Yusuke Ogawa: What I really wanted you to hear today was..."Jazz Message from Tokyo"It's on the album (57)."Speak Low"It's a performance that Masayuki Takayanagi participated in, and it gives you the feeling of, "I've just heard something incredible, what on earth are they doing?"

(Let's all listen)

Koki Hanawa's level is really high...

—It sounds like two melodies are intertwined and progressing simultaneously. I wonder if Mr. Takayanagi and vibraphonist Ryozo Sugiura were performing such ambitious music in nightclubs? There weren't any clubs specializing in modern jazz back then, so I imagine the audience was quite bewildered. To begin with, I think the "King Jazz Series" project itself was incredibly bold. Releasing a 12-inch LP back when 78 rpm records and 10-inch LPs were still the norm must have been a brilliant move.

Ogawa: Moreover, the early albums had gatefold jackets.

— Their attitude of questioning the world is incredibly highbrow.

Hanawa: Meanwhile,"Shin Watanabe and the Six Joes"Some 10-inch records like this one are also included.

— So, the idea is that more entertaining, mainstream music should be released on 10-inch records, which can be priced lower?

Ogawa: What struck me again after listening to various works for "KING Jazz RE:Generation" was the excellent sound quality of the "KING Jazz Series."

Hanawa: I used to listen to these on vinyl, but now I've listened to them on a streaming service, and it's great that there's no noticeable difference. Of course, there are differences between the 50s, 60s, and 70s, but the sound quality is really good.

— The engineers were probably influenced by labels that King Records had partnerships with, such as the German Telefunken and the British Decca. Furthermore, from 59 onwards, they also released domestic pressings of American Contemporary Records, and later Command Records. I think King's technical team eagerly absorbed the sound of these high-quality overseas labels.

In the second season, which began streaming on November 13, 2024, Hideo Shiraki is heavily featured. His works, which were almost completely suppressed for a time, have been available again since several years before the publication of "Japanese Jazz Disc Guide 1950s-1980s" by Disk Union.Think! LabelThey were subsequently reissued one after another, and also gained popularity overseas.

Hanawa Shiraki is a big star who is connected not only to music but also to the entertainment industry."Plays Bossa Nova"When you listen to it, you see a slightly different approach from hard bop, and there are tracks that can be used by DJs...Think! Before releasing the CD in a paper sleeve, I even copied the jacket myself and made a "paper sleeve" version, so it's a work I'm very attached to. (Looking at the list) Also,Masao Yagi plays "Thelonious Monk"This is a work I truly love, and I was moved to see that there was a Japanese person who was so seriously dedicated to Thelonious Monk in that era (1960). I really wanted to buy the original pressing, even if it cost 5 or 6 yen, but you can't get a copy in good condition for that price.

—That's how much this album is in demand. Yagi's work is from his later years.Inga(78) is also included in this lineup.

Mr. Ogawa and Mr. Yagi have been involved in Japanese modern jazz since its early days,As you can hear from "Masao Yagi Plays Thelonious Monk," he's an incredible musician, but surprisingly, he has very few leader albums. He started working on music for movies and television around the mid-60s, and then suddenly, his leader album "Inga" appeared. Sonically, it has some elements of what you might call crossover, but in terms of composition and arrangement, it's astonishing to see what happens when you unleash the talent that came with "Playing Thelonious Monk" over time. He constantly updates himself, understanding the sound that should be produced in each era, and approaches jazz accordingly. I think this album is Yagi's answer to the times, saying, "This is what it means to play jazz now."

(Here's what Mr. Ogawa recommends"Blossom in the Water"(Listen to it)

Hanawa is cool.

— This is the first time I've heard Kunimitsu Inaba using effects pedals on his upright bass. The album cover is illustrated by Makoto Wada, so it also connects to the movie "Kaito Ruby" (released in 88. Directed and written by Makoto Wada, music by Masao Yagi, starring Kyoko Koizumi and Hiroyuki Sanada).

Ogawa: The "New Emotional Jazz Series" from King Records at the time, which included this album "Inga," was also very impressive.

Hanawa: The price of this LP (original pressing) keeps going up. I used to see it occasionally up until a certain point, but lately I hardly ever see it anymore.

— Also, in this second season, I"Scenes from the Atomic Bombing / Composed and Chorus by Hikaru Hayashi"I felt that this was one of the highlights. It's a record of a suite of songs composed by Hikaru Hayashi based on poems by Tamiki Hara, who was a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. As we touched upon in our previous conversation...Ma Mère l'OyeSimilarly, this is a collection of Masayuki Takayanagi's works that have been difficult to reissue.

Ogawa: I only knew of its existence, but I had never actually owned a physical copy. This time, since the master was stored at King Records, it's being re-released in the form of a subscription service. There's only one track that's a so-called jazz arrangement, but I suppose the jazz arrangement was part of an effort to try out various forms of expression.

Hanawa: I think I've only ever held one in my hands once, back when I was at my previous company...

Ogawa: I think we were only able to release it because of this opportunity. For example, if this were a record or a CD, people would be wondering what genre it should be in.

— As a listener of Takayanagi's work, you can also draw a line from here to the "Epitaph" on the TBM album "Moers New Jazz Festival '80" (dedicated to Aikichi Kuboyama, who was a victim of a hydrogen bomb test while on board the Daigo Fukuryu Maru and is said to have died after saying, "I want to be the last victim of nuclear weapons").

"KING Jazz RE:Generation" is not just a subscription service for albums; it also includes rare tracks. One example is TIME 5's"The 'Whispers of Rain' - Just the Right Feeling!".

Ogawa: I really wanted you to hear this. Originally, my first album was"This Is Time 5"I love them, they're so sophisticated, and I was really surprised by how amazing their chorus work and their own playing were. In the current jazz market, I feel like there's a general trend of vocal music not being appreciated, but I've been hoping that TIME 5 would get the recognition they deserved once again, and then I heard about "KING Jazz RE:Generation" from director Tomoyuki Okumura, so I decided to release a single with Japanese vocals."Tonight is the best."I definitely wanted to introduce that as well.

(Listening to "Tonight is the Best")

Ogawa: It's a bit more pop-oriented...

Hanawa: It's a song that takes advantage of TIME 5's unique characteristics while leaning towards pop music. I personally think that's really great.

— Yuki Saori released a song from Toshiba"Scat at Dawn"Similarly, the lyrics are by Michio Yamagami, the music is by Taku Izumi, and the arrangement is by Takeshi Shibuya. And with TIME 5 singing it, it's no surprise that it's stylish. It has a similar feel to A&M and CTI, which were under contract with King Records at the time, and also features Chiemi Eri, a veteran singer at King Records."The morning of departure"It also reminds me of that.

In terms of being more focused on the entertainment industry, there's the work of Kuninosuke Hamaguchi, which was reissued by Think!"I Want to Sing Too (+2) MR. HITMAKER'S SINGIN!"It's also included in the "KING Jazz RE:Generation" series, isn't it?

Hanawa: It's stylish, really cool. If you listen to it for a bit, you can immediately recognize Hamakura's unique world, and he's an amazing songwriter, but he doesn't have many albums of his own, right? So I'm happy that it's available on streaming services, and this time it's a really rare single."Theme song from the Toho film 'Bakusou': Driving Bossa Nova"It will also be re-released, so I hope you'll give it a listen.

— In the third season, which began streaming on December 11th, works from the 70s make up the majority. Among them, one that stands out is,はっぴいえんど,Komuro et al.This is an album from the Bellwood label, which is also known for works such as [list of other labels].

Ogawa, Imada Masaru, Yamashita Yosuke, George Otsuka, Yasuda Minami, Hino Motohiko, and others. These recordings are from the mid-70s. It was a time when so-called crossover music was emerging, but there were many works that deliberately went against that trend.I sense a strong spirit.MoreoverEverything is good. And also Imada'sAscentThis is a two-disc live album.

— So you were recording with TBM at the same time, and also releasing music through Bellwood?

Hanawa: The content is really good. I'm so glad they released it back then.

— Moreover, bassist Isoo Fukui and drummer Tetsujiro Ohara were also members of the Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio.

Hanawa: Your network of contacts is quite interconnected, isn't it?

— A work from 1978"Memories of Chiyo"I only learned about this when they switched to a subscription service.

This is a work centered around Minoru Ogawa and Muraoka. We included it in the "KING Jazz RE:Generation" lineup, but it's the kind of sound that could be considered rock if you like it, or reggae if you like it; it wouldn't sound out of place anywhere.

Hanawa: The album cover has an easy-listening feel to it, so you might miss it if you don't check the members.

— Song titles too"Midosuji at Dawn"And"Tsugaru, the place she loved"It's like, what on earth is that all about?

("Tsugaru, the place she loved"(Listen to it)

— It's like watching Kenichi Hagiwara or Yutaka Mizutani running in a TV drama. Producer Hiroshi Kato is probably the same person who was in the group sounds band "The Lind & Linders." The keyboardist on this album isHaruo ChikadaMr.King CrimsonGordon Haskell, who was also in it, participated. In that sense, there's an interesting mix of different things involved.

Ogawa: I've always liked this album, and I've been listening to compilation albums from France (“WaJazz: Japanese Jazz Spectacle Vol.2”When the topic of ) came up,We did select some tracks from this album, but it seems they didn't like the reggae elements. They felt it wasn't suitable for introducing Japanese jazz to the world, so after discussing it, we agreed and removed it.

If there are a second and third installment, I would definitely want to include it, and now that awareness of jazz in Japan has advanced even further, I don't think anyone would say "no" anymore.

— King Records' jazz releases truly capture the atmosphere and trends of the 50s, 60s, and 70s, which is why I think they're still thrilling even for latecomers like us. Next time, we'll continue our discussion of the third period and delve deeper into the fourth period. Stay tuned!