Nippon Columbia

The agony of hard bop, the rise of jazz-rock, and the emergence of free jazz. The definitive live recording that captures the chaos and climax of jazz in Japan. Japan's jazz scene around 1970 is very interesting. The agony of hard bop, the rise of jazz-ro

This album is incredible, truly well-named — funky stuff, indeed. Fat bass, good variety of guitar sounds, nice horns and organ, crisp drums … it is an instant favorite! A masterpiece of jazz rock by masterpiece Jiro Inagaki! Beyond jazz rock. The soul me

We are excited to present the official reissue of Hitomi “Penny” Tohyama’s legendary records “Sexy Robot”, which received an incredible amount of accolades in ‘80s Japan! Tohyama’s 5th release “SEXY ROBOT” was first released in 1983, and quickly set into

A heavy funk party from the Japanese jazz scene of the 70s – and a set that hits a lot harder than some of the smoother fusion of the time! There’s a grit here that hearkens back to some of the best American jazz funk at the start of the decade – a nice e

Japan’s leading big band, Sharps & Flats, created a unique work featuring 22-year-old up-and-coming pianist, Takehiko Honda. The sound of an electric piano rolling comfortably over the powerful big band sound is absolutely incredible! In addition this rec

Hiromasa Suzuki is a composer/arranger/key player who has been active in the Japanese music world, including jazz as well as movies, television and commercials. In the late ‘60s and mid-’70s, he was deeply involved in the works of Terumasa Hino, Akira Ish

The drums of fire scorch the age. With his young and talented Sound Limited, Takeshi Inomata heralds the arrival of the golden age of jazz rock in high spirits. Drummer Takeshi Inomata, who led the Japanese jazz scene with his precise stick work and music

Kifu 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 s

First released in 1976, “Shakuhachi Mountain Poetry” is one of a two part album collaboration between Shakuhachi master, Kifu Mitsuhashi and jazz musician, Kiyoshi Yamaya. Together, the two artists blended their individual musical disciplines to compose a

Kyouko Furuya began her career as a piano student in Tokyo’s Kunitachi College of Music. Debuting in a duo dubbed Virgo with future actress Yumi Mizusawa, they quietly became a popular thing in the acoustic Tokyo folk scene. With time, though, Kyouko Furu

Folk singer-turned-rock singer Carmen Maki collaborated with Blues Creation on this album (’71).

Immediately after the release of her masterpiece “The Devil and the Eleven Children”, Carmen Maki’s youthful voice, which was influenced by Janis Joplin, f

Kiyoshi Yamaya’s first work in the “Japanese melody by PCM recording” series

Side A incorporates Biwa and Shakuhachi and Japanese drums under the theme of the shrine maiden’s mouth-to-mouth that is handed down to Osorezan on the Shimokita Peninsula. A