About

Hidefumi Toki is one of the prominent alto saxophonists in Japan. Born in 1950, he had formal and classical musical education on clarinet in high school and saxophone in college. Although he eventually quit school to become a full-time jazz musician, some say that his classical training helped him acquire his beautiful tone. Recorded in 1975 for Three Blind Mice, this debut album is accompanied by a quartet featuring Kazumi Watanabe on guitar, Nobuyoshi Ino on bass, and Steve Jackson on drums, Toki's expressive alto and soprano saxophone fill the space with gentle, raspy tones. The album's laidback and mellow atmosphere, highlighted by original compositions like "Darkness" and "Lullaby For The Girl," as well as soulful renditions of classics such as "When Sunny Gets Blue" and Ornette Coleman's "Blues," creates a captivating listening experience.

Watanabe’s backing and chord work is so adept and sophisticated that at first listen you’d not even realize that there’s no pianist on this set. According to the producer’s notes, all numbers except one were completed in one take and the entire session lasted less than four hours. This is a rousing, swinging and powerful jazz album, truly one of the greats.

↓
Label: Three Blind Mice
Series: Three Blind Mice プレミアム復刻コレクション
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, Remastered, 180gram
Country: Japan
Reissued: 2024 / Original Release: 1975
Genre: Jazz

File under: Japanese Jazz
⦿