Art Blakey in Japan – 1961 ‘Lost’ Recordings Re-Issued!

Previously unreleased live album that includes the first tour of Japan in 1961 by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers! This was a historic performance for Japan, recorded for the documentary film “Kuroi Sakuretsu” but due to rights issues it was never released and the film was...

One Box Record Fair, Sun Dec. 5th at DownBeat in Yokohama

The long running One Box Record Fair makes its first journey down to the historic Noge neighborhood of Yokohama, with the latest edition Sunday Dec. 5th at DownBeat, one of Japan’s greatest jazz kissaten. There will be several dealers each with a box of vinyl for sale,...

New Remix Single from DJ Otsuka out 11/27

日本のジャズミュージシャンとのプロジェクトRM jazz legacyや、コンピのシリーズを展開していた Key of Life＋レーベル3年ぶりのニューリリースが決定します！ RM jazz legacyで、抜擢しました、セネガルのジェンベ奏者で現地でも有名な伝統音楽家、 オマール・ゲンデファルとのパーカショントラックで、私が初のリミックスワークとして仕上げたナンバーになります。 同時発売されるオマールのソロアルバムからのオリジナルをリミックスした限定シングルカットで 11/27に開催される「レコードの日」のタイトルとして、7インチ としてリリースいたします。 ぜひご紹介頂けたら幸いです! DJ Otsuka https://diskunion.net/portal/ct/list/0/0/78028  ‘Mama Africa’ from percussionist and band leader Omar Gaindefall is on his latest solo album Dakar/Tokyo. Omar is from Senegal but has been settled here in Japan for many years...

Tokyo Crossover Jazz Festival 2021

DJ, club owner and producer Shuya Okino started the Tokyo Crossover Jazz Festival way back in 2003 as an event literally ‘crossing over’ all the genres of Black American Music, including not only jazz but also funk, soul, hip-hop, disco and house. Held intermittently over the years,...

More Music Documentaries!

Lee Morgan – ‘The Complete Live At The Lighthouse’

This is the big one, maybe the best box set to come out in years in any genre. A truly gorgeous overall package with extensive liner notes, photos and interviews, this 8-CD set presents the complete four nights of performances by trumpeter Lee Morgan and his quintet...

Billy Harper / Antibes ’75 (2021）

SAM RECORDS, a French label based in Paris that launched in 2011, has put out a previously unreleased Billy Harper live recording! Recorded on Black Saint in July 1975 at the Antibes Jazz Festival, it was carefully remastered from the master tapes. Includes a live version of...

Music Documentaries!

Suga Dairo Trio

Recently I wrote the liner notes for a live recording made at the Shinjuku Pit Inn by the Suga Dairo Trio. Suga is a freestyle pianist influenced by Yamashita Yosuke, and his recent recordings are all wonderful, so I want to introduce this album from two years...

Randy Weston Melba Liston / Volcano Blues

Band leader and pianist Randy Weston was a genius who fused West African traditional music with modern jazz. For several years, his music was arranged and directed by female trombone player Melba Liston. Volcano Blues is a magnificent work with a large any horn section and percussion,...