About

- A TAV Essential Listening Album -

Maki Asakawa (浅川 マキ? Asakawa Maki, January 27, 1942 – January 17, 2010) was a Japanese jazz and blues singer, lyricist and composer. Born in Mikawa (now part of the city of Hakusan), Ishikawa Prefecture, after graduating high school she worked for a time as a teller in the local national pensions office before moving to Tokyo. Particularly influenced by the styles of Mahalia Jackson and Billie Holiday, she began her career singing at US Army bases and at cabarets.

Inspired by the records of Billie Holiday, Nina Simone and Mahalia Jackson - Japanese jazz and blues singer, lyricist and composer Maki Asakawa left her office job to pursue her passion – ultimately culminating in her become an icon for Japanese urban counterculture. She may have started singing in clubs and U.S. military bases, but by the end of her lengthy career, she had close to 30 albums to her name.

This 2015 double LP from UK-based Honest Jon’s compiles many of Asakawa’s finest works from 1969 to 1986. Ranging from the blues and R&B to psychedelia and spiritual jazz, this excellent survey of the Japanese crooner’s discography is filled with moody gems. Standouts include the taiko meets trombone sorrow of “Nemuru No Ga Kowai,” her Japanese-language rendition of Bessie Smith’s “Blue Spirit Blues,” and the sitar-driven chants of “Govinda.” — The Analog Vault

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Label: Honest Jon's Records
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Compilation
Released: 2015
Genre: Blues, Folk Rock, Japanese Vocals

File under: Japanese Folk / Rock
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