Japanese Jazz
Japan's own jazz: modal fire, spiritual depth and studio craft from the 60s to the 80s.
What you're really asking
You're asking about Japanese jazz: the deep, distinctive scene that grew from the sixties onward, running from hard bop and modal fire to spiritual and fusion directions. It is prized now for its playing, its pressings and the labels that documented it.
Where it sits
From the sixties, Japanese players built a jazz culture of their own, recording prolifically for labels like Three Blind Mice, Trio and East Wind. Masahiko Togashi, Masaru Imada, George Otsuka, Terumasa Hino and Toshiko Akiyoshi were among many who made records that balanced American influence with a local sensibility.
Reissue labels have since carried the music far beyond Japan.
The scene
Who: Masahiko Togashi, Masaru Imada, George Otsuka, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Terumasa Hino and the players around them. Labels: Three Blind Mice, Trio, East Wind and others.
What: modal, hard-bop, spiritual and fusion jazz with exceptional craft. How a record gets in: it is part of this Japanese jazz world.
The leading records
Oddballs
Keep digging
- Start with the modal and spiritual records
- The Three Blind Mice catalogue
- Terumasa Hino and the trumpet players
- From Japanese jazz into fusion