases by year in hopes of finding something new to me to; which is how I found this one.

The Keyboard Circle is a Dutch trio with a unique set-up of 2 keyboardists and a drummer. We have Rob Franken on the Rhodes, clavinet and synthesizer, Jan Huydts on Rhodes and synthesizer and Henk Zomer on drums. Not released until 2009, 1976 was recorded live in the Netherlands at a venue in Pinjacker on February 8th, 1976.

The album has a great fusion sound through and through and is made up of mostly originals. Exceptions being "Blue Bossa" from Kenny Dorham and the final two tracks, "Tamotua" from fellow Dutchman Rik Elings from the band Scope and the "Kumquat Kids" from one of my all-time favorites, trumpeter Eddie Henderson. 

Both keyboardists are outstanding and I really dig Zomer's busy drumming style. I'm not a musician so I don't know technical terms but the overall sound of this record is great. My favorite stretch is 6-8, "For Elaine", "Basic Train" and "Sound Circle/All About Us." All I can say is if you're like me and love the Rhodes and synthesizers, I'll bet you'll dig this one. Enjoy!

Yoshiaki Masuo - 24 (1970)

Before I started this post, I tried to figure out where I first heard this guitarist. I'm fairly confident it was on the Pamoja album from Sadoa Watanabe that I made a post for previously but I'm not 100% certain. Nonetheless, where ever it was, I really enjoyed Yoshiaki Masuo's sound and started diving into his work. Sadly, none of it blew me away like I hoped but I still found it relatively enjoyable. Most of his catalog is available digitally but despite looking far and wide, I could not find his debut album, 24, anywhere. Turns out its on a few platforms digitally but licensing has a couple of the songs blocked in my country, the US. It became a borderline unhealthy obsession for a few days until finally I broke down and bought a copy. Hopefully any weary internet travelers in pursuit of this album will find their way here. 

Released in 1970, 24 features a great lineup - which likely contributed to my steadfast pursuit. It looks like different groups of personnel were used as the album was recorded. I'll try to be clear on who was where. Yoshio Suzuki is present for each track and contributes on double bass, electric bass, percussion and cello. Hideo Ichikawa is on keys for tunes 1, 3 and 5-7. Motohiko Hino is on drums for tracks 1 and 3 while Hiro Tsunoda covers drums on tracks 2 and 4-6. Sadao Watanabe is present for track 4 on flute and percussion and the horn players are here for tracks 5 and 6. On trumpet we have Kazutoshi Ohkubo, Takehito Fujioka and Tetsuo Fushimi. On trombone we have Shigemichi Domoto and Takashi Imai. 

The album starts off with "Uptight" which is a nice, early fusion tune. Next up is "Shirley" which features Masuo on acoustic guitar and has a "Dear Prudence" kind of vibe to it. The title track is next and is a more straight forward tune with Ichikawa shining on the Rhodes. The folky "Corvallis" is next with Watanabe on flute and Masuo again on the acoustic. "Dirty Mashy Toe" is next and despite the weird name - might be the best tune on the album and is similar to the title track. "Round Trip" is another favorite and returns to a more early fusion sound with the horns also contributing nicely. The closing tune, "Soft Sadness" has a nice melody and sounds like you'd expect it to. 

Happy to share this one and get it out there for other people without access. Enjoy!

Mabumi Yamaguchi

I first came across saxophonist Mabumi Yamaguchi on The Players' albums - which are fantastic and worthy of a post at some point. He also was featured on the Now's The Time album we looked at during our spotlight on Isao Suzuki and on the recent Motohiko Hino live albums. I've spent the last few weeks listening to this trio of albums and I've thought of a million things to say about them. They get better with every listen, to be honest.

The first album, After The Rain, is from 1976 and lucky for us, we have a great supporting cast. Nobuyoshi Ino is on bass with Kazumi Watanabe on guitar. Fumio Karashima is on keys and George Ohtsuka is on drums. Mabumi's tunes, whether quick or slow, have great pace and feel. This album opens with a really well composed tune in "Breeze." "Bird" has a touch more swing while "Beagle" picks up the tempo with a jazz funk vibe and sounds more like 1976. "Horizon" has a similar feel as "Breeze" - an early morning, calming tune. All original compositions from Mabumi and a very well-done album. 

Next up, in 1978, Mabumi returned with Leeward and we have a new group of personnel. On keys we have Ichiro Doi, who we saw on a few of Isao Suzuki's albums, on bass we have Ikuo Sakurai and on drums we have Hideo Sekine. A stellar album that starts off with "Dawn," another tune with great pace that primarily features Mabumi on the sopranino. I'm kind of hooked on this song and while I hate comparing artists from the past to the present-day, Doi's style on the electric piano reminds me of the superb UK musician, Kamaal Williams. "Dewdrop" slows things way down and "Distant Thunder" picks it back up with the same vibe as "Dawn." The closing, title track, has a mild Latin/Island sound to it. Incredible stuff all the way around and again, all originals from Yamaguchi.

The third album we'll look at is from 1981 and again features a new group of players. Recorded in NYC, Mabumi has Americans Kenny Kirkland on keys and the legendary Tony Williams on drums. Also along for the ride is Czech bassist Miroslav Vitous of Weather Report fame. Moving into the 80s, Mabumi's playing style hasn't changed much at all, thankfully. A calm opening tune "Thalia" starts things off, followed by the Samba-esque "Merry-Go-Round" where Williams also stands out. Slightly shorter tracks on this one and again all originals from Mabumi, aside from "Clearways" which is a Williams tune and has more of a bop feel than the others. I particularly enjoy "Illusion" and "Voices Of The Night" - and we close with "Wizard" - and on the final two tracks Vitous brings out bow which is always cool to hear. 

Throw these on this weekend and have enjoy! 

Sidenote: I'll be updating some posts with better quality copies. I'll add a note to the title for those with lossless versions added.

Another from Motohiko Hino

Shortly after making my post on the drummer Motohiko Hino, I stumbled upon a copy of another live album of his: Flying Clouds. Recorded in 1976 but not released until 2022, we have essentially the same lineup as we saw on "Ryuhyo" - Sailing Ice, with the addition of percussionist Yuji Imamura. 

This release again starts off with "Ryuhyo" but this time it's 21 minutes long. Both sax players shine but the first part, which to me sounds like Mabumi Yamaguchi, is the highlight. My next post will be a look at 3 of his albums that I've been stuck on recently. 

Next up we have another 20+ minute track, this time it's the Watanabe tune, "Olive's Step" which we also heard on Toko. After each sax player shows out - Watanabe takes over - followed by a nice drum solo from Hino. Excellent fusion tune and I can't stress enough how great Watanabe is. 

We close with the title track and it too is a great fusion tune. Not quite 18 minutes in length, it has great tempo and showcases each player quite well. After Watanabe, Ino and Hino solos, we close with a touch of dualing saxes from Yamaguchi and Shimizu. Great stuff. 

Dive in. 

Hiroshima - Odori (1980) + Instrumentals

Next up, we'll take a quick look at an album from the band Hiroshima. If I recall, members of Caldera eventually joined this band in some capacity - which is what lead me to them. The album we'll look at today is really the only album of theirs that I've listened to thoroughly. It has some vocals throughout and I've included a mostly clean instrumental version, in addition to the main album. Although, I must say, the original album with vocals is a solid listen in and of itself.

Odori is the 2nd album from the group, and from what I've read, one of their funkier albums - which is probably why I like it so much. The band was formed in California by saxophonist/flautist Dan Kuramoto and his eventual wife, June Kuramoto, who is a renowned koto player. The pair has been joined by a long list of musicians over the years and this album in particular has quite the supporting cast. Here we have guitarist Peter Hata, keyboardist Richard Mathews, bassist Dane Matsumura and the group's long-time drummer Danny Yamamoto. There is also quite the list of backing vocalists and percussionists which can be found on the album's discog's page, linked above. 

I particularly enjoy the first half of this album as it jumps right out of the gate with a funky tune "Cruisin' J-Town." The following, title track has a nice reggae vibe to it and we return to another great funky tune in "Echoes." Track 4 won them a Grammy I do believe in "Winds Of Change." The album slows down a bit after "Warriors" which where I began to lose interest. Although the closing tune "Fortune Teller" is pretty solid, as well. Elements of soul, jazz, r&b, reggae and traditional Japanese sounds make up this release - and I think if you dug the Ryojiro Furusawa - Once In A While album, you'll dig this one too. Enjoy!

Masabumi Kikuchi Sextet - Hairpin Circus OST (1972)

Good morning - I've been super busy and this week will be no different but I have a ton of music to share. Going to try to squeeze in as many posts as possible. I'm waiting on a few things to arrive and I'll have a couple new deep dive/spotlight posts similar to what I did for Isao Suzuki. But for now I'd like to share an album I've been listening to quite a bit lately. I have a few more to share from this artist as well - so stay tuned for a follow-up. 

Released in 1972, the Masabumi Kikuchi Sextet released an original soundtrack for the film, Hairpin Circus. Joining pianist Kikuchi, we have a stellar group of players and quite a few familiar faces. While Kikuchi covers the piano and Rhodes, his brother Masahiro is on the organ. On "Circus-No Trace" they vibe together quite well. On soprano saxophone we have our dear friend Kohsuke Mine and he shines throughout, as expected. On bass we have Yoshio Suzuki and on drums we have Motohiko Hino and Yoshiyuki Nakamura. 

This is classic early-70s fusion and at times reminds me of early electric Miles and also Herbie's Mwandishi band. One of my favorite eras of jazz, I think anyone with similar interests will love this record. "Luna Eclipse - Lamentation" and "Provincial" do the heavy lifting here but I also really dig "Pierrot's Samba." Throw this on and start your week off right. 

Kirk Lightsey and Rudolph Johnson - Habiba (1974)

Hello there. Another quick post for today. I haven't delved too deeply into either artists' catalog, but Kirk Lightsey and Rudolph Johnson recorded a fantastic album together in 1974 titled, Habiba. Joining Lightsey on keys and Johnson on tenor and flute, we have Johnny Boshoff on bass, Charles Mallory on guitar, Delbert Hill on clarinet, Danny Cortez on trumpet, Al Hall on trombone and Curtis Kirk on drums. 

The opening, title track is just over 21 minutes long and only seems to feature Lightsey, Johnson, Boshoff and Kirk. A touch more accessible than spiritual jazz, it certainly feels free at times with all 4 players combining for a beautiful sound. I'm not 100% sure when/why I stumbled on to this album, but I re-visit it all the time. Johnson appears on another album I really enjoy: LaMont Johnson - Nine... A Mystical, Musical Allegory - so I'm guessing that's the connection. 

The next track, "Here It Is" has a different sound entirely. It has more of a Fat Albert Rotunda vibe if you're familiar with that album. At this point the other horn players join in with Hall, Cortez and Johnson all playing terrifically. 

The final track is much shorter than the first two but doesn't lack otherwise. We return to the spiritual vibe and Johnson's playing on tenor makes the track. Every few days when I listen to this album I tell myself to make a post and finally I did. Hopefully you enjoy it. 

Shigeharu Mukai

We've heard trombonist Shigeharu Mukai featured on a Ryojiro Furusawa album as well as a Takeo Moriyama album. Most of Mukai's catalog is available digitally, and for now we'll take a look at the lone album I have that isn't. I'm considering switching things up and sharing albums that I love, regardless of their availability on streaming, but we shall see.

Released in 1976, Favorite Time features a great group of players alongside Mukai. We have Kazumi Watanbe on guitar, Fumio Itabashi on piano, Hideaki Mochizuki on bass and American Oliver Johnson on drums. All standards on this one but we won't let that deter us as there are some well played renditions here. 

We open with a nice version of Coltrane's arrangement of "Afro Blue" - which is an interesting listen with no sax in the group. Watanabe and Mukai follow on a duo rendition of "Old Folks" which is the closest thing to a ballad on the album. After "Autumn Leaves" we get a great offering of another Coltrane tune in "Impressions" that features great playing from Itabashi, Watanabe and Johnson. If anything, this is worth a listen on it's own. We close with a nice rendition of the Ellington classic, "In A Sentimental Mood" and another tune I enjoy in "Stella By Starlight." Relatively straightforward release that is a nice listen from start to finish. 

Mukai has a fabulous catalog starting just prior to this album and extending into the 1980s. If you dig this one, be sure to check some of his other work. 

Enjoy!

Isao Suzuki - My Spare Time (CK Deluxe Edition)

Hello there - a quick post to start the week. Those that followed along with my Isao Suzuki posts may remember an album from 1978 that had a stellar lineup - but had strings added that killed the vibe, in my opinion. I love strings in most cases - but the artificial, piped in strings on My Spare Time were a little too much for my liking. 

I messed around this past weekend and pulled the strings out of the audio with pretty decent success. I just listened to the album again and it's an instant improvement as far as I'm concerned. 

To recap, Isao is joined by fellow bassist Nobuyoshi Ino, saxophonist Sadao Watanabe, pianist Masahiko Satoh, guitarist Sadanori Nakamure and drummer Motohiko Hino. Mostly standards here but the talent level of this lineup is nearly unmatched. Take a listen and see if you dig the album with or without the strings. I'll have more to dive into later this week. 

The Mystery Kindaichi Band

Happy Friday. Today I'd like to take a look at an album that I stumbled upon last year at some point. 

The Adventure of Kohsuke Kindaichi was released in 1977 and was inspired by the Kohsuke Kindaichi novels from author, Seishi Yokomizo. The Mystery Kindaichi Band appears to only have released this one album I haven't looked into the group much at all so maybe this can springboard us into some other interesting releases. 

The group's name certainly seems to be by design because it appears to be mostly a mystery. The limited credits I can find include composer and pianist Kentaro Haneda, composer Hiroshi Takada, and bassist Hideaki Takebe. A little digging lists additional members as pianist Hideo Ichikawa, drummer Jun Moriya, percussionist Tadaomi Anai, and trumpeter Koji Hatori. It seems the group came together for the sole purpose of making this album, and for it to come across as a fictional film score, of sorts. Whatever the case, it's a fantastic listen. 

We start right off with a jazz-funk/disco sound on the opening tune, with a nice bassline from Takebe and great guitar play from, unfortunately, an unknown guitarist. Quite a few tracks have some non-lyrical vocals I've tried to pull out with mixed results. They're not overbearing per se, and some play into the "soundtrack" vibe of the album. Nonetheless, I've included the originals and instrumentals for each track with vocals. We continue on with more funky vibes on "Yatsuhakamura" and again on "Kamen Butokai" which features great clavinet and Rhodes play and a touch more of a disco tempo. 

"Akuma No Temariuta" also has a fantastic tempo with some added strings, and excellent alto sax and Rhodes play. "Meirosou No Sangeki" follows with an excellent bassline and trumpet play from Hatori, leading into a nice sax part with the clavinet making another welcomed appearance. "Akuma Ga Kitarite Fue Wo Fuku" features great synthesizer and flute play. "Mitsukubitou" again features a great bassline from Takebe, and we hear an acoustic guitar for the first time, I believe. We close with "Inugamike No Ichizoku" which begins with a somber tone and an acoustic piano. A very fitting close to a mostly energetic album. One that I really dig, and I hope you do too. 

Have a great weekend. 

Motohiko Hino

Today we will keep with the drummer theme and take a quick look at a couple of live albums from Motohiko Hino. Younger brother of the excellent trumpeter, Terumasa, who I will have a post for sometime soon, Motohiko was considered one of the best drummers from Japan during his career. Unfortunately, his life was cut short when he passed in 1999, at the age of 43. 

The first album to discuss is from 1975 and features a nice group of players who we've encountered at some point throughout our travels. Toko: At Nemu Jazz Inn was recorded live on July 20th, 1975 and features Mikio Masuda on keys, Kazumi Watanabe on guitar and our friend Isao Suzuki on bass. Fantastic fusion sound here on all 3 tracks that are originals from within the group. "You Make Me So Sad" is a Masuda tune that also appeared on Kohsuke Mine's Solid album that we covered previously. The remaining tracks are both from Watanabe, with both being the title tracks from his albums Olive's Step and Endless Way. Excellent fusion here with great chemistry amongst the group - especially between Masuda and Watanabe. Much of Watanabe's catalog can be found online but I do have a post for Masuda that I need to put together.

The following year, in 1976, another live album was released in, Ryuhyo - Sailing Ice. Originally another 3 track release, the copy I have here is the re-issue that includes 2 additional tunes. Watanabe returns on guitar, Nobuyoshi Ino is on bass, and we have 2 saxophonists in Mabumi Yamaguchi and Yasuaki Shimizu. This record is more hard-bop than fusion, in my opinion, and it's terrific from start to finish. My favorites here are both Steve Grossman tunes: "Rio Rome" and "New Moon." Great musicianship throughout as all 5 players are on point. A great listen, no doubt. 

Enjoy!

Takeo Moriyama

Good morning. Today I want to share a little bit of music from another drummer, Takeo Moriyama. Many are familiar with his albums Smile and East Plants, both of which are pretty readily available. I have a few here that we'll look at that I really enjoy. All 3 are relatively straightforward hard-bop sounding records - without any of the "smooth" sounds that began to emerge in the late 70s and certainly into the 80s.

First up, released in 1977, we have the live recording, Flush Up. Joining Takeo, we have saxophonist Tomoki Takahashi, who we should remember from our previous post on Ryojiro Furusawa, another familiar face in bassist, Hideaki Mochizuki, and the excellent pianist, Fumio Itabashi. The opening, title track, is 18 minutes of absolute ruckus. All 4 players shine and Takeo's drum solo is worth the price of admission. Takahashi also shreds on this one. The type of energy I love. Next up, we have a great rendition of standard "Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise" followed by another nice tune in "Yellow Bear." 

The following year, in 1978, Takeo's quartet was joined by trombonist, Shigeharu Mukai, for the album, Hush-A-Bye. (Most of Mukai's incredible catalog is available digitally, but I believe I have a few to share.) Mochizuki and Itabashi return but we have a change at saxophone, with Katsumi Odagiri joining the group. Great energy again as we start off with "Sunrise." We can exhale a bit for the following title track, which features great playing from Odagiri on tenor. We close with a nice track with a touch more pep in "Snow Tiger." Sad to learn that only 2 short years later, Odagiri passed away at the age of 31.

We skip up a few years to 1982 for our next release, My Dear. I'm not entirely in love with the quality of this recording but it's listenable. Mochizuki again joins on bass, and this time we have 2 saxophonists rounding out the quartet. We have Mikinori Fujiwara on tenor and soprano and we have Toshihiko Inoue on tenor. All 4 tracks also happen to be Inoue compositions. Great energy to begin with and Takeo is shining as usual on "Non Check." The title track slows things down a bit but features a nice melody from the sax players and great drumming again from Takeo. Another short release with great energy and musicianship throughout. 

That wraps up a quick look at Takeo Moriyama. Hopefully his drumming is as impressive to you as it is me. If you like what you heard here, be sure to check Smile and East Plants. 

Ryojiro Furusawa

Happy Friday. Today, I'd like to take a quick look at drummer Ryojiro Furusawa. We'll hear a variety of sounds as we progress and each album is stellar in its own way, in my opinion.

From 1976, You Wanna Rain is a relatively straightforward release and features a great group of players. Joining Ryojiro we have pianist Toshiyuki Daitoku, bassist Mochizuki Hideaki, saxophonist Tomoki Takahashi and excellent trombonist Shigeharu Mukai. 

Talent level is demonstrated quickly as the record opens with the 12-minute tune "Acoustic Chicken" with saxophonist Takahashi playing wonderfully. "Snake Walk" sounds exactly how you'd expect it to and Mukai makes his presence felt on another excellent tune in "Yellow Cherry." All originals here as far as I can tell with the exception of the closing tune, ballad "For Heaven's Sake." Overall, a fantastic album. 

The following year, 1977, brought another superb album in Racco. We have the same group here with the exception of trombonist Mukai. Another relatively straightforward release. One thing that stands out to me is Daitoku's use of the Rhodes versus the acoustic piano. A sound I pretty much always prefer. I really enjoy this one through and through. "Wolf Fish" is a short tune that highlights Furusawa's drumming and "Burning Cloud" is also an excellent composition. All originals here and great stuff all around. 

Up next in 1978, we have Spicy Islands and we start to venture into some different sounds. Daitoku returns on keys along with Mochizuki on bass and Takahashi on tenor saxophone. We have an additional saxophonist on sopranino in Toshiyuki Honda and 2 guitarists. Native Son guitarist Motonobu Ohde is here with Kohichi Hiroki. The album starts off with a great tempo and Latin vibe in "You'll Be Free Tonight." We get great energy and a little funky as Daitoku employs the clavinet on "Rainbow's Papa's Band Song." Both sax players shine here and we also get a nice drum part from Ryojiro. We can catch our breath a bit on "Sweet Flags In The Mist" with a nice melody and flute part from Honda. We continue with the Latin feel in "History of Tabasco" and "La Rimarna." The aptly named "Sayonara" closes us out with a mellow reggae touch and another great album is in the books. 

We skip ahead a few years into 1983 for our next release for an album that has become a favorite of mine. A hybrid album of various sounds, Once In A While again features some excellent musicianship. And we have some familiar faces from previous posts lending support. Lucky for us, Kohsuke Mine is here on saxophone, Mukai returns on trombone, Native Son bassist Tamio Kawabata and guitarist Motonobu Ohde are joined by 2 other guitarists in June Yamagishi and Kohichi Hiroki. On keys we have Junichiro Ohkuchi and Masahiro Sayama and lending support on percussion we have Getao Takahashi and Gonshichi Koizumi. 

The opening "Once In A While In Nichiogi" is a melodic bouncy track highlighting Mine's beautiful sax play and a great guitar part. Although I'm unsure which guitarist to thank. The very rhythmic "Wan-Nyago" is next up and be careful, the cutting of rugs may commence. These first 2 tracks have very minimal vocals that didn't warrant an instrumental, in my opinion. 

"Twilight Chime" is up next and the group turns toward reggae. A short tune, and about halfway through the tempo changes and who I assume is Ohde shreds for the remainder of the track. "Dancing" follows and is another reggae tune with an excellent bass line from Kawabata and a nice soprano sax part from Mine. "Peak Wind" follows and once the track develops it again has a great tempo. Mine shines as usual on tenor and there's also an awesome synthesizer part. Last track here is "Moonlight Slumber" and also has a reggae vibe to it. Vocals here provided by Minako Yoshida and while they fit the track very well, I've included an instrumental. 

And that wraps it up. Have a great weekend and hopefully this post will provide some enjoyable new to you music.