[Hajime Sato]

Hi all,

As the latest news at Eastwind Import, I’d like to let you know that 10 CDs have arrived from the Japanese independent jazz label Venus Records. All new recordings, superbly engineered and mastered in 24 bit. If you like good, straight-ahead jazz and good sound, click the links below and check them out!

Eric Alexander Quartet / Gentle Ballads II
A strong follow-up to the 2004 smash hit Gentle Ballads. One of the best tenor saxophonists operating today, Eric Alexander’s brawny, poweful tone is very attractive in this collection of ballads.

Francesco Cafiso Quartet / Seven Steps to Heaven
Do you know a 17-year-old alto saxophone “phenom” from Italy called Francesco Cafiso? If you don’t you owe it to youself to check this album out. And prepare to be blown away!

Russell Malone Quaratet / Wholly Cats
One of the best straight-ahead guitarists today, Russell Malone recorded this superb album in 1994 before he joined Diana Krall’s band. If you are a fan of good guitar jazz, this relatively unknown gem will delight you.

Eddie Higgins Trio / Dear Old Stockholm
Veteran pianist Eddie Higgins played 10 songs that were requested by Japanese fans, plus two of his own choosing. Beautiful songs, including the title track, beautifully played.

One For All / Killer Joe
Sometimes called the “Jazz Messengers of the 21st century,” One For All is an all-star New York group including Eric Alexander (ts), Jim rotondi (tp), Steve Davis (tb), David Hazeltime (p) and Joe Farnsworth (ds). Enjoy the thick, fat sound of three-horn ensemble and great solos in this hard bop session!

Bill Charlap’s New York Trio
Talented pianist and superb interpreter of the great American songbook, Bill Charlap has recorded many albums for the Japanese Venus Records. His combo with Jay Leonhart (bass) and Bill Stewart (drums) is one of my most favorite piano trios working today. This time I imported five of their CDs at once, recorded between 2001 and 2006.

Blues in the Night (2001)
The Things We Did Last Summer (2002)
Love You Madly (2003: Duke Ellington songbook)
Begin the Beguine (2005: Cole Porter songbook)
Thou Swell (2006: Richard Rodgers songbook)

CDs are coming faster than I can upload on the website, so look forward to future posts.

Upcoming titles:
Beverly Kenney / Born To Be Blue
Belverly Kenney / Like Yesterday
Annie Ross / Sings a Song with Mulligan
Harvey Mason Trios 2 / Changing Partners
Alan Pasqua / Body and Soul

Cheers

[Hajime Sato]

Hi All,

I can barely keep up with the new CDs coming from Japan, and I’m not kidding! Here are the latest six additions to our catalog: a varied collection including an XRCD, Japanese vocal reissues and great new recordings. Remember, you can always click the links below for more info and listen to sample audio files.

Sonny Rollins / The Contemporary Leaders [XRCD2]
Tenor sax giant Sonny Rollins recorded two albums for Contemporary Records, the bastion of West Coast jazz. One is the legendary Way Out West and the other is this one, another classic. Great sound captured in 1958 by the legendary engineer Roy DuNann is transferred with amazing clarity and presence using the XRCD technology.

Beverly Kenney / Born To Be Blue
This is one of the three albums Beverly Kenney left for Decca, and probably the most romantic of her work. Here, she sings 12 ballads accompanied by orchestras conducted and arranged for by Hal Mooney and Charlie Albertine. Recorded in 1958; Japanese reissue from Universal Japan.

Beverly Kenney / Like Yesterday
The last of the three albums Beverly Kenney left for Decca. A collection of songs popularized by big bands and their singers during the 1930s and 1940s, sung against wonderful small combos led by Stan Free and Jerome Richardson. Recorded in 1959; Japanese reissue from Universal Japan.

Annie Ross / Sings a Song with Mulligan
Annie Ross may be most well known as the original member of the amazing vocalese group Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, but she also made some solo albums, and this is considered by many to be her best. Ross is supported by Gerry Mulligan's superb "pianoless" quartets featuring Art Farmer or Chet Baker on trumpet!

Alan Pasqua / Body & Soul
Contemporary pianist Alan Pasqua's trio album featuring Peter Erskine (drums) and Darek Oles (bass) is a gentle and beautiful masterpiece. His own Yamaha S6 piano sounds crystal clear and warm at the same time. Recorded in 2003 and released in Japan in 2004 by Videoarts Music.

Harvey Mason Trios 2 / Changing Partners
Super drummer Harvey Mason pleasantly surprised jazz fans in 2004 by releasing With All My Heart, a gorgeous piano trio album employing a different top-tier pianist for each song. He continued the project with this wonderful second album, featuring Chick Corea, Joey Calderazzo, Dave Grusin, Makoto Ozone, Eric Reed, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Jacky Terrasson. Released in 2006 in Japan by Videoarts Music.

Cheers, 

[Hajime Sato]

Hi All,

I have just put up nine new arrivals at Eastwind Import: Verve 60th Anniversary Special Limited Edition Hybrid SACDs, all issued in Japan in 2004. These Supreme Sound Edition SACDs were remastered from the original master tapes by renowned Japanese engineer Seigen Ono using the latest 1-bit DSD technology. Together with Ella and Louis that was already in our catalog, we now have all of the ten albums.

They are all “classic” albums that have been adored by generations of music fans. Now you can have them in the best possible digital format availablle today in terms of technology and sound quality! If you are an audiophile venturing into the wide world of jazz, these 10 SACDs are a great place to start because they are all “essential” albums you should have in your collection.

These hybrid discs (mono or stereo) play on SACD players AND any regular CD players. Click the links below for more info and sample audio files.

Stan Getz Joao Gilberto / Getz/Gilberto
An immortal album that brought the "bossa nova boom" to the United States and beyond. Winner of 1964 Grammy for the Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Engineered Album, and Best Jazz Solo Performance.

Oscar Peterson Trio / We Get Requests
One of the most popular, and perhaps the best sounding album of the great Oscar Peterson Trio with Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen. Listen to the powerful and delicate sound of Brown’s bass!

Bill Evans / At the Montreux Jazz Festival
One of the most notable albums Bill Evans made with bassist Eddie Gomez, and the only album he recorded with drummer Jack DeJohnette. Critically acclaimed and adored by the fans, this album won the 1969 Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group.

Charlie Parker / Now’s the Time
This album contains two Charlie Parker quartet sessions that are among the most brilliant of all his Verve recordings. An essential album for anyone who wants to understand modern jazz.

Ella Fitzgerald / Mack the Knife - Ella in Berlin
This album is arguably one of the most exciting jazz vocal albums ever recorded. Winner of 1961 Grammy Awards for the Best Female Vocal Performance (Single) and Best Female Vocal Performance (Album).

Stan Getz / Stan Getz Plays
Stan Getz recorded many great albums during his long career, but this early one (recorded in 1952) is one of the very best. Not a single note is wasted and every moment is filled with beautiful, spontaneous improvisation. This is what jazz is all about!

Wes Montgomery / California Dreaming
Under the direction of Creed Taylor, the phenomenal guitarist Wes Montgomery was paired with a gorgeous orchestra, arranged and conducted by Don Sebesky for this memorable album.

Antonio Carlos Jobim / The Composer of Desafinado Plays
The king of bossa nova Antonio Carlos Jobim plays his own compositions on piano and guitar, with a beautiful orchestra, including strings, arranged and conducted by Claus Ogerman. The sound quality is exceptional.

Lester Young Teddy Wilson Quartet / Pres and Teddy
A relaxed, warm reunion session between the influential tenor stylist Lester Young and the elegant pianist Teddy Wilson recorded in 1956.

Ella Fitzgerald Louis Armstrong / Ella and Louis
One of the greatest jazz vocal albums ever recorded, this masterpiece shines with ageless charms of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Amrstrong. Recorded in 1956 with the Oscar Peterson Quartet, this is a quintessential jazz recording that should be part of every music lover's collection.

Happy listening to you all! 

[shep]

Great selection  aa you are on a roll! maybe one day that Eric Gale album will appear by magic!

[Hajime Sato]

Hi Shep,

Thanks for your comment  . I haven't forgotten about Eric Gale's CD! I enlisted the help of a distributor/exporter company in Japan to locate a copy. I don't want to give you false hope but they're still looking.

All the best,

[shep]

I'm a taker, when and if (assuming it doesn't cost 100$!) great album aa

[Hajime Sato]

Two brand-new CDs from Marshmallow Records have just arrived at Eastwind Import!
 
Jan Lundgren Trio / Plays Cole Porer Love Songs
A brand-new album from Jan Lundgren! For his seventh recording for the Japanese Marshmallow Records, Lundgren decided to do a Cole Porter songbook and chose eleven love songs. The trio's renditions of Porter's gems are straight-ahead and wonderful, and the glorious sound of the trio is captured vividly. If you are a fan, you cannot miss this one!

Bob Rockwell / The Joker
American-born veteran tenorman Bob Rockwell has lived in Copenhagen since 1983, and recorded several exciting albums for the Japanese Marshmallow Records. His latest album was recorded in 2006 when Rockwell toured Japan with a Scandinavian rhythm section. It is indeed a kick to hear such a straight-ahead, soulful tenor saxophone player today in a swinging, funky set like this!

If you are interested, click the links to go to Eastwind Import website for more information and listen to sample sound files.

[JDarby - Stereomojo.com]

Hajime,

Stereomojo.com is adding a music review section. Our goal is to publish more LP and CD reviews than anyone else. We have several writers who are dedicated to this goal. We would be happy to promote your new lines via the review process.

Please contact me via email:

[email protected]

[Hajime Sato]

James,

Thanks for your generous offer. I sent an email but it was rejected by your spam filter, so I sent you a personal message. Please send your reply to [email protected]. (correction: NOT "eastwind.com")

Thanks!

[Hajime Sato]

In November and December 2006, the lengendary but now defunct Japanese audiophile jazz label Three Blind Mice partnered with Sony Music Japan and issued 20 classic TBM albums in the hybrid SACD format. TBM producer Takeshi Fujii oversaw the entire process, and master tapes recorded and mixed by the famous engineer Yoshihiko Kannari was remastered in 2006 using the latest DSD technology to an impeccable standard.

The typically perfectionist production goes beyond the sound: Original jacket designs, including the “obi,” are perfectly reproduced in this “mini-LP” or paper sleeve, special limited edition. Previously we had seven of them in our catalog. Now with the addition of the remaining 13 titles, we have the entire collection available for fans of TBM, good jazz and good sound.

These records, produced during the 1960s and 1970s in Japan, are proud examples of what the Japanese musicians, producers and recording engineers were capable of at that time. Musical contents and moods vary, but the level of performances is invariably high, and the sound quality is superb.

Sunao Wada Quartet/Sextet / Coco’s Blues
Groovy all blues session by one of the best blues guitarists in Japan.

Hidefumi Toki Quartet / Toki
Lyrical debut album by the alto and soprano saxophonist, with a piano-less trio with Kazumi Watanabe on guitar.

Naosuke Miyamoto Sextet / Step!
A thrilling and exciting three horn sextet date led by a veteran bassist.

Shigeko Toya with Masaru Imada Trio
Young singer Toya shows her unique style in this debut album.

Ayako Hosokawa / Mr. Wonderful
A truly wonderful vocal album by Ayako Hosokawa, who had been singing for 17 years in California.

Mari Nakamoto / Unforgettable!
The beautiful, husky voice of Mari Nakamoto was already exceptional in her debut album.

Hideto Kanai Quintet / Concierto de Aranjuez
A progressive, daring jazz date. The title track is an impressive answer to the earlier versions by Miles Davis and Jim Hall.

Masaru Imada Trio / Standards
A groovy selection of standards by a veteran jazz pianist.

Hiroshi Fukumura Quintet
Two young trombonists formed a quintet reminiscent of Kai & J.J. and left an album that is fresh and impressive all the way around.

Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio / Live at the Misty
Yamamoto’s third album for the TBM within a year of his recording debut is a live set where his trio performed just like they did everyday. Funky and groovy!

Terumasa Hino Quintet / Live!
The world famous trumpeter and his group was in fine form in this “live in concert” recording. Free yet lyrical, moving performance.

Shoji Yokouchi Quartet / Blonde on the Rocks
A swinging twin guitar quartet session led by the two masters of jazz guitar.

Yoshiko Goto / Day Dream
A very find ballad album by the veteran singer who lets us feel the joy and heartaches of this thing called love.

As always, you can click the links above for details and listen to sample audio files at www.eastwindimport.com!

[Hajime Sato]

Hi All,

I have been busy putting up the newly arrived CDs and SACDs. I’m not done yet, but I’d like to to draw your attention to the latest four additions to our catalog at Eastwind Import: One new recording by my favorite Japanese pianist and three Japanese reissues of classic jazz albums from the 1950s. These older recordings are not readily available in the CD format elsewhere.

Yoshiko Kishino / Praha [Hybrid SACD]
My favorite pianist/composer/arranger went to Praha (Prague), the Czech Republic, in 2004 and recorded a beautiful album with a piano trio (with George Mraz on bass) plus strings. The warm analog recording is transferred successfully to this gorgeous-sounding hybrid SACD.

Beverly Kenney / Come Swing with Me
My quest to complete the collection of her albums continues. Her second album for Royal Roost is a lively, swinging affair with the Ralph Burns Orchestra. (Rec. 1956)

Helen Merrill / The Nearness of You
Merrill’s last album for the EmArcy label features Bill Evans on five tunes. This is a wonderful all-standards album by a sophisticated singer. (Rec. 1957-58)

Doug Watkins / Watkins at Large
The supremely talented bassist Doug Watkins’ first leader album was issued by the obscure Transition label. A fiery, brilliant session with Hank Mobley, Donald Byrd, Kenny Burrell, Duke Jordan and Art Taylor who were all young, up-and-coming artists in 1956.

As always, you can click the links above for details and listen to sample audio files.

Happy listening to you all!

Hajime

[Hajime Sato]

Hi all,

I've been a huge fan of Anita O'Day, a truly great jazz singer who passed away last November. To celebrate her legacy, in March 2007 Universal Japan reissued all 16 LP albums she recorded for the Clef/Norgran/Verve label between 1952 and 1962. This was considered by many as her golden years; the most productive period of her long career.

Curiously and unfortunately, many of her classic Verve albums are unavailable in the US in the CD format. To right this wrong, I decided to import 10 titles most of which are not readily available in the US and elsewhere. If you combine these 10 titles with more widely available ones, you should be able to complete a collection of all 16 albums she left for Verve.

All CDs are remastered with the latest, 1-bit DSD technology from the original analog master tapes, and original jacket designs including the English liner notes are faithfully reproduced in this Mini-LP (paper sleeve) limited edition. You've got to own these albums if you are a fan of Anita O'Day. And if you are a fan of jazz vocal in general, you owe it to yourself to check them out!

As always, you can click the links below to read the details of each album and listen to sample sound files.

Anita O'Day Sings Jazz
O'Day's first full-length LP album for Verve, consisting of three sessions recorded in 1952. Features Roy Eldridge on trumpet.

An Evening with Anita O'Day
O'Day's second LP for Verve, consisiting of three separate sessions recorded in Los Angeles in 1954 and 1955. Supporting musicians include Barney Kessel, John Poole, Jimmy Rowles, Tal Farlow, Leroy Vinnegar and Larry Bunker.

This Is Anita
Recorded in 1955, this is my personal favorite, and arguably the best record she ever made. O'Day is backed by a small combo plus strings arranged and conducted by the talented Buddy Bregman. The West Coast all-star rhythm section (Paul Smith, Barney Kessel, Joe Mondragon and Alvin Stoller) keeps the entire program swinging.

At Mister Kelly's
Backed by a tasteful piano trio, you can hear O'Day in top form in this intimate live recording. The performance was recorded in April 1958, just three months before her legendary live performance at the Newport Jazz Festival was captured in the movie Jazz on a Summer's Day.

Cool Heat
On this album O'Day is paired with Jimmy Giuffre, an important figure in the "cool" West Coast jazz movement. His arrangements are intelligent and imaginative. (Rec. 1959)

Anita O'Day and Billy May Swing Rodgers and Hart
One of the two superb albums O'Day made with great arranger Billy May. The operative word here is "swing." May's arrangements are ingenious and brilliant, and O'Day rides them like a skilled surfer. (Rec. 1960)

Waiter, Make Mine Blues
Russell Garcia provides a perfect setting for the talented singer, with a wonderful band with an all-star cast: Frank Rosolino, Bud Shank, Barney Kessell, Al McKibbon and Mel Lewis. In terms of sheer vocal performance, this album is one of her best. (Rec. 1960)

Trav'lin' Light
In this tribute album to Billie Holiday who passed away two years prior to the recording, O'Day salutes the legendary singer who had the most profound influence on her singing. Johnny Mandel's arrangements are subtle and brilliant at the same time. (Rec. 1961)

Time for Two with Cal Tjader
Cal Tjader provides an effective and delightful background for O'Day, with a clever mix of the West Coast "cool" jazz style and latin rhythms. O'Day obviously is having fun with the band and the joy is contagious. (Rec. 1962)

Anita O'Day and The Three Sounds
For what turned out to be her last album for Verve, O'Day was paired with the new, up-and-coming piano trio called The Three Sounds led by the funky pianist Gene Harris. (Rec. 1962)

Thanks for your interest and support for Eastwind Import!

[Hajime Sato]

Great news! TONE Audio Online Issue 9, now available for download, has a very nice mini-feature article on Eastwind Import, including my interview with Editor Jeff Dorgay and his review of four CDs on our catalog.

Please go to TONE Audio Online, download Issue 9 (a PDF file) and take a look at page 77. You’ll be able to learn some secrets of Eastwind Import and read a thorough review of CDs from Marshmallow and 55 Records.

If you don't already know, TONE Audio is one of the premier online audio magazines. I encourage you to subscribe to it: It's a great magazine, and it's free!

Thank you, Jeff and TONE Audio Online, for the wonderful article!

[Hajime Sato]

Hi all,

I've just added four new arrivals from Venus Records to our catalog. Needless to say, they are all highly recommended! Please click the links below for more details and sample sound files.

Francesco Cafiso / New York Lullaby
The young, Italian alto sax phenom Francesco Cafiso has caused quite a stirr among our customers, and his Seven Steps to Heaven has become one of our top sellers. This equally stunning album takes us back two years to 2005, when Cafiso was only 16 years old! If you are a serious jazz fan, you simply can't ignore this rising star!

New York Trio / The Things We Did Last Summer [SACD]
A single layer SACD version of the stellar album by pianist Bill Charlap and his trio, imported by popular demand. The powerful "Hyper Magnum" sound of Venus gets a special DSD treatment and provides stunning sound quality for discriminating audiophiles. This disc will work ONLY on Super Audio Disc players. The redbook CD version is TKCV-35163.

One For All / The End of a Love Affair
The popular three-horn hard-bop band led by tenorman Eric Alexander has recorded many albums for Venus Records, and this is their first, recorded in 2001. This powerful, swinging album offers an attractive program of standards and originals.

One For All / No Problem
The second album by One For All for Venus Records is a tribute for Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. In addition to strong original compositions, the hard bop band of the 21st century picks up tunes composed by the Messengers alumni Bobby Timmons, Benny Golson, Cedar Walton and Curtis Fuller.

[Hajime Sato]

Hi All,

I hope all is well with you in this Spring time. Here's what's happening at Eastwind Import:

1. Introducing two Japanese artists

Lisa Ono / Dream
Born and raised in Brazil, Lisa Ono has been spreading the gospel of the "bossa nova" to a whole new generation of Japanese audience with her unadorned but warm, soothing voice. In what is considered as one of her best albums, she teamed with Oscar Castro-Neves and gave the old American standard songs a superb "bossa nova" treatment. Great idea, wonderfully executed.

Mitsuaki Kishi / Swingin' Always
Kishi is a unique Japanese pianist whose style can be called "contemporary swing" or "contemporary traditional jazz." For his eighth album he went to New York and recorded with the best like-minded musicians Harry Allen, Howard Alden and Warren Vache. There is nothing old in this sunny, uplifting album!

2. Website Updates

To provide the best shopping experience to our customers, we are constantly trying to improve our website. First, to accommodate our growing catalog, we simplified the navigation bars on the left-hand side. The artists (leaders) are now organized alphabetically under five headings (A-E, F-J, etc.) based on their last names.

Second, we added a search window near the top left-hand corner under our logo. Now you can search our catalog for a particular artist/musician, album title or song.

Third, when you go to an Album Details page, you'll notice that the names of participating musicians and album tracks are hyperlinked (underlined). If you are interested in a particular musician and want to find out what other albums he/she performs in, simply click his/her name and you'll see the search result! Similarly, if you like a particular song and want to know what other albums contain that song, just click it.

I hope these functions serve you well. If you have any comments or suggestions on our website, please let us know.

3. Store Closing Schedule

Eastwind Import will be temporarily closed from noon on Monday, April 30 through noon on Tuesday, May 8. You will be able to browse the products and listen to sample files, but you will not be able to place an order during that time.

Happy listening to you all!

[Hajime Sato]

Hi all,

Up to now, Eastwind Import has been focused on Japanese import CDs, but we are making an exception for an exceptional audiophile label based in Hollywood, California: Straight Ahad Records.

Straight Ahead was established in 2005 by the legendary mastering engineer Bernie Grundman and veteran producer Stewart Levine. Grundman and company built their own recording studio within his already famous mastering studio, and using their vintage tube microphones and custom-made electronics, they capture performances of select jazz musicians "live to two track" with amazing clarity, detail and life-like realism.

We are now proud to carry their first three DualDisc titles in our catalog. They contain CD audio on one side and 96 kHz/24 bit linear PCM audio on the flip side. The DVD-Audio side plays on a DVD-Audio player as well as on just about any regular DVD-Video player. The DVD-Audio has smoother and more analog-like sound in my opinion, although the CD side alone will impress even the most discriminating audiophile.

Go to Eastwind Import now and check out these three titles! Also, look forward to a new release from Straight Ahead Records in the near future.

Hugh Masekela / Almost Like Being in Jazz
This premier release features Hugh Masekela on flugelhorn and his long-time friend Larry Willis on piano. In a simple quartet setting, Masekela demonstrates his lyrical and tender side with a selection of jazz ballads. This is true for all three titles, but the sound quality is simply astonishing.

Introducing Zane Musa
Zane Musa is a young alto saxophonist active in the Los Angeles jazz scene, with an aggressive tone and Coltrane-like intensity. Musa and his young cohorts breathe new life into well-known standards and jazz tunes composed by Coltrane, Monk, Nat Adderley and Clifford Brown among others.

John Heard & Co. / The Jazz Composer's Songbook
On this tribute to the second wave of Jazz composers from the 1950s like Wayne Shorter, Bobby Timmons, Sonny Rollins and Horace Silver, among others, veteran bassist John Heard leads a group of outstanding musicians. The sound reminds me of the golden age of jazz recording by labels such as the Contemporary Records, only with higher fidelity and better resolution!

Happy listening to you all!

[Hajime Sato]

Hi all,

After a week of vacation, Eastwind Import is back on business! And we have nine additional CDs from Venus Records, both new and old, available at our website! As usual, you can click the links below to read more about each album and listen to sample audio files.

Richie Beirach Trio / Manhattan Reverie
Known for his heady attempts to fuse jazz and classical music, pianist Richie Beirach exploded with sheer joy of playing passionate, straight-ahead jazz. A stunning piano trio album with great sound! [Rec. 2006]

Richie Beirach Trio / Romantic Rhapsody
An earlier work by the same trio, with a focus on the lyrical and contemplative side of the talented pianist. [Rec. 2000]

Stefano Bollani Trio / Volare
With his ECM release "Piano Solo" making a splash in the US, it is worth taking a look at the earlier works of this young, supremely talented Italian pianist. His debut CD from Venus, a passionate collection of Italian songs, stunned the Japanese audience when it came out in 2002. [Rec. 2002]

Stefano Bollani Trio / Black and Tan Fantasy
Bollani's second album from Venus was actually recorded at the same two-day session that produced "Volare." On this album Bollani demonstrates his arrangement skills and fresh interpretations of American jazz standards. [Rec. 2002]

Chano Dominguez / Con Alma
Talented Spanish pianist Chano Dominguez shows his straight-ahead jazz chops in this collection of Latin tunes and jazz standards. Drummer Jeff Ballard (Brad Mehldau) adds significant flair to the proceedings with his amazing technique. [Rec. 2003]

Charles McPherson Quartet / But Beautiful
Veteran alto sax player Charles McPherson, paired with Venus regular and wonderful pianist Steve Kuhn, demonstrates that he is at the top of his game with distinctive tone and brilliant bebop-tinged playing. [Rec. 2003]

Phil Woods with Strings / The Thrill Is Gone
A charming, tender, and good-sounding "with strings" album by the Phil Woods Quartet featuring Bill Charlap on piano and nicely augmented by a string quintet. [Rec. 2002]

Archie Shepp / True Blue
Known as a "free jazz" warrior in the 1960s and 1970s, Archie Shepp surprised Japanese jazz fans in the late 1990s with a series of (relatively) straight-ahead, ballad albums released by Venus. This CD is the third in the series. [Rec. 1998]

Archie Shepp / Deja Vu
After the three-part series, Shepp returned with a particularly strong collection of French songs and tunes associated with France, which earned him the prestigious Swing Journal Jazz Disc Silver Award for 2001. [Rec. 2001]

Happy listening!

[Hajime Sato]

Hi all,

I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend. The news from Eastwind Import this week is the arrival of two very special products.

Jazz In Denmark [DVD-Video]
We are very excited to have in stock the very rare, limited edition DVD released by Marshmallow Records. Jazz In Denmark contains three short films made in the 1960s in Copenhagen, Denmark. Commercially available for the first time, only 999 copies are made for the entire world, and each DVD is numbered. You'll see and hear, for the first time, moving images of Bud Powell and his previously unreleased trio recordings with Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass; Don Cherry and Archie Shepp together in live performance; and Dollar Brand (Abdullah Ibrahim) in studio creating new music. Don't miss this opportunity to own a part of jazz history!
Three films contained in the DVD are:
STOPFORBUD / BUD POWELL (1962)
FUTURE ONE / NEW YORK CONTEMPORARY FIVE (1962)
PORTRAIT OF A BUSHMAN / DOLLAR BRAND (1965)

Yoshio Suzuki Trio featuring Tadataka Unno / For You
Suzuki Yoshio, affectionately called "Chin-san" by his fans and friends, is a veteran bassist who was the REGULAR member of the Stan Getz Group and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in the 1970s. Chin-san teamed up with a superbly talented young pianist, Tadataka Unno, and made a wonderfully swinging and great-sounding CD for a new label he co-founded with 55 Records' producer Hiroshi Itsuno and others. Straight-ahead piano trio jazz does not get much better than this!

As usual, you can click the links above and read the details and/or listen to sample audio files.

Happy listening to you all!

[Double Ugly]

Thanks, Hajime.  I'm sure you'll be seeing more of my money soon.

It took a while, but I proved myself right tonight when I ordered both. 

The DVD will be a gift (maybe ) and the latter will be ripped to my hard drive as soon as it arrives.  The samples were definitely tasty, and I'm sure I'll enjoy listening to Chin-san as much as the offerings from Sue, Ella, Louis, Gene and Beverly that came before.

Thanks, Hajime! 

-Jim

[Hajime Sato]

Hello Jim,

I'm delighted to receive your order again! I hope you'll enjoy the CD and your friend the DVD as much I do.

Thanks so much!