About

Jazz saxophonist Akira Miyazawa was known for his unparalleled love of fishing, and here he gives a masterful performance that conjures the image of silvery fish scales reflecting light through the cold and clear water of a small mountain stream. “Yamame” (the Japanese name for a kind of freshwater salmon) was recorded in 1962 and was Miyazawa’s first album, but the sharpness and avant-garde modernity of the music creates a completely timeless quality. Miyazawa is one of a group of musicians who laid the foundation of the Japanese jazz scene. He wanted to express his cultural heritage by doing something he felt “only someone Japanese” could do, and so he dedicated himself to a pursuit of “Japanese jazz”. Incidentally, the album was originally simply titled “Akira Miyazawa”, but perhaps due to the impression the cover art and the track titles made, it was reissued in 1977 as “Yamame”, and has gone by that title ever since. This is an historic masterpiece of Japanese jazz. — (via Sound Fuji, Bandcamp)

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Liner notes written by Takao Ogawa, who has written numerous books on Japanese jazz.

Vinyl Tracklist
A1 Yamame
A2 Memories Through Thick Glasses
A3 Fly Casting
A4 Like Someone In Love
B1 Out Of Nowhere
B2 Le Crepuscule Embaume
B3 Like Sonny

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Label: King Records
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo
Reissued: 2026 / Originally Released: 1962
Genre: Jazz
Style: Post Bop

File under: Japanese Jazz
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