Takeru Muraoka - Part 2

Hey again. Back today for our 2nd look into saxophonist Takeru Muraoka. 

First up is the 1971 release, Rock Joy In Sax. Joining Takeru we have Hiromasa Suzuki on keys, Kimio Mizutani on guitar, 3 trombonists in Seiichi Tokura, Takeshi Aoki and Teruhiko Kataoka, and 2 trumpeters in Koji Hatori and Bunji Murata. I can't verify however who is on bass and drums. 

This record features covers of popular rock tunes of the time. A similar sound we heard on the Takeshi Inomata albums we looked at recently. "Whole Lotta Love" is nice, as is the tune made famous by the greats Gloria Gaynor and The Jackson 5, "Never Can Say Good-bye." Another great tune here which also features Muraoka on flute is "Music For Gon-Gon." Good stuff if you dig jazz-rock. 

Next for us we travel 7 years into the future for the 1978 release, Soft Landing. Released as Takeru Muraoka & His New Group, this time around we have Takao Naoi on guitar, Masanori Sasaji on keys, Susumu Kazuhara on trumpet and flugelhorn, Michio Nagaoka on bass, Kiyohiko Semba on percussion with Michael Kawai on drums. 

All originals here from Muraoka on an album that might be my favorite from the bunch. This brand of fusion is right in my wheel house. This one jumps right out of the gate with "Ode To Naska" followed by another excellent tune in "Hot Wing." After a slower tune in "May Storm" the two that follow are both solid in "Lady Boogie" and "Snappin'." But the absolute best tune here in my opinion is the closing, "Bon Voyage." Excellent album.

The next album I have here technically is not a Muraoka album as leader, but a good album to work in nonetheless. Digital Explosion is a 1980 release from the Yuri Tashiro Piano Trio and Eiji Arai & The Beatsounds. From what I can tell, side A is one group with side B being the other. Side B features Muraoka on each tune. 

For side A, we have Yuri Tashiro on piano, Kunimitsu Inaba on bass with Hajime Ishimatsu on drums. For side B, we have Eiji Arai on trombone, Shunzo Sunahara on baritone sax, Susumu Kazuhara, Yasuo Hirauchi and Yoshikazu Kishi on trumpet, Shigehito Ohara and Makiko Tashiro on keys, Tsunehide Matsuki on guitar, Akira Okazawa on bass with Yuichi Togashiki on drums. 

I expected this one to explode out of the gate in an electronic, digital even, kind of way. But the Yuri Tashiro side of this record is very straight-forward, trio sound. "I Can't Get Started" is a nice ballad here on side A. 

Now to side B. Much more going on here and in a way that beckons the title of the album. An excellent version of "Summer Time" starts us off. "Dream" is a little mundane but we close another solid tune in "Day By Day."

The last album I have here is from 1985 and is titled, Stardust: Takeru Muraoka Plays Standards. Joining him here we have Akio Mitsui on trumpet, Himiko Kikuchi on piano, Masatsugu Matsumoto on guitar, Hiroshi Hoshino on bass with Koji Takeda and Yuichi Togashiki on drums. 

Pretty easy going stuff here. There are some piped in strings at times that I could do without. "Danny Boy" and "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" are nice tunes. We also have a nice rendition of "I Can't Get Started." A very easy, Sunday afternoon kind of listen.

Enjoy! I hope there was something here for everyone's tastes.

Takeru Muraoka

Hello, everyone. Long time. I traveled all last week for work so it's been a doozy getting back into the swing of things. 

For today's post, we're going to look at saxophonist, Takeru Muraoka. We've encountered him a few times throughout our travels and we have some great albums to dive into.

First up, we have an album that technically isn't a Muraoka album as leader, but it pre-dates the other albums I have so this is where we'll start. Released as Shungo Sawada - Takeru Muraoka & The All-Stars, Hit And Hit In Bossa Nova was released in 1968. I don't have a full personnel list but on guitar we have Sawada, Muraoka is on sax, Hiroshi Suzuki is on trombone with Norio Maeda on vibes. 

What an excellent record to start us off. A very accessible and pleasant listen overall. Nothing earth-shattering when it comes to individual playing, but a great Sunday afternoon type of record. I mostly dig side B on this one but side A is also quite nice. "Koi No Tokimeki" and "Flower Necklace" are great tunes here. A nice start to our day. 

Next for us is the 1970 release, Takeru. Featuring some familiar faces we have Masabumi Kikuchi on electric piano, Yoshio Ikeda on bass with George Otsuka on drums. Another very pleasant, straight-ahead album here. 

Highlights for this one would be the final 3 tunes, "Fish", "Electric Zoo" & "Desperation." Not a bad album by any means.

The following year in 1971, Muraoka released an album alongside fellow saxophonist Takao Uematsu. Ride And Tie also features personal favorite Hiromasa Suzuki on keys (who is more than deserving of a post, just haven't hammered it out yet), Yoshio Suzuki on bass with Motohiko Hino on drums. 

A live recording dubbed the "Tenor Battle" we're off to a very bluesy start with "C.C. Rider." Good vibes continue as this one unfolds. Originals "Hot Sunday" and "Happy Birth" are solid and my favorite tune here is the closing Eddie Harris tune, "Listen Here." Good stuff.

Next up is the 1971 album Something, paying homage to the George Harrison tune of the same name. Released as Freedom Unity Featuring Takeru Muraoka, we again have Hiromasa Suzuki on keys, Hiroshi Suzuki on trombone, Kunimitsu Inaba on bass with Akira Ishikawa on drums. 

Muraoka starts this record off playing beautifully on "Capricorn." I'm not a fan of Beatles covers so "Something" wasn't my favorite tune, but we have more great playing from Muraoka and both Suzukis on "On A Sunny Day." Hiromasa Suzuki tune "Blue Soul" might be my favorite here. One of the shorter tunes but a great sound. Another solid album.

I have 4 more to share, so stay tuned!

Masabumi Kikuchi - Part 6 - Tethered Moon

Hey everyone. Gonna keep this one short so we can move on. 

The last group of albums I have for Masabumi Kikuchi is with the trio, Tethered Moon. With Gary Peacock on bass and Paul Motian on drums, the group released 7 albums between 1992 and 2004. All acoustic, straight-ahead stuff, here. My biggest complaint about these recordings is that they pick up Kikuchi's vocalizing he tends to make while playing. It's just a distraction for me. Anyhow, if acoustic trio albums are your go-to, here you go.

Tethered Moon (1992)

Triangle (1992)

Play Kurt Weill (1995)

First Meeting (1997)

Plays Jimi Hendrix (1998)

Chansons D'Edith Piaf (1999)

Experiencing Tosca (2004)

See you soon!

Masabumi Kikuchi - Part 5

We're nearing the end of our look into pianist, Masabumi Kikuchi. 

Unfortunately, there are quite a few albums from the 80s that I am missing. They all have elements as their titles so if anyone has copies, feel free to share. 

We jump up to the 1990s for our next album. 1992's Dreamachine takes a step towards the electro-funk sound of the 90s that is entirely hit or miss for me. Here we have Nicky Skopelitis on guitar, the legend Bootsy Collins and Bill Laswell on bass, Aiyb Dieng on percussion with Bernie Worrell on synthesizer. From what I can tell, Worrell is providing the "drums." I'm a huge fan of drummers so this isn't a sound I prefer.

"Night City" is OK, with what sounds like Collins laying down a funky bassline. I just can't get past the synth drums. A forgettable album for me. 

Feel You is next for us. The 1993 acoustic trio album features James Genus on bass with Victor Jones on drums. A pretty straight-forward album here which is welcomed after the previous album. "Up Beat Blues" and "Pain Killer - II" are the highlights here for me. They have the most tempo on the album.

Next for us is the 1994 release, Duo, which features Kohsuke Mine on sax with Kikuchi. This one is pretty soft throughout but a pleasant listen if you're in need of something calm. "I Remember Goko" would be my favorite tune here. Moving on.

We move to another century altogether with our next release. 2012's Sunrise is another trio album, this time featuring Thomas Morgan on bass with Paul Motian on drums. A very tame album, here. Not much stands out to me. 

Next up we have the 2016 release, Black Orpheus. Our first solo piano album, I believe. Naturally a very tame album, seeing how it was released on ECM. A label known for it's tameness. Solo piano albums just don't quite do it for me. This post is turning out to be a touch boring. Sorry folks. 

Last album I have here is Hanamichi - The Final Studio Recording. Again, a solo piano album released 6 years after Kikuchi's death in 2015. Cut from the same cloth as Black Orpheus, this one is another that didn't do much for me.

Our final post will feature the catalog from Tethered Moon. A trio featuring Kikuchi, Peacock on bass with Motian on drums. I'll see you guys soon.

  

Masabumi Kikuchi - Part 4

Hey there. Back again with our next installment into the catalog of pianist, Masabumi Kikuchi.

First up for today is the 1974 release, East Wind. This time around we have Kohsuke Mine on tenor sax, Terumasa Hino on trumpet, Juni Booth on bass and Eric Gravatt on drums. Only 2 tracks here, 1 nearly 20 minutes long and the other nearly 25 minutes. 

Both tunes are excellent here. Mine and Hino play wonderfully throughout. Good stuff.

Two years later in 1976, Kikuchi released Wishes, under the moniker of Kochi. Quite the supporting group here. We again have Hino on trumpet, Dave Leibman is on soprano sax and flute, Steve Grossman is on soprano and tenor saxes, Reggie Lucas is on electric guitar, Anthony Jackson is on bass, M'tume is on percussion with the excellent Al Foster on drums. 

This one starts off a little oddly and by about halfway through the opening tune it kicks into gear. I would consider this our first fusion album we've come across. "Caribbean Blue" is a very nice tune, as is "Electric Ephemeron" although it does seem to end abruptly. 

But Not For Me is next for us. Recorded in NYC in 1978, joining in support we have Gary Peacock on bass, Alyrio Lima, Azzedin Weston and Badal Roy on percussion with Al Foster again on drums. 

The percussionists are on full display on "Pumu: #1" which is a fun tune. Another highlight here would be the closing tune, "A Leaf." Not a bad album by any means.

We move into the 1980s for our next release. Susto was released in 1981 on Columbia. A pretty sizeable personnel list on this one so please check the link for a full breakdown. Only 4 tunes here and all originals from Kikuchi. I like finding good albums from the 80s, which are certainly hit or miss. 

This one starts off with a little spacey funkiness in "Circle/Line." "City Snow" features some great Rhodes play from Kikuchi that I wish we heard a little more of. "Gumbo" is next which has a nice reggae vibe to it. A sound I dig. Reminds me of one of my favorites, Ryojiro Furusawa. This one closes with another solid, albeit scattered, tune in "New Native." Another solid album in the books.

Last album for today is also from the 1980s. Perhaps my favorite album thus far is the 1982 release, One-Way Traveler. Another sizeable personnel list that varies tune to tune so please check the link for a full breakdown. All originals again from Kikuchi. 

This one starts off with the massive tune, "Alacalder" which features great play from Steve Grossman on soprano sax and Terumasa Hino on cornet. But I really start to dig this one on the next funky tune, "Sum Dum Fun." We also get to hear some clavinet on "Madjap Express" which also features great play from Hino and Grossman. This one closes with a brief tune, "Sky Talk" and we have another rock solid album in the books.

We have a few more to go so stay tuned!