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Ken Music was a jazz record label based in Japan that distributed CDs in Japan, Germany, North America, and Great Britain. The company was founded by Kenichi (Ken) Fujiwara in 1989 as a subsidiary of Matsuka USA, which, among other things, manufactured industrial robotic sewing systems for car seat manufacturers. The label flourished from 1989 to 1992. [1] [2]
Lee Conrad Herwig III an American jazz trombonist from New York City.
Walt Weiskopf is an American jazz saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, author, and educator. He has released 16 CDs as a leader and performed on countless other albums as a sideman, having worked with artists such as Buddy Rich, Frank Sinatra, and Steely Dan. Author and journalist Cicily Janus regards Weiskopf as "one of the best unknown musicians in the modern scene", and JazzTimes Magazine considers him to be underrated and "a highly potent tenor saxophonist who demonstrates a strong Trane-Rollins influence".
Peter John Leitch is a Canadian jazz guitarist.
Executive producer
Other producers
Matsuka USA Inc. incorporated in the state of New York on November 1, 1989, and changed its name on November 21, 2001, to Upright Enterprises, Incorporated. Upright (Akira Matsuka, President; Mieko M. Ajiro, Agent) registered as a foreign corporation in California on February 28, 1995 and kept its corporate domicile in New York. As of 2012, its California foreign registration was forfeited, although it is an active corporation in New York.
Ken had a distribution agreement with Bellaphon Records in Germany, which gave the Ken Artists a stronger presence in Germany and all of Europe.
Bellaphon Records is an independent German record label of Bellaphon records GmbH. The label produces its own artists and distributes those of other labels.
The label also reissued recordings for labels that included SeaBreeze.
Toshiko Akiyoshi is a Japanese jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader.
Lewis Barry Tabackin is an American jazz flautist and tenor saxophonist. He is married to pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi with whom he has co-led large ensembles since the 1970s.
Brian Lynch is a jazz trumpeter. He has been a member of Eddie Palmieri's Afro-Caribbean Jazz group and has led the Latin Side of Miles project with trombonist Conrad Herwig.
Ten Gallon Shuffle is the first recording released by the New York-based Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra featuring Lew Tabackin. The composition Ten Gallon Shuffle was originally commissioned by Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Music Fraternity for the University of Texas Jazz Orchestra.
Wishing Peace is the second recording released by the New York-based Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra featuring Lew Tabackin after 13 previous releases with their Los Angeles-based Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band. "Lady Liberty", "Wishing Peace" and "Uptown Stroll" form the three part "Liberty Suite" written on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty.
Carnegie Hall Concert is the third recording released by the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra featuring Lew Tabackin. The album received a 1992 Grammy award nomination in the category "Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance."
Desert Lady / Fantasy is the fourth recording released by the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra featuring Lew Tabackin. Not to be confused with the 1989 Lew Tabackin (Quartet) Concord Records release, Desert Lady. The album received two Grammy award nominations in the "Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance" and "Best Arrangement on an Instrumental" categories.
Tribute to Duke Ellington is a big band jazz album recorded in New York in 1999 and is the seventh recording released by the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra featuring Lew Tabackin. The first three tracks make up the "Tribute To Duke Ellington Suite" which was composed by Akiyoshi and commissioned by the Monterey Jazz Festival.
The jazz big band album Hiroshima - Rising From The Abyss is the eighth audio recording released by the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra featuring Lew Tabackin. It was released in 2001 by Video Arts Music in Japan and True Life in the USA. Tracks 2-7 form the "Hiroshima - Rising From The Abyss" Suite.
Last Live in Blue Note Tokyo is the ninth recording released by the New York-based Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra featuring Lew Tabackin. Not to be confused with the 1997 Toshiko Akiyoshi Trio release, Live at Blue Note Tokyo '97.
My Elegy is a concert video recording of the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra featuring Lew Tabackin. It was released in Japan in 1984 by LaserDisc Corp. as a LaserVision video disk.
The Country and Western Sound of Jazz Pianos is an album recorded by jazz pianists Toshiko Akiyoshi and Steve Kuhn in New York City in 1963 and released on the Dauntless label. It was later re-released on the Chiaroscuro label under the title, Together, Steve Kuhn and Toshiko Akiyoshi.
Remembering Bud: Cleopatra's Dream is a jazz trio album recorded by pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi in 1990 as a tribute to jazz pianist Bud Powell and released on the Nippon Crown record label in Japan and on the Evidence label in the USA.
Sketches of Japan is an album by jazz pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi. It was released in 1999 by Nippon Crown Records.
Since her debut recording for Norgran Records in 1954, jazz pianist, composer, arranger and big band leader Toshiko Akiyoshi has recorded continuously – almost exclusively as a leader of small jazz combos and of her big bands – averaging one studio album release per year for well over 50 years. She has also recorded several live albums in solo, small combo and big band settings, including three big band concert videos. Akiyoshi has released multiple albums for Victor / BMG, Nippon Columbia, Toshiba, Discomate, Nippon Crown and other labels in Japan and for Norgran / Verve, RCA, Columbia / Sony, Concord and her own Ascent label in the US. All of her big band recordings and nearly all of her other early works have been re-issued on CDs over the years.
The Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band was a 16 piece jazz big band created by pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi and tenor saxophone/flutist Lew Tabackin in Los Angeles in 1973. In 1982 the principals moved from Los Angeles to New York City and re-formed the group with new members under the name, The Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra featuring Lew Tabackin. Akiyoshi arranged all of the music for the band and composed nearly all of the music recorded by the two groups over a 30-year period. Tabackin served as the bands' featured soloist on tenor saxophone and flute. The groups recorded 13 albums, toured in North America, Japan and Europe and, after the move to New York, had regular performances at the jazz club Birdland before disbanding in 2003. The bands' recordings received several Grammy nominations and regularly scored high in Down Beat magazine's critics' and readers' polls.
50th Anniversary Concert in Japan is a live concert album recorded by jazz pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi and released in Japan on the T-toc Record label. The concert commemorated 50 years since Akiyoshi left Japan to study and play jazz in the USA and the album received several Japanese music awards including a "special award" for Japanese Jazz from Swing Journal magazine.
James J. Snidero is an American jazz saxophonist.