Yusuke Ogawa
Japanese Jazz Spectacle (Deep, Heavy And Beautiful Jazz From Japan) (1962-1985) (The King Records Masters)

Originally released in 1976Arranged by Kiyoshi YamayaFeaturing Shakuhachi master, Kifu MitsuhashiKifu Mitsuhashi studied with Soufu Sasaki of the Kinko-style shakuhachi in 1968. He became a member of Pro Musica Nipponia and participated in many concerts both in Japan and overseas after completing the NHK Hougaku Training Program in 1972. Mitsuhashi studied with Chikugai Okamoto of the shakuhachi fukesyu meian souryuukai in 1974. He was awarded as top soloist of the 1st Pan Music Festival in 1976.Kiyoshi Yamaya is a Japanese jazz composer, band leader born in Tokyo on March 29, 1932. As a musician commonly playing the alto or baritone saxophone, he had been a part of bands like Tetsurou Takahama and Eskyer Cats and Hiromichi Yamamoto and Champagne Serenade.Originally released in 1976, “Shakuhachi: Sato no uta” is a collaboration between these two artists. The album artfully combines each musicians respective genres of expertise, resulting in an incredible fusion of both jazz and traditional Japanese folk music.

✺ First time reissued on vinyl.✺ Housed in a gatefold jacket.✺ Extensive liner notes by Yusuke Ogawa (Universounds/Deep Jazz Reality) in Japanese and English translation.✺ Originally released in 1971.The first vinyl reissue of a jazz-rock album by Jiro Inagaki, an outlier in the Japanese jazz world, featuring vocals by Sammy and Yasushi Sawada for the first time. Backed by Masahiko Sato, Kimio Mizutani, Hiro Yanagida, and others, this is a heavy and mysterious rock groove.

✺ Originally released in 1976✺ A must-have for Japanese mono-folk song fans✺ Exclusive RSD Japan ReleaseKiyoshi Yamaya, an important person from Japanese mono to folk songs, has a new memory of the release of the 7-inch “Japanese Traditional Melodies Selected and Edited by MURO” that was selected and edited by MURO in 2018.The long-awaited straight reissue of “Ryukyu” released in 1976, which is popular not only in Japan but also overseas, and the original version is difficult to obtain!A must-have for Japanese mono-folk song fans.

2020 reissue - Hydeout Productions released Modal Soul in 2005, the second LP from the revered Japanese producer and instrumentalist Nujabes. Since its release Modal Soul has been enshrined in the canon of classic hip-hop, cherished by a dedicated following that is modest in number but unparalleled in passion. Nujabes is usually referenced as a hip-hop producer, but Modal Soul blends such disparate influences as to become a new, one-of-a-kind world music transcending all musical, physical or temporal boundaries. While each Nujabes project is a masterpiece in itself, Modal Soul is undoubtedly the producer's most dynamic and most popular effort.It’s not uplifting lyrical content or the producer’s technical virtuosity that distinguishes Modal Soul, though the album has both in spades. What distinguishes Modal Soul is its mood, its essence. Splicing together a beat and a piano sample is no longer revolutionary, though Nujabes, real name Seba Jun (February 7, 1974 – February 26, 2010), does so with a master’s grace. Flipping the samples and aligning the sound to make the listener feel with such great depth – that is the revelation of Modal Soul. If you don’t feel the music, that’s okay. But for those who do, it is healing sound. It is fuel for imagination, a foundation for dreams, no less important than any music ever made.