Funk Tide - Tokyo Jazz-Funk Selected By Dj Notoya

Description

After the success of the compilation Tokyo Glow, Wewantsounds once again teams up with Japanese DJ Notoya to delve into the rich catalog of the Electric Bird label and offer a selection of jazz funk gems recorded between 1978 and 1987. A sub-label of the venerable Japanese label King Records, Electric Bird was created in 1977 to meet the growing demands of the Japanese jazz funk audience. The label then recruited the wave of rising Japanese jazz musicians, having them record in studios in Tokyo or New York, accompanied by the best American and Japanese musicians to shape the elegant and sunny jazz funk sound that would become Electric Bird's signature. This carefully curated selection highlights the diversity of the label's production, from the funky track “In The Sky” by trumpeter Shunzo Ohno (who plays keyboards here) to the sunny mid-tempo groove of saxophonist Toshiyuki Honda and his “Living in a City” featuring Paulinho Da Costa on percussion, as well as “Let’s Get Together” led by Mikio Masuda's Fender Rhodes. One of the highlights is “Space Traveller” by Katsutoshi Morizono from 1978, a remake of the classic eponymous track by James Vincent recorded two years earlier with musicians from Earth Wind And Fire. There are also a handful of American heavyweights like Ronnie Foster and Bobby Lyle. Most of the tracks make their vinyl debut outside of Japan and have been remastered.