Nagoya Nights (A Journey Into 1970's Japanese Jazz, Funk & Fusion 日本のジャズとファンク音楽への旅)

Perhaps little known to most in the West, from the late 60’s to mid 80’s, Japan had a thriving jazz movement, with a plethora of talented artists bringing every type of jazz sound to the table. Digging deep into the crates, this selection focuses more on the jazz-funk side of things, with several spiritual jazz and funk tracks included. Most of the music in this set was recorded in the 70’s, which many collectors regard as the golden era of J-Jazz. There is also a track from 1968; Tadao Sawai’s “Constant Rain” ... Several tracks feature the Japanese “shakuhachi”, an instrument derived from the ancient Chinese bamboo flute, and another Japanese instrument known as the "koto", derived from the Chinese "guzheng". There are many sides to J-Jazz, but this "Jazz-Funk" sound is incredibly appealing to my ears. Hope you enjoy it too. The title is a reference to one of Japan's largest cities, Nagoya.

Photo - Nagoya, JP

R.I.P. Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, who recently passed away.