Samstag, Oktober 10, 2026

Jiro Inagaki & His Soul Media - In The Groove

Jiro Inagaki & His Soul Media - In The Groove

Released in July 1973, In The Groove marks a decisive turning point in the evolution of Jiro Inagaki & His Soul Media. Recorded at Columbia Akasaka Studio No. 2 in February 1973, the album captures the moment the group moved beyond jazz-rock to embrace a deeper, groove-oriented sound rooted in the spirit of American soul and jazz-funk. Inspired by the sophisticated musicianship of The Crusaders, Inagaki pursued what he described as a stronger sense of "blackness"—not by imitating American music, but by forging a uniquely Japanese interpretation built on precision, feeling and collective interplay.

The streamlined sextet delivers a masterclass in restraint and groove. Electric piano, expressive guitar, fluid saxophone lines and an unshakable rhythm section create an effortless balance between improvisation and rhythm, while original compositions sit naturally alongside carefully chosen reinterpretations. Every performance reflects the group's growing confidence and musical maturity.

Often overshadowed by its celebrated successor Funky Stuff, In The Groove is in many ways the album where Soul Media truly found its identity. Elegant, soulful and irresistibly rhythmic, it stands today as one of the essential recordings of Japanese jazz-funk and a cornerstone of the WaJazz movement.

Jiro Inagaki (1933–2024) was one of the most influential figures in Japanese jazz. After beginning his professional career while still in high school, he formed the Jiro Inagaki Quintet in 1962 before founding the legendary jazz-rock group Soul Media in 1969. His recordings from the 1970s remain highly sought-after by collectors and DJs worldwide.

Alongside his own projects, Inagaki enjoyed an outstanding career as a session musician, performing in Japan with artists including Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra, The Stylistics and The Temptations. As a producer and musical director, he also worked with major Japanese stars such as Hideki Saijo and Pink Lady, while contributing extensively to Eiichi Ohtaki's Niagara productions.

- Artist: Jiro Inagaki & His Soul Media
- Title: In The Groove
- Label: Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd.
- Original Release : 1973/07/25
- Original Catalog Number: NCB-7021

Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Jiro Inagaki
Bass – Akira Okazawa
Drums – Hajime Ishimatsu
Electric Piano – Takeshi Kamachi
Guitar – Tsunehide Matsuki
Trombone – Takashi Imai
veröffentlicht am 17. September 2026 
https://180g-j-digs.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-groove



Mass of the Fermenting Dregs - Iwaou

Mass of the Fermenting Dregs - Iwaou

Formed in Kobe, Japan, MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS (often shortened to MOTFD) is a powerhouse alternative rock trio renowned for their explosive energy and melodic precision. Led by bassist and vocalist Natsuko Miyamoto, the band has carved out a unique space in the post-hardcore and shoegaze scenes. 

Their sound is a thrilling contradiction: volatile, high-octane wall-of-sound instrumentation paired with unexpectedly pop-sensible melodies and ethereal vocals.

https://www.motfd.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@motfdofficial
https://massofthefermentingdregs.bandcamp.com/music
https://x.com/MOTFD_official

Sonntag, September 27, 2026

Ornette Coleman - Town Hall 1962

Ornette Coleman - Town Hall 1962

On Christmas evening 1962, Coleman produced and recorded his own concert at Town Hall in New York City, with David Izenzon (bass), Charles Moffett (drums) and a string ensemble. An important release documenting a point of change in Coleman's work. "'Dedication To Poets and Writers' for string quartet, is now widely recognized as Ornette's first harmolodic chamber music based on his ideas he would later call Harmolodics. 

This classical string quartet curiously fits together with the three trio pieces, due to the input of bassman David Izenzon. His classical approach and his broad understanding of rhythmical complexity are the perfect match to Ornette's free and lyrical alto lines. Izenzon's ability to improvise out of context with anything that is going around him, also makes him the perfect partner for drummer Charles Moffett. Moffett is merely providing an atmospherical background, sometimes with a hard swing indeed, sometimes experimenting with free noise." -- Remco Takken

Personnel

Ornette Coleman: alto sax

David Izenzon: bass

Charles Moffett: drums

String Quartet on Track #3

Selwart Clarke: violin

Nathan Goldstein: violin

Julien Barber: viola

Kermit Moore: cello

veröffentlicht am 1. Januar 1965

Recorded on December 12, 1962 at Town Hall, NYC. Engineering by Jerry Newman.

Original cover photo by Charles Shabacon. Production manager: Tom Abbs.

Digital remastering: Douglas McGregor. Design by Miles Bachman & Michael Sanzone.

https://ornettecoleman.bandcamp.com/album/town-hall-1962

Freitag, September 18, 2026

Sunhyun Yoo - PLAiDE 2026

Sunhyun Yoo - PLAiDE 2026

Sunhyun Yoo’s PLAiDE is an ambitious exploration of modern creative jazz, weaving acoustic warmth, synthesized textures, and ambient soundscapes into a cohesive narrative of sound and emotion. Released on Endectomorph Music, the album approaches composition as an evolving canvas rather than a fixed frame, examining how acoustic saxophone, analog synthesizers, and real-time electronic processing can fluidly reassign their roles to expand phrasing and sonic color—a contemporary continuation of modern jazz traditions blended with forward-thinking sound design.

 

Built upon a core quartet foundation, PLAiDE expands its sonic palette on select tracks with featured electronic contributions, drawing much of its momentum through deep collective listening, spontaneous interaction, and the vital interplay among bandmates whose deep reverence for jazz traditions and open embrace of electronic reinterpretation allow Yoo’s nuanced ideas to take vivid form. Among its compelling lineup, the record features "Sweet Sorrow," an evocative piece that shapes the album’s emotional core and serves as a focus track—embodying the themes of memory, contrast, and the transformative possibilities of contemporary creative music.
releases October 2, 2026

Musicians
Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, AE-30, Electronics: Sunhyun Yoo
Drums: Simon Hwanho Oh
Electric Bass: Nick Panoutsos
Piano, Moog, Fender Rhodes, Electronics: Kengchakaj
Electronics: Rikitaro Suzuki (Tracks 4, 8, 9)

Composers Information
All compositions written by Sunhyun Yoo except:
"Memory 16" written by Nick Panoutsos

Recording, Mixing, and Mastering Credits
Produced by Sunhyun Yoo & Will Brown
Recorded at The Bridge Studio, Brooklyn, NY (2024)
Recording Engineer: Greg Tock
Mixed & Mastered by Jeremy Loucas

Artwork & Release Credits
Album Design: Maya Mahmud
Liner Notes: Jasper Shogo Dutz
Released by Endectomorph Music
Distributed by La Reserve
© 2026 Sunhyun Yoo. All rights reserved. 

https://www.sunhyunyoo.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@sunhyunyoo
https://sunhyunyoo.bandcamp.com/album/plaide

Samstag, September 12, 2026

Sonny Rollins - Newk’s Time 1959

Sonny Rollins - Newk’s Time 1959

The album mixes jazz standards and originals with pop and Broadway material. Rollins delivers strong, inventive improvisation, with particularly notable interplay with Philly Joe Jones (especially on the duo track and “Blues for Philly Joe”). It is regarded as a solid hard-bop session from Rollins’s highly productive late-1950s period, just before his famous sabbatical. 


It was recorded on September 22, 1957, at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey

https://crispirecords.bandcamp.com/album/newk-s-time

RAINASH - Decay

RAINASH - Decay

released March 18, 2021 
RAINASH is a Japanese Alternative Rock band from Tokyo.

Melancholic guitar riffs, emotional melodies and cinematic soundscapes weave abstract Japanese lyrics that drift between light and shadow, influenced by A Perfect Circle, Nine Inch Nails, Evanescence, L'Arc-en-Ciel, and 90s-00s rock.
https://rainash.bandcamp.com/music
https://x.com/inforainash
https://www.youtube.com/@RAINASHmusic
https://www.patreon.com/cw/rainash

Posted on 10:24 PM | Categories:

Sonntag, September 06, 2026

Nanci Zhang - Just For Us 2026

Nanci Zhang - Just For Us 2026

Nanci Zhang’s voice gives her repertoire the treatment it deserves, with sensitivity, percussiveness, humor, and intimate warmth.
Her full-bodied tone and elegant phrasing evoke a bygone era, but she inhabits songs with emotional richness and an unguarded vulnerability that is distinctly her own. She has enjoyed singing for folks around the world, from cozy cocktail bars to large festival stages.  

released August 31, 2026 
https://nancizhang.bandcamp.com/album/just-for-us

John Coltrane – The Unissued German Concerts 1961

John Coltrane – The Unissued German Concerts 1961

Recorded in Berlin, Dec. 2nd 1961 and Baden-Baden, Nov. 24th, 1961. John Coltrane, tenor and soprano saxes; Eric Dolphy, alto sax, bass clarinet, flute; McCoy Tyner, piano, Reggie Workman, bass and Elvin Jones, drums.
 

released August 9, 2026 

Samstag, September 05, 2026

TsuShiMaMiRe - The Greatest World

TsuShiMaMiRe - The Greatest World

 

releases September 9, 2026 
 
Celebrating 27 years as a band, Tsushimamire continue to push boundaries with their latest original album, THE GREATEST WORLD, arriving in the midst of their audacious 2026 world tour across Australia, North America, Japan, and Europe.
Their 26th album combines the youthful passion that has always defined the band with greater lyrical depth and a refined sound. It is also the first studio album featuring new drummer Asami Suzuki, bringing a fresh spark to Tsushimamire’s long and fiercely creative history.


Featuring seven new studio tracks recorded and mixed by Soichiro Nakamura, plus four live recordings from the band’s 2025 North American tour recorded and mixed by Christian Mock, THE GREATEST WORLD is a vivid 11-track journey into Tsushimamire’s world.


https://twitter.com/tsmmr_jp
https://twitter.com/marimamire
http://tsushimamire.com/en/
https://tsushimamire1.bandcamp.com/music
https://www.facebook.com/tsushimamire/
https://tsushimamire1.bandcamp.com/merch
https://www.youtube.com/@tsushimamire

Freitag, September 04, 2026

Hiromi Uehara - Another Mind 2003

Hiromi Uehara - Another Mind 2003

Since the 2003 release of her debut, Another Mind, Hiromi has electrified audiences with a creative energy that encompasses and eclipses the boundaries of jazz, classical and pop, taking improvisation and composition to new heights of complexity and sophistication. 
 


released April 22, 2003

https://www.hiromiuehara.com/s/y01en/
https://x.com/hiromispark
https://hiromimusic.bandcamp.com/music

Samstag, August 29, 2026

Charlie Parker & Miles Davis - For Keeps

Charlie Parker & Miles Davis - For Keeps

Two jazz legends together on one album, and you will definitely enjoy their fun of playing some classics of the early bebop years.
Charlie Parker is surely among the most influential jazz artists ever, and one of the few indisputable geniuses of his time. 

This set presents some fine takes from recording sessions he made with different rhythm sections and featuring the equally great Miles Davis on trumpet.
Included here are some of Bird’s most admired sides, such as “Billie’s Bounce", “Scrapple from the Apple" and “Donna Lee”.
Miles Davis and Charlie Parker prove that they are masters of their craft in this gem of a jazz album. Slick, stylish and unmistakably smooth.

released September 6, 2024

Charlie Parker - alto sax, tenor sax
Miles Davis - trumpet
plus
Bud Powell - piano
John Lewis - piano
Duke Jordan - piano
Tommy Potter - bass
Nelson Boyd - bass
Max Roach - drums 

Samstag, August 22, 2026

Kisachi - My Precious

Kisachi - My Precious

 
"Straightforward songs with a voice that touches the heart, vocalist Kisachi's debut album is a collection of standards filled with love for the people you love.
Born in Goto-cho, Aomori Prefecture, and currently residing in Sendai, Kisachi began singing with big bands and other groups in 2006, and has performed with musicians in Japan and abroad while performing mainly in the Tohoku region.
In February 2021, Kisachi released "ALL LIFE IS PRECIOUS," a single produced by Toshio Kadomatsu himself, which was written and composed by Kadomatsu with the Great East Japan Earthquake in mind.


My Precious" is the realization of his deepened desire to create an album based on these experiences. This long-awaited debut album is full of his feelings for his loved ones and the standard songs that he has been cherishing and preserving.
Born in Goto-cho, Aomori Prefecture, and currently residing in Sendai City, Kisachi began singing with big bands and other groups in 2006, and has performed with musicians in Japan and abroad while performing mainly in the Tohoku region. 
In February 2021, Kisachi released "ALLLIFE IS PRECIOUS," a single produced by Toshio Kadomatsu himself, which was written and composed by Kadomatsu with the Great East Japan Earthquake in mind. My Precious" is the realization of his deepened 
desire to create an album based on these experiences. It is the long-awaited debut album, which is a full-fledged infusion of his feelings for the people he cares about and the standard songs he has been cherishing and preserving." 
released March 22, 2023 

Posted on 10:58 PM | Categories:

Masayuki Takayanagi - Station '70: Call in Question / Live Independence

Masayuki Takayanagi - Station '70: Call in Question / Live Independence

In August 1969, Masayuki Takayanagi formed his first New Direction group and embarked on an unparalleled musical journey that over the final 22 years of his life would define him as an uncompromising artist who would forge a visionary new musical language. Comprised of himself on acoustic and electric guitar and joined by Motoharu Yoshizawa on bass and Yoshisaburo 'Sabu' Toyozumi on drums, Takayanagi's group created a new unconstrained form of music; It expanded on the most radical, fiery elements of American and European Free Jazz, while refracting them through an avant garde prism. Harmonic and melodic development were rejected in favor of feedback and complete spontaneity. With New Direction, Takayanagi had achieved a "decisive break" from the past and created his own revolutionary music - a ferocious, often violent sound that paradoxically took both musical movement and stillness to their extremes.

Takayanagi's New Direction soon recorded one of the landmark albums of free jazz and the avant garde, Independence: Tread on Sure Ground (1970). It was Takayanagi's first album as a group leader and nothing short of groundbreaking. However, it would be 25 years before a wider audience would finally able to hear Takayanagi's vision with the group in its most explosive and unmitigated realization; Japan's P.S.F. records released two CD's, Call in Question (1994) and Live Independence (1995) which featured unearthed, previously unheard 1970 recordings made by the group at the legendary Shibuya Tokyo venue, Station '70. The recordings were revelatory; They presented nascent, jarring versions of Takayanagi's "Gradually Projection" and "Mass Projection" modalities in uncut, unvarnished long form. Joined on some tracks by renowned saxophonist Mototeru Takagi, the performances are intensely physical and visceral - each player creating a vivid self contained sound that at the same time merges with the overall group imperative to create something entirely new and beautiful.  Yoshizawa, Toyozumi as well as Takagi would, in their own right, go on to join Takayanagi as iconic players in the world of Japanese free jazz and avant garde. It is these performances, in a crucial moment of societal and cultural upheaval, that would help lay the groundwork for the rich world of free improvisation, free jazz and, to a large degree, underground music in Japan for decades to come.

Later Takayanagi would write "It is improvisation alone that transcends genre and academicism to become music as raw, independent existence, the most unique living organism within a yet-to-be unknown". It is in these recordings that that "yet-to-be unknown" can begin to be heard.

Black Editions is proud to present the entirety of the recordings presented on both P.S.F. albums as well as a previously unreleased side-long Mass Projection in a deluxe, remastered 3LP box set. The set features the stark photography of the late Yuji Itsumi and presents the original liner notes by key Japanese music critics and historians Yoshiyuki Kitazato and Toshihiko Shimizu newly translated into English as well as in the original Japanese. 
released April 18, 2022

Personnel
Masayuki Takayanagi - Guitar
Motoharu Yoshizawa - Bass
Sabu Toyozumi - Drums
Mototeru Takagi - Saxophone (D2)

Credits
Recorded at Station ’70, Tokyo
A1-E1 recorded by Jin Ishitani, March 11 and 12, 1970
F1 recorded February 19, 1970

Mastering by JJ Golden, Golden Mastering 2020

All photos by Yūji Itsumi except back cover photo of Masayuki Takayanagi, 1968, photographer unknown.
Graphic design by Rob Carmichael, SEEN, with typographic assistance from Takuya Kitamura

Notes by Yoshiyuki Kitazato and Toshihiko Shimizu
Timeline by Yasunori Saito
English Translation by Yuko Zama and Alan Cummings

Black Edition supervised and produced by Peter Kolovos
Released under license from Jinya Disc, Japan

A1-E1 originally released on CD by P.S.F. Japan as"Call in Question"
(PSFD-41, 1994) and "Live Independence" (PSFD-57, 1995) 

Samstag, August 15, 2026

Eri Yamamoto - Colors Of The Night

Eri Yamamoto - Colors Of The Night

Colors of the Night" is a live recording of Eri Yamamoto's special trio with legendary bassist/composer William Parker and drummer Ikuo Takeuchi. Eri has long associations with both, and this recording reveals the special chemistry that they shared at the November 2022 concert at Clemente Flamboyan Theater in New York’s Lower East Side. The music is vibrant, colorful, and spontaneous, as the trio brings to life Eri’s evocative and memorable songs.
released September 29, 2023

Eri Yamamoto - piano
William Parker - bass
Ikuo Takeuchi - drums

Recorded by Randy Thaler at Clemente Flamboyan Theater, November 2022

Mixed and mastered by Jim Clouse, Park West Studios, Brooklyn, NY

Produced by Eri Yamamoto and Chad Fowler 

https://eriyamamoto.bandcamp.com/
https://www.eriyamamoto.com/home

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