jazz-funk

Michiru Akiyoshi (秋吉みちる): Mangetsu (1991)

2020/12/11

More fierce humans to support: Monday Michiru Akiyoshi-Mariano. Where does one start with the wildfly prolific career of Monday? How about the beginning with Mangetsu. Unlike little released in Japan at that time, Mangetsu was the sprawling debut of a young Japanese-American who couldn’t quite suss out any style she wanted to gravitate to (nor…
Toshiyuki Honda (本多俊之): Saxophone Music (1986)

2019/07/05

I think that just about does it. If you had on your bingo card Toshiyuki Honda to complete the Japanese “saxophonist goes Avant Pop” game, you’re the winner now! Joining the likes of Yasuaki Shimizu, Genji Sawai, and Hiroyasu Yaguchi, comes Toshiyuki’s Saxophone Music, another album redefining what is exactly that: music played by saxophonists.…
Miles Davis/Marcus Miller: Music From Siesta (1986)

2018/05/22

Marcus Miller, this is your redemption song. Marcus Miller. Marcus Miller, man, where do I begin? For so long, had I absolutely loathe what you did to one of my all-time favorite musicians. It was your slap bass that figuratively sunk Miles Davis’s career when he needed you the most — really. You were the…
Maki Asakawa: Nothing At All To Lose (1988)

2018/03/09

There always come a point in your life when you just have to say: “fuck it”…and lead with your heart. The late great icon frequently seen in black and white, with smoky cigarette in hand, had lead the life of someone unmoored by her origins in Japan. Deeply tied and influenced by American Jazz and…
Track of the Day: May 20, 2014

2014/05/20

My favorite party tracks are the ones that still sound good three rooms down. You know what I’m talking about? When you hear walls rattle with rhythm and the closer you get to the source the more killer the rhythm sounds. This song by Bobbi Humphrey “Fun House” off the 1974 album of the same…
Roy Ayers: Everybody Loves the Sunshine (1976)

2014/05/11

I was going to write a thorough dissection on why Sunday is such an important day. There’s no question why everyone innately views Sunday as a day of devotion, fun, and relaxation. From our birth to our death its a day designated for reflection. But, I think Roy Ayers captures in “Everybody Love’s the Sunshine”…
Donald Byrd: Where are We Going? (1973)

2014/04/28

Its Flight Time baby. I abso- positive- ly love when artists say a big FU to what fans and critics expect of them. John Cale did it with his solo records, Rod Stewart did it in his post-Faces albums, Miles did it nearly every other album… However, my pick of the day “Where Are We…