Terumasa Hino - 1960s

Let us begin our deep dive into trumpeter Terumasa Hino, and since we're dealing with a massive catalog here, I'll try to be quick with each album. I think we can squeeze all of the 1960s into one post.

With that said, let's start with the 1967 release Alone, Alone And Alone. We have a quartet here with Yuji Ohno on piano, Kunimitsu Inaba on bass with brother to Terumasa, Motohiko Hino, on drums.

A straight-ahead album here and this one swings throughout, with crisp playing from Hino and Ohno. We have the title track which is quite nice but my favorite here is the excellent rendition of Gershwin's "Summertime." A very nice listen to start us off.

The next I have, and released as Terumasa Hino And His Group, is the 1968 release Feelin' Good. We have a pretty sizeable personnel group highlighted by Takeru Muraoka on sax, Masabumi Kikuchi on piano and arrangement, Hiroshi Suzuki on trombone and Yoshiaki Masuo on guitar. Feel free to check the link for the full list. 

This record having a larger ensemble obviously changes up our sound from AAA a bit. A bit more bluesy and soulful, with a touch of big band to it. Reminds me a little of the Gil Evans With Masabumi Kikuchi record we listened to recently.

All covers on this one and while there's not really a weak point, my favorite on this one is the Duke Pearson tune "The Magilla." 2 for 2.

Into 1969, we take a little bit of a turn towards fusion and my favorite album of the early candidates in Hi-Nology. This time as the Terumasa Hino Quintet, we again have Inaba on bass with Moto on drums. Muraoka is here on sax and this time on keys we have Hiromasa Suzuki. 

A similar sound here to Miles at the time, or the Eddie Henderson and Herbie albums we listened to right around this time frame, 69-71. This is excellent stuff. Difficult to choose a favorite here but I do really dig the 3 Hino tunes here, 1, 3 & 4. The other going to Muraoka.

Next up for us is the 1969 live album, Swing Journal Jazz Workshop 1 – Terumasa Hino Concert, recorded at the Ginza Yamaha Hall. When I visited Japan, I stayed in the Ginza district in Tokyo. I wonder if this venue was nearby. 

A 3 tune affair and this time around we again have Hiromasa Suzuki on piano, Hiroshi Suzuki on trombone, Muraoka on tenor sax, Inaba on bass with Moto on drums. On side B we have 2 additional trumpeters in Koji Hatori and Tetsuo Fushimi, another trombonist in Yasushi Ichiura and additional sax players in Sigeo Suzuki on alto and Shunzo Sunahara on baritone. We also have the excellent guitarist Kiyoshi Sugimoto on hand.

On side A from the quintet, we have “The Shadow Of Your Smile” from John Mandel, composer of “Suicide Is Painless”, along with Hino original “Night Dreamer.” Side B, as the Terumasa Hino Orchestra, is the Norio Maeda tune “Slobber.” My preference here is side B which has a bit more pep than side A. Another solid recording.

Next up for us and also released in 1969 is the Hino=Kikuchi Quintet album we covered during our look into Kikuchi’s catalog. The same faces support Hino and Kikuchi with Muraoka on sax, Inaba on bass with Moto on drums.

All Kikuchi originals here and the sound is mostly crisp, straight-ahead stuff. Personal favorites are still “Ideal Portrait” and “Long Trip.”

That’s a wrap for our 1960s edition. The 70s are chocked full of albums and we will pick Hino back up very soon. Enjoy!