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.