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Disc Recommendations Vol.3, contributed by famous jazz cafes and listening bars

Jazz cafes and listening bars have supported and enriched Japan's jazz scene. The owners, who dig every day, always introduce us to new music through their music selections. In response to the booming scene, the number of establishments playing new jazz is increasing. Disc Recommendations contributed by 15 famous establishments across the country!

photo: Masanori Kaneshita / text: BRUTUS

A store that follows jazz
Tangle
NEAR MINT TOKYO
Bar Music

Tangle

Michael&mio/Shibuya, Tokyo

Q1: What was the photo you wore the most in 2023?

『There Is Only Love and Fear』Bex Burch

This 2023 release is from Chicago's emerging jazz label, International Anthem. Both of us, who work in the store every day, have a copy and often play this album. The essence of contemporary jazz, New Orleans, ambient, electronic music, and more is condensed into this album. It's a record that aligns with the joy of making music, regardless of genre. (Michael)

Q2: Who is your favorite player who has appeared in recent years and which card do you think is the most appealing?

『Surface』Quicksails

This Chicago artist's music transcends genres, inspiring imagination that changes like a kaleidoscope with each listen, revealing what you want to accompany it next. While primarily focused on electronic music, he also produces works that unexpectedly hint at jazz, and this latest release is peppered with the charm of this ingenuity. Saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi, who made a solo visit to Japan last year and released a solo album, also participates. (mio)

Q3: What is a piece that you recently acquired that you would like to play a lot in 2024?

『Temporada Ciclónica』Error Subcutáneo

It's a record that absorbs the scent of jazz, Latin, electronic music, and even psychedelic rock, and is full of overwhelming power and gradation. It will be released in 2023 by RUNNING CIRCLE, an important label I came across while following the artist Three Body. It's always a joy to encounter things that I love and bring them together in a circle! I hope to play it a lot in 2024 as well. (mio)

Q4: Who is your favorite player who has appeared in recent years and which card do you think is the most appealing?

『Masterpieces by Ellington』Duke Ellington

This is an album that transcends time and place the moment you drop the needle and hear the sound. As the title suggests, it is Duke's masterpiece from the 1950s. It is so elegant and mysterious that it feels like a dreamlike avant-garde in today's world. I bought it from ciruelo records, a used record shop in Nara that is a favorite of Duke fans. I am in the middle of a long and enjoyable journey to collect all of Duke's records. (Michael)

NEAR MINT TOKYO

Yu Watanabe / Kyodo, Tokyo

Q1: What was the photo you wore the most in 2023?

『Tell the Ghost Welcome Home』Nico Segal

This 2023 album from Chicago-born trumpeter and producer, known for producing Chance the Rapper, features many songs with a floating, layered structure, with trumpet overlaid with piano and chorus. "In a Flurry" in particular offers a glimpse into his beautiful yet powerful inner humanity.

Q2: Who is your favorite player who has appeared in recent years and which card do you think is the most appealing?

『Post Koma』Koma Saxo

This is the second album from Koma Saxo, helmed by Swedish bassist Petter Eld, who also works for ECM. It blends classical, Middle Eastern, electro, and hip-hop influences. The bass is played by Christian Rilinger, and as with the previous album, Sofia Jernberg's vocals, reminiscent of Swedish folk music, are also excellent. "Portal Koma" is particularly captivating.

Q3: What is a piece that you recently acquired that you would like to play a lot in 2024?

『Arise』Mili

Mili『Arise』
This is a must-listen album. It's a band led by Argentine vocalist and percussionist Miri Bermejo. Apparently, she was also a professor at Berklee College of Music when she released this album. The powerful vocals of the first track, "Corazon," and the refreshing yet intense development of the second half are particularly captivating. This is a masterpiece that blends Latin jazz with US jazz.

Q4: What is your personal favorite piece that you would like to play for yourself after closing time?

『2099』BIGYUKI

A Japanese keyboardist and synth bassist living in New York. He was a friend of mine when I lived in New York, and I often listened to the songs on this EP at his home from the sample stage. When the city went into lockdown due to COVID-19 in 2020, his songs gently comforted me. In particular, "MRO (Water Tale)" reminds me of those days, with its feeling of slowly swimming underwater towards the light.

Bar Music

Tomoaki Nakamura / Shibuya, Tokyo

Q1: What was the photo you wore the most in 2023?

『The Omnichord Real Book』Meshell Ndegeocello

The prestigious jazz label Blue Note sought out the overwhelming presence of Michel Ndegeocello. When seriously answering the question, "What was the album you played the most in 2023?", I played the entire LP "MUSICAÄNOSSA Slawek Jaskulke" as background music, but as for individual songs, it was "Hole in the Bucket," featuring Joel Ross's wonderful vibraphone.

Q2: What is a piece that you recently acquired that you would like to play a lot in 2024?

『Music for Saxofone & Bass Guitar』Sam Gendel & Sam Wilkes

Sam Gendel's debut album, 4444, released in 2017, was a singer-songwriter-style work centered around acoustic guitar and his own vocals, but the dramatic change in style that began with the digital single released the following year was quite surprising. This album, his first as a duo, is a masterpiece born from the interaction with Sam Wilkes, who is more on the pop side.

Q3: What is a piece that you recently acquired that you would like to play a lot in 2024?

『Rainbow Revisited』Thandi Ntuli with Carlos Niño

Carlos Niño, the LA producer who previously worked with Build an Ark, seems to be getting more creative with each passing year. The rainbow world he paints with South African pianist and singer Thandi Ntuli is especially gentle and calming. If you're playing a single track, consider "Nomayoyo (Ingoma Ka Mkhulu)," the last track on side A, or side B if you're playing the whole album.

Q4: What is your personal favorite piece that you would like to play for yourself after closing time?

『Harvest Time Live 1977』Pharoah Sanders

The undulating bass, the mellow, shimmering Rhodes piano, and the deep, sonorous voice of Pharaoh Sanders. I've been to several of his Japan tours, but I was never able to experience the world depicted in the book "Harvest Time Live 1977," which was released for the first time last year after 46 years. This is a wonderful time capsule, a gift from Sanders to us music fans, now that he has passed on to heaven.

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No.1049

TOY LIFE

3月2日発売 890円

最新号をチェック

FEATURED MOVIES
Featured Videos