The Japanese Jazz Thread!

[Aion 184]

Kagero's releases are available on all iTunes, same goes for Jabberloop and Nabowa (iirc)

As for actual CD-releases, I guess Soil & Pimp Sessions are pretty widely available, but I don't know for the US tbh..

[guitar.chic92 1]

Thanks for the info!

I never buy iTunes because I prefer having physical copies, but I managed to find a Soil & Pimp Sessions CD on Amazon!

[CAT5 9075]

Anybody hip to Emi Meyer? I'm usually pretty iffy with vocal Jazz. I find a lot of it to be bland/watered down and/or nothing but poor, Engrish-riddled standards, but Emi is certainly a standout! Both her voice and compositions are irresistible. She's bilingual (born in Japan, raised in America). Her first album, "Curious Creature" was released in 2007 and it was entirely English...reminded me of Norah Jones. She released a new, Japanese-language album early this year titled "Passport" and for me, it's a huge step up from her American release. "Passport" takes a much more soulful and "club-jazzy" approach than "Curious Creature" and easily dispels any Norah Jones comparisons. While she sings entirely in Japanese on "Passport", her delivery is noticeably western. It's a charming combination. Simply put, the girl is dope!

Here's the leading track off "Passport" and one of my tracks of 2010:

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[tosinn 3]

^ Great song! I'm glad I checked it out. I have to keep my eyes on this girl, she sounds really promising. And her voice reminds me a bit of Salyu's, which is a plus, because I like that girl's music.

[ficsci 50]

whoo! I like this thread, been wanting to get into J-jazz. Please keep posting more bands ^^

[ficsci 50]

The few that I know of

PE'Z

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T-Square

(some great bass right there >D)

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The Seatbelts (and Yoko Kanno's stuff in general) of course

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And, it's not really jazz, but Suga Shikao is reeeaaally funky (or used to be, at least). Weird-ass PV.

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Hmm... I feel like a lot of Japanese pop/rock in general have quite a lot of funk influences

[CAT5 9075]

^ oh definitely. If you're looking for some, here are a few Japanese Funk bands worth checking out:

MOUNTAIN MOCHA KILIMANJARO

:OHP:

These guys are excellent. They play straight-up, traditional instrumental funk!

Osaka Monaurail

:OHP:

I think these guys were around for much longer than MMK, but they play the same kind of funk, just with a vocalist.

Zainichi Funk (在日ファンク)

:OHP:

Led by a member of sakerock. It's traditional funk at the base, but with some quirky Japanese flavor. Dude's James Brown impersonation is HILARIOUS!!!

Zukunashi (ズクナシ)

:OHP:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt6ViDv3APw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3tUbqpxebA

Herpes already mentioned these girls. They play a fusion of funk and soul, and they're bad-ass at it! Their vocalist has such raw, powerful croon. An all-female funk band is not a common site, so It's kinda of a shame that these girls are so unknown.

Q.A.S.B.

:OHP:

Another female-led funk band. They only have one release so far, but they're pretty solid. I'm not a fan of the Engrish vocals, though.

EDIT: I'm adding these guys:

uni-birth

:OHP:

These guys released one of my favorite albums of 2007. Unfortunately, that was their only album. Apparently, they're still active, though their vocalist, Nobie, has been involved in several other Jazz-related projects (like alma plus which Aion mentioned earlier). uni-birth plays an awesome, modern mix of funk, soul, smooth jazz, and hip hop. Nobie has to be one of the coolest female vocalist in Japan...the woman is amazing! (xD)

[Neon 6]

Were I can faind some sites that has j-jazz albums? Can't faind noting

[CAT5 9075]

hm...I don't know of any specific sites, but you can try kmc, jpopsuki, and maybe searching on soulseek. But if you're thinking about seriously getting into J-jazz, it's very likely that you'll have to come out of your pocket at some point...

[fitear1590 2414]

Anyone like Taku Iwasaki?

I hardly watch anime anymore but I loved the soundtracks to Read or Die so much that I bought them /nerd.

There's some fun "spy" jazz type stuff on there.

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[CAT5 9075]

yep, I've heard of Iwasaki. Mostly from his work on the Rurouni Kenshin OSTs, which I thought were great.

As far as "spy jazz" goes, United Future Organization has some pretty awesome stuff:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Future_Organization

[LIDL 692]

if tags didn't misleading,

I just found this group called chocolatre.

Just heard Coffee Luwak/『コピ・ルアック?? (EP?)

They sounds great!

Though to me they're more indie pop than bossa nor jazz

Is that because their heavy usage of piano?

Maybe we can call it Pop Jazz? xD

[Erin 19]

I'd love to give all of these things a try... but I don't know where to start.

[CAT5 9075]

lol just dig in!! ;]

[CAT5 9075]

New Emi Meyer! Her new album will be entirely in English. Judging from the samples, it seems that she's gone back to making Norah Jones-esque jazz-pop...

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This song is very pleasant, but I admit, I'm going to miss the club-jazz-y approach of her last album. The PV is very nice, though! ^^

[ramrod 108]

..

I read this as the Japanese Jizz thread.

What the hell.

[CAT5 9075]

..

I read this as the Japanese Jizz thread.

What the hell.

=______________________________=

lmao...and here I thought the amazing ramrod was interested in jazz music

[ramrod 108]

Sorry for giving your hopes up!

Mine too were...when i entered this thread. Shattered even.

[CAT5 9075]

^^;

[ramrod 108]

hehehehe. Now i like this thread

8=D ~~~ ~~ ~

[roninbuddha 0]

wow, uni-birth is tight stuff... what a letdown that they've only done one album, want more :V

vocals win.

thanks for these

anyone have a hook-up for alma plus? i've got no luck in my searches lol

edit - its more of a rock sound i guess, but does NATSUMEN count here?

i really dig those guys, and their live album is def one of my favorite live albums, probably ever.

[CAT5 9075]

wow, uni-birth is tight stuff... what a letdown that they've only done one album, want more :V

vocals win.

thanks for these

No problemo! I fuckin' love Nobie....she is one BADASS vocalist! I wish that uni-birth left up most of their YT vids (they had at least 10, but there only seems to be 3 now). She's awesome. Unfortunately, she hasn't been in any really stable bands. She had 2 albums with B-HOT CREATIONS, one with uni-birth, and a buncha features. Alma Plus is likely a one-off too =(

edit - its more of a rock sound i guess, but does NATSUMEN count here?

i really dig those guys, and their live album is def one of my favorite live albums, probably ever.

Natsumen isn't strictly jazz of course, but sure, feel free to mention jazz-influenced bands too! ^^

If you like Natsumen, 俺????ん??もん??ゃ???? / OWKMJ sounds a bit familiar. Same kinda post-rock/jazz blend. Pretty nice..

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[roninbuddha 0]

^cool stuff, yeah i've come across them before i think,

oh , has quasimode been mentioned yet? a friend recommended them to me, seems like good straightforward jazz in the likes of PE'Z/Soilpimp...

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they have a lot of albums already, any are approachable enough

[CAT5 9075]

^ quasimode are dayum good. I thought their latest effort "Magic Ensemble" was pretty weak, though. I mean, I liked the track with Miyuki Hatakeyama (her voice is divine <3), but don't quite recall the rest. The other vocalists featured on "Magic Ensemble" was MEH, though...they should have gotten some actually jazz singers (like Tomoko Nagashima of Orange Pekoe lol). But yeah, other than that, quasimode is gold! ;D

[No.47 22]

Here some stuff from Paris Match

paris match - (I'M STILL) LOST IN YOU

http://www.youtube.com/embed/3wcjdG8F3iU

paris match - STARS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB9MIbsb1r8

paris match - VOICE (alternate ver.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxV2ORRwpl0