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A TAV Essential Listening Album

“We Release Jazz (WRWTFWW Records’ new sister-label) is proud to present its first release, the official reissue of Ryo Fukui’s highly sought-after masterpiece Scenery (1976), sourced from the original masters and available on limited edition 180g vinyl mastered at half speed for audiophile sound, as well as on digipack CD.

Unquestionably one of the most important Japanese jazz albums ever recorded, Scenery reveals Ryo Fukui as a miraculously brilliant self-taught pianist fusing modal, bop, and cool jazz influences for a very personal, dexterous and game-changing take on classic standards made famous by Bing Crosby and John Coltrane among others. From "It Could Happen To You" and its serene and calm intro which magically flows into a jubilant and upbeat piece, to the out-of-this-world piano solo of "Early Summer", or the incredible teamwork of "Autumn Leaves" where Fukui leads Satoshi Denpo (bass) and Yoshinori Fukui (drums) into groove heaven, every single note on the album oozes precision, confidence and flair and every single section slides seamlessly into one another, creating a supreme and elegant blend of jazz.” – Bandcamp

“Released when Ryo was 27 years old, Scenery is to jazz music as Is This It? is to rock music. A love letter of the purest form. The Strokes took forty years of rock music and chewed it up in a way that only a true blood fan of the music could, and so it is with Scenery. Playing a mixture of a mixture of original compositions and renditions of classics jazz standards, Ryo immediately proves what seperated him from jazz musicians of the time…

…Ryo and his trio perform them with such passion and energy the standards transform into something wholly unique. Equally fundamental, was that the trio exuded such a genuine lack of cynicism, and intellectual posturing, something the overly self-serious jazz world so desperately needed in 1976.” – Overblown

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