Takeshi Inomata - Part 2

Hey there. Back again with our next post on drummer Takeshi Inomata. 

First up we have the 1971 release, Innocent Canon. One thing of note is that there is a lot of talking over a few of the tunes. Also quite a bit of grunting, etc. from Inomata at one point during a drum solo. I've included a second copy where I've tried to remove as much as possible. 

Joining Inomata here we again have guitarist Kimio Mizutani, flautist Toshiyaki Yokota, bassist Jun Suzuki and trumpeter Shunzo Ohno. We also have trumpeter Takehisa Suzuki, trombonist and vibraphonist Shigemichi Domoto, saxophonist Jake Concepcion, keyboardist Shigehito Ohara and percussionist Osamu Nakajima. 

More of the same here in the jazz-rock sense. "Go For Nothing" is a good tune with some nice playing from Mizutani, Concepcion and Inomata. "Child & I" is also solid with some great playing from Ohara. Best tune here might be "Alone" which is the closest to hard bop we've heard thus far. Concepcion plays wonderfully on the soprano sax. 

Next for us is the 1972 release on Columbia, Drum Method. This one only has the Sound Limited backing band along with Inomata in the personnel notes. Going to assume we essentially have the same group since it's been pretty consistent. Mostly covers on this one with the biggest highlights being the Norio Maeda tunes "Sleeper" and "Seven Four." I of course dig the rendition of Hancock's "Maiden Voyage" as well. 

The last album for Inomata I have is The Dialogue. Released in 1977, here we have duos for the tune "The Dialogue" with different instruments for each version. On bass we have Yasuo Arakawa, on percussion we have Makoto Aruga, on vibes we have Ichiro Masuda, on flute we have Toshiaki Yokota, on guitar we have Shohju Yokouchi, on tenor sax we have Kohnosuke Saijoh and finally on trombone we have the great Shigeharu Mukai. 

Favorites here are the flute, tenor sax and trombone tunes. Good stuff. 

Enjoy! I have a couple of deep dives in store so stay tuned.

-CK