Recital

"Recorded live for FM broadcast in the spring of 1969, this superb set captures the legendary jazz drummer putting his band through their paces on a series of incendiary extended tracks.Featuring the young Woody Shaw on trumpet, as well as Carlos Garnett (tenor saxophone), George Cables (piano) and Scotty Holt (bass), it's presented here with background notes and images."

"Broadcast live on WBCN-FM radio, this remarkable performance captures Pat Metheny at a fascinating point in his career. His debut album, the classic Bright Size Life, had recently been released, but he'd already moved on, forming a quartet for the forthcoming Watercolors LP, issued in 1977.Featuring material from both sets, it showcases the guitarist at his youthful best and is presented here with background notes and images."TRACKLISTING1. Bright Size Life2. River Quay3. There Will Never Be Another You4. Band Introduction5. Watercolors6. Nacada7. The Whopper8. Icefire9. Unquity Road10. Untitled

"Sorcerer, the third album by the second Miles Davis Quintet, is in a sense a transitional album, a quiet, subdued affair that rarely blows hot, choosing to explore cerebral tonal colorings. Even when the tempo picks up, as it does on the title track, there's little of the dense, manic energy on Miles Smiles -- this is about subtle shadings, even when the compositions are as memorable as Tony Williams' "Pee Wee" or Herbie Hancock's "Sorcerer." As such, it's a little elusive, since it represents the deepening of the band's music as they choose to explore different territory. The emphasis is as much on complex, interweaving chords and a coolly relaxed sound as it is on sheer improvisation, though each member tears off thoroughly compelling solos. Still, the individual flights aren't placed at the forefront the way they were on the two predecessors -- it all merges together, pointing toward the dense soundscapes of Miles' later '60s work. It's such a layered, intriguing work that the final cut, recorded in 1962 with Bob Dorough on vocals, is an utterly jarring, inappropriate way to end the record, even if it's intended as a tribute to Miles' then-wife, Cicely Tyson (whose image graces the cover)." - All Music Guide

The Japanese East Wind label was active in the 70s and into the early 80s.  This was a jazz label that focused on Japanese artists but also covered many popular US players.  While not as overtly audiophile as Three Blind Mice, the East Wind label was always noted for immaculate reference quality production.Universal Japan has released 72 titles from the East Wind catalog in extremely limited editions.  We've cherry picked those titles that we think are of interest to our customer base.The creator certainly had a master plan when it came to this modal masterpiece.  Pianist Mikio Masuda's trio is augmented by a number of reed players including the great Terumasa Hino.  The entire album has a spiritual vibe.  When you hear the track "Prayer" you would swear you were listening to outtakes from a Pharaoh Sanders session.  A stunning album.  Highly recommended.

Recording of the Jazz Workshop (Boston, MA) performance broadcast on WBCN-FM radio on January 16, 1973 

This is an unusual item for us to offer so an explanation: I have a long standing personal interest in Japanese jazz.  This is a scene that has been overlooked for decades but finally caught the attention of jazz collectors and prices of original vinyl reflects this.  Luckily many of these titles have been reissued either on CD or vinyl.  Over the past few years I've discovered that some of our customer base is interested as well.  We've experimented a bit by offering reissues of select titles and the response has been very positive.  Tony Higgins and Mike Peden are the de facto experts in the genre and they've written the authoritative English language book on the Japanese jazz scene.  It comes with a sampler CD.  Its too limited an audience and too expensive for us to keep deep inventory.  I suggest not sleeping on this if its of interest to you."BBE Music is thrilled to present J Jazz: Free and Modern Jazz From Japan 1954-1988, a remarkable large-format book covering some of the deepest, rarest, and most innovative jazz music released anywhere in the post-war era. Compiled by Tony Higgins and Mike Peden, co-curators of BBE Music's acclaimed J Jazz Masterclass Series, the book also features a foreword by Japanese jazz icon, Terumasa Hino. This is the first time a book of this type has been published outside of Japan and the first anywhere of this size and scale. It is a unique collection of over 500 albums of free and modern jazz released in Japan during a period of radical transformation and constant reinvention. An era that saw Japan return from the ravages of World War Two to become a global economic power and emerge as both a technological leader and an international cultural force. Through a unique gallery of albums, J Jazz charts the development of jazz in Japan from the first stirrings of the modern jazz scene in the mid to late 1950s and on through the hard bop and modal jazz of the 1960s. It steers the reader into the radical directions of the 1970s when free jazz, fusion, post-bop, and jazz-funk opened up a growing number of Japanese jazz artists to a new global audience before consolidating in the mid to late 1980s with a musical scene that laid the path for the contemporary jazz generation to follow. Over 500 full-colour sleeves from many of the leading names in Japanese jazz sit alongside rare and private pressings that tell a story of constant change and musical exploration. J Jazz includes profiles of several leading record labels such as East Wind, Frasco, King Records, and Nippon Columbia as well as critical independents such as Three Blind Mice, ALM, and Aketa’s Disk. J Jazz includes interviews with celebrated jazz photographer Tadayuki Naito, and pianist Tohru Aizawa, bandleader on the totemic spiritual jazz album, Tachibana Vol 1, as well as free-jazz record collector and jazz musician Mats Gustafsson.  The book also features a chapter on albums by non-Japanese artists that only received a Japanese release, with collectible, rare, and obscure releases by figures such as Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Mal Waldron, Steve Lacy, and Art Blakey. J Jazz includes Japanese jazz charts from some of the world's leading jazz DJs including Gilles Peterson, Toshio Matsuura, Paul Murphy, and Shuya and Yoshihiro Okino. Among the specialist content is a feature on obi strips by record dealer and Japanese jazz expert, Yusuke Ogawa, plus a special article on Japanese Blue Note albums. Across its 300-plus pages, J Jazz includes a detailed introduction contextualising the music, tracing the story of Japan's fascination with jazz back before the war. It also features biographical information on many of the key artists involved in shaping the post-war Japanese jazz scene including Sadao Watanabe, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Masabumi Kikuchi, Masahiko Togashi, Terumasa Hino, Yosuke Yamashita, Fumio Itabashi, Masayuki Takayanagi, Takeo Moriyama, Isao Suzuki, and many more.- 400 page hardcover large format book- includes CD with 10 Japanese Jazz tracks- only 2000 copies printed- largest picture book on Japanese Jazz ever printed- First and only picture book devoted to Japanese Jazz covers to be produced outside Japan- Extra sections on non Japanese artists and Blue Note albums produced exclusively for the Japanese market- Includes intro by Terumasa Hino plus articles by Yusuke Ogawa, Mats Gustafsson, Tony Higgins and interview with Tohru Aizawa - DJ J Jazz Top Tens from around the world