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！
‘Mama Africa’ from percussionist and band leader Omar Gaindefall is on his latest solo album Dakar/Tokyo.
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!
At the Bunkamura Le Cinema in Shibuya through this Thursday 11/11 are two remarkable music documentaries that any music fan should not miss.
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!
Through the end of this week, local broadcaster Peter Barakan’s curated film festival is on at the Kadokawa Cinema in Yurakucho. It will feature some classic and brand new music documentaries, including the very hard to find Our Latin Thing and The Jazz Loft.
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,...
South African Jazz Reissues!
There’s been a great influx recently of vintage South African jazz albums, from both well known legends, but also long forgotten players in the scene during the 1960s and 70s. Saxophonist Dudu Pukwana was a member of the pioneering SA Jazz group The Blue Notes, but like...
Album Pick – Alkisah By Senyawa
Album Pick: Senyawa – ‘Aliksah’ (Indonesia 2021) This is a brand new release by one of the most interesting bands in the entire world music scene. Duo Rully Shabara (vocals) and Wukir Suryadi (various instruments) sound like no other group I have heard. Rully’s vocals range from...
Album Pick – Alive! By Alive!
Album Pick: Alive! – ‘Alive!’ (US 1979) I’ve been doing some research into women in Jazz music and was recently asked to write the liner notes for a reissue album by the trailblazing 1970’s all-female Jazz group Alive! They were a pioneering band who performed at the...
Welcome to the new K.O.L. Radio website!
Welcome to the new K.O.L. Radio website! You can now listen to all 70 programs we’ve put online to date by using the embedded player, you can also search by DJ name, genre or country, and there’s this new blog too where we will be posting news,...