Masabumi Kikuchi

Hey everyone. Today we are going to begin our deep dive into famed Japanese pianist, Masabumi Kikuchi. Born in Tokyo in 1939, Kikuchi recorded music until his death in 2015. Along the way, we'll encounter tons of names in Japanese jazz which will undoubtedly lead us to new albums to explore. I have quite a few to share so I'll try to keep it quick on each release. There are some discrepancies on order of releases so I'll do my best to stay in order. Let's get to it.

First up for us is the 1969 release, Matrix. Originally released as the Modern Victor Jazz Sextet, it was eventually re-released as the Masabumi Kikuchi Sextet. The name references the Chick Corea tune which opens the album. Joining Masabumi we have trumpeter Tetsuo Fushimi, alto saxophonist Hideyuki Kikuchi, tenor saxophonist Akio Nishimura, bassist Hironori Takiya and drummer Takahiro Suzuki. 

Mostly straight ahead stuff here. The 2 originals from Kikuchi, "Little Abi", which features great play from the other Kikuchi, and "In The Fourth Way", are excellent. As is the Sadao Watanabe tune "If I Said The Sky Was Falling." Good stuff all around to kick us off. 

Next up for us, also released in 1969, is the Hino=Kikuchi Quintet album by the same name. As expected, the Hino here refers to trumpeter Terumasa Hino (the subject of our next deep dive) and alongside Hino and Kikuchi we have Takeru Muraoka on sax, Kunimitsu Inaba on bass and brother to Terumasa, Motohiko Hino on drums. 

A mostly chill vibe on this one. Pretty straight ahead with great playing from the group as a whole. I really dig "Ideal Portrait" and "Long Trip" is also a nice tune. 

Next up is the 1970 release, Re-Confirmation. We have some familiar faces supporting here in saxophonist Kohsuke Mine, bassist Yoshio Ikeda, fellow keyboardist Masahiro Kikuchi, and drummers Keiji Kishida and Hiroshi Murakami. 

A little more tempo on this one and as expected, Mine plays beautifully throughout. Especially on "Love Token." I also really dig the closing tune, "Young Blood."

Next for us and also released in 1970, we have the album, Poo-Sun. Purely speculating but Masabumi's nickname was Poo. So I'm curious if this should have been titled, Poo-San. Either way, we have a great album here. 

Joining here we again have Kohsuke Mine on sax and Ikeda on bass. We also have Murakami and Hino on drums with Kishida on percussion. We have an additional keyboardist in Hideo Ichikawa lending support. 

This one starts off wonderfully with Kikuchi signature tune, "Dancing Mist." We'll hear this one a few times as we go. More of a fusion vibe on this one which I welcome, no doubt. Mine also brought along his soprano sax which is one of my favorite sounds in jazz. Excellent stuff here. "Yellow Carcass In The Blue" is a nice tune followed by another solid tune in "Puzzle Ring." One of the best albums in the catalog, in my opinion. 

Last for today we have a 1970 album titled, Collaboration, which you guessed it, is a collaboration between the Masabumi Kikuchi Sextet and the Sadao Watanabe Quartet. Joining Kikuchi and Watanabe we again have Mine on sax, Masahiro Kikuchi on keys, Ikeda on bass, Kishida on percussion and Murakami on drums. We also have personal favorite guitarist Yoshiaki Masuo, excellent bassist Yoshio Suzuki and drummer Hiro Tsunoda. 

Double LP here so we have nearly 90 minutes of jazz. "Illusion" starts us off quite well and is a touch busier than we've heard so far. "Up Tight" is another solid tune with great soprano play from Mine. "Lunar Eclipse" is another rock solid tune here. Another highlight here would be "Hiro" which features great playing from Masuo. Looks like this copy is missing the final tune, "Thanatos Take 1." I'll see if I can it elsewhere. 

Enjoy!