Altan Haan

Note. This page tracks some of the music that I listen to. If something catches my attention, I'll write it down here along with (hopefully) a brief description and my opinions. Warning: I'm not a music critic!

2021/03/09: Jun Fukamachi

Long overdue, but Jun Fukamachi (who also played in Keep) was definitely one of the greatest Japanese jazz fusion artists of all time. Re-listened to Spiral Steps (1976) today, just an awesome album. The high tempo walking bass improv tracks contrast almost comically with the lush synth pads on "Scoto Phonobine Type-II," I'm a big fan.

I'll definitely try to revisit Fukamachi's work in the future and write a more comprehensive post.

2021/01/10: Contemporary UK Jazz

Alfa Mist.

Joe Armon-Jones - Turn to Clear View (2019).

Yussef Kamaal - Black Focus (2016).

2020/12/30: DG-581

Keep - DG-581 (1981). Japanese fusion album (much more on the rock side than jazz IMO) with memorable tunes. Keep seems really good at coming up with catchy hooks/motifs, and exemplifies Adam Neely's favorite saying: "repetition legitimizes." The repetition in this album actually reminded me of some of the techniques common in 20th century minimalism, a connection which I'm sure goes deeper into the roots of jazz/fusion experimentation.

Recommended tracks: "Owl Flight", "Pan Neo", "Sonatine"

Note to self — Wikipedia has the following quote (citations removed for formatting):

The experimental rock act The Velvet Underground had a connection with the New York down-town scene from which minimal music emerged, rooted in the close working relationship of John Cale and La Monte Young, the latter influencing Cale's work with the band. Terry Riley's album A Rainbow in Curved Air (1969) was released during the era of psychedelia and flower power, becoming the first minimalist work to have crossover success, appealing to rock and jazz audiences.

Definitely worth investigating at some point...

2020/12/29: Some more contemporary stuff

Been replaying the two Nim Quartet albums by Nim Sadot a lot, some sick bass and trumpet and I dig the electronic influence. Also found Max Ox on Spotify and I'm sold, purposeful funky sounds and the trio setup works really well.

Recommended tracks:

• Nim Sadot: "Ear Pollution", "Ubermensch", "Obey the Fist", "Absolute Power"
• Max Ox: "Pizza Party", "Mittens"

Not contemporary, but I also listened to some of my city pop records today: Awakening (by Hiroshi Sato) and Yoshino Fujimal (by, well, Yoshino Fujimal). Awakening has some super lush chords and classic programmed drum beats, and Fujimal's vocals and guitar are crisp and full of energy.

2020/12/28: T-SQUARE!

My first T-SQUARE record, うち水にRainbow, arrived today! Really impressed with the condition (advertised as NM, but looks and plays like M honestly). The fast shipping (less than 2 weeks from Japan) was also a nice bonus.¹ Of course, it sounds as good as I had hoped.

Recommended tracks: all of them really, but check out the brassy EWI on "Barbarian".