Post “Three Blind Mice” Japanese Jazz

I have to say that YMO is very 70’s and new to me.  I think that Kraftwerk was the closest I’ve come to that sound and it was short lived.  I’ll have to spend some time going through some of the albums to see if the sound varies.

Masabumi and Sadao are more mainstream and I’ve now listened to a couple of albums and will add some to my library.

What strikes me is that YMO, Masabumi and Sadao are more contemporaries of TBM artists and not successors.  Are there younger artists in Japan, or have they all left?  Any great vocalist in the jazz, or pop genre?

I have Yuko Manucho Trio two album 45RPM set.  It is really good and well recorded, but she has been in California for ages.  So, I’ll add Yuko to my suggestion as a young Japanese pianist well worth auditioning.  I’m pleased with her records, but haven’t streamed any of her works.

Three Blind Mice are great jazz performances and great recordings.

I am also a fan of Yuko Mabuchi who has moved to California and performs around the U.S.

Like the OP, I have developed a taste for some Korean music. Though my preferences are fairly narrow in soft rock. Here’s a 20 tune playlist by various artists --

The quality of soundtracks from some KDramas is really impressive.

Here is an old sample of Yuko Mabuchi Trio in concert … via YouTube

Yuko Mabuchi Trio in Concert

Her work is available in Vinyl, tape, CD, streaming, download in various formats including DSD. Also, two and five channel. Purchase is a great way to support artists that you like and in this genre with limited appeal, this might be necessary to promote new artists. I find it disturbing that few seem to listen to younger niche Japanese artist, but I guess this is the nature of niche.

Here is one of my favorite Korean artists. BiBi’s album, Lowlife Princess and one other is available in streaming HR format. I listen via Quboz and Apple Music when working out. Her style varies and some of her music is in English. Again YouTube..

Vengeance

The mistreatment of people, especially women, by the powerful is a hot topic in Korea.  One of the current KDramas that deals with this is in the top TV shows worldwide on Netflix…. Glory … really excellent.  

Yuko is a pleasure to listen to. I admire her creativity with both classics and new material. I have enjoyed her performances at Herb Alpert’s Vibrato Grill.

Season 2 of Glory is currently expected to be available on March 10. I look forward to the completion of this unfinished story. I will probably need to review parts of season 1 beforehand to get back up to speed on names, relationships, etc.

Another great kdrama is The World of the Married. Too bad it was never released to U.S. audiences. I had to buy the discset to view it.

@jwei 

Thanks for bringing up Three Blind Mice. An early audiophile recording, I bought Misty. I brought it out today… great recording. Really enjoyable.