Mabumi Yamaguchi Quartet 'Leeward' LP

Pre-order. Due 27th November.

Leeward, released in 1978 on Union record, is the second album by tenor and soprano saxophonist Mabumi Yamaguchi. Here the quartet comprises of Ikuo Sakurai on bass, Hideo Sekine on drums and Ichiro Doi on piano and electric piano.

Leeward opens with “Dawn” a long and slow piece led by a Fender Rhodes played in
flanger mode, on which Mabumi Yamaguchi expresses a certain melancholy, which we
also find on “Dewdrop”, a duet piece with Ichiro Doi at the piano. The rhythm picks up
on “Distant thunder”, a kind of jazz-funk samba in which Mabumi Yamaguchi lets each
of his musicians take a long chorus before ending by taking up the haunting theme of
this superb piece.

The beautiful “Leeward” closes the album in a slightly more traditional but equally mastered style. It is not known if the cover of this album contributed to its lack of success when it was released, but it is almost impossible today to find an original pressing of this record.

 

Condition: New

Label: Le Tres Jazz Club