[taipeileviathan]

just wondering, how many of u'all listen to japanese jazz artists and whether or not u can recommend some. i used to listen to lisa ono before she sold out, but otmh i can think of yosuke yama****a, who is awesome; keiko matsui; not sure if kyoto jazz massive really counts, but i dig their stuff...

 

[Vertigo-1]

I totally dig Japanese jazz. You've got Keiko Matsui in there, so that's already a solid start. Also check out the group called Hiroshima. I never heard of Yosuke Yama****a, so there's a new one for me to check out! You got any others up your sleeve?

 

[taipeileviathan]

man, how could i forget, sadao watanabe is a sax master. hmm... will check out hiroshima as soon as i find out which file-sharing program is making my system unstable, winmx or kazaa (grr....). after which (dun worry

) i will support the artists by buying cds (mp3's plus head-fi is a no go).

btw, keiko matsui is coming to the states! she'll be playing in philly at the zellerbach theater on the upenn campus on nov 16, tho i'm not sure if she'll be stopping over in hawaii

. so spread the word!

 

[dhwilkin]

Excellent, more artists for me to check out! I like Keiko Matsui, but haven't heard any of the others listed here, yet.

 

[Tuberoller]

Oh boy,You guys are really onto something here.Japanese jazz and R&B is truly great music that is very much overlooked.I am fortunate to have stumbled upon a great music store that stocks and promotes this music.I love the R&B tinged jazz that a lot of the Japanese artists record.The production quality of the Japanese recordings is also top notch.I have heard some amazing sonics on most of these recordings and I have turned some of my dealer friends on to this music as well.What a treat.Some of my favorites:

Bird A very sweet soulful singer with a very nice voice.

Monday Michiru - another really nice voice,She has a large body of recordings and each is fantastic.

Misia - great singing and super nice arangements with stunning sound quality

Akiko - one of the nicest voices I have ever heard and great production and sound

Mondo Grosso - this is some hot stuff.I always get moving to these guys and the band is the tightest I have heard in a long time.

Neo - Another super tight band with a very soulful sound much like Earth,Wind and Fire and Tower of Power.Amazing horn work and great arrangements and sonics.

Amy Annapuma - Wow!!! this is another great singer with a band that sounds as if they have been jamming together for a long time.

Momoe Shimano - a great singer with a nice band and some really sweet tunes.Even the songs sung in Japanese are heart wrenching.

Tica - a truly funky band that always records live and sounds great.Nice Jazz and R&B sets.

Orange Pekoe - the Japanese Minnie Ripperton with a great band.

 

[leon]

In the classic/jazz sense, I've only heard Toku...He plays flugelhorn and IIRC just came out with a new album. If you don't mind his singing, it's all good.

And in the more pop/alternative jazz sense, try UA's "Ametora". It's best described as an alternative artist doing jazzy material.. there are many genre deviations but I think it's a nice album. Don't try the other UA (or Ajico) CDs - they range from drum'n'bass to reggae to god knows what.

Yes! Someone knows Bird! Her old producer (the guy behind Mondo Grosso) was at Sony's MD anniversary party. If you've got choice head for her live CDs first, because that's supposed to be where she really shines.

 

[Vertigo-1]

Quote:

Originally posted by Tuberoller Some of my favorites: *big long list*

You're gonna bankrupt me man!!!

Quote:

Originally posted by taipeileviathan btw, keiko matsui is coming to the states! she'll be playing in philly at the zellerbach theater on the upenn campus on nov 16, tho i'm not sure if she'll be stopping over in hawaii . so spread the word!

Man, what I wouldn't give to attend one of her live performances. I have the DVD of a live performance she gave, and she, her husband Kazo, and her group are just very impressive.

 

[taipeileviathan]

tho i wouldn't necessarily call her jazz (nor misia or others... tho i love her to death... everything is such a classic love song), i remember the first time i heard "mind travel" i was completely blown away. i spent forever trying to identify those chords in the chorus, and finally had to resort to a piano, and even then it took me awhile... some crazy crap...

hmm, sadao watanabe and yosuke yama****a are pretty much jazz in a classical sense. lisa ono is brazilian japanese and her old producer was antonio carlos jobim's nephew or something, and her bossa nova was excellent until her last 3 or 4 albums when she went disgustingly mainstream and began covering all these pop artists from the last few decades like sting and the beatles (bossa nova-izing that music is seriously a bad idea...). her last good album was "dream"... i think it was a great album, she was doing some jazz standards as well as authentic bossa tunes... so check it out!

 

[leon]

Yea, I know she's not really even Jazz-pop... more like... nah, I shouldn't spread myself too thin and come up with an inappropriate genre

we Taiwanese do have the advantage of (certain) local-pressed Japanese CDs... which doesn't include the new Bird CD, so I won't thank God yet

 

[dhwilkin]

After further review of the artists suggested (at least the ones I could find), I've added Bird, Monday Michiru, Neo, Orange Pekoe, and Sadao Watanabe to my to-buy list.

 

[Tuberoller]

The Japanese artists don't seem to keyhole themselves into any one musical genre which is what makes some of them so great.It's true that Bird is more R&B and POP more than straight jazz but she is so soulful and genuine sounding,it would seem a stretch for her to do music any other way.When I listen to artists like Monday Michiru talk about the artists who influenced her and she rattles off names like Roberta Flack,Minnie Ripperton,Diana Ross,Aretha Franklin and other great soul and jazz singers,I get why her singing is so rich.Since this post i have added these back into my listening rotations to enjoy them more and have added some new selections from these artist as well.Please check out Dusty Groove .This is the store I frequent that sells all this great music and also has much of this music on vinyl.Look for the Japanese artists in the "nusoul CD" section.They actually consider this music soul and R&B which seems fitting.Bird and Monday Michiru are featured on the "new this week" front page.This site is really cool and the store is a really nice place to hang out and listen to music.Acidtripwow did'nt seem to like it much but he listens to different music.

 

[ooheadsoo]

How about The Seatbelts?

 

[Newbiez]

How about Ken Hirai, is he more pop ?

 

[x0mbi]

Quote:

Originally posted by leon [ we Taiwanese do have the advantage of (certain) local-pressed Japanese CDs... which doesn't include the new Bird CD, so I won't thank God yet [/B]

i know, and i thank god overseas versions are available. i seem to spend too much money on $25-30 japanese cds. i think cdjapan has the rights to my first and second born.

but music, man. who can live without it?

x0m

 

[nanahachi]

ooheadsoo

yoko kanno and the Seatbelts are GREAT in the cowboy bebop soundtrack...ill have to check out their independent stuff, i assume from your post that they have their own album(s)...

cool thread, thanks taipeilev.