Teruo Nakamura - Unicorn

barabara sounds sez:

Another classic TBM side from 1973, and probably the best thing that Nakamura ever laid down. Which is all thanks to the company he keeps here. It is (as TJ points out) a bit of a mixed bag, and I'm with those who say Umma Be Me, soulful and funky though it is, doesn't really belong on the album. But the other tracks more than make up for it, especially the final two tracks. Dusty, on the other hand, seems to like it all start to finish!

dusty sez:

A landmark album from the Japanese fusion scene of the 70s – a killer set of tracks recorded by bassist Teruo Nakamura, with help from a host of American soul jazz luminaries! The album's easily one of Nakamura's most sought-after sets – cut in New York in 1973, with players that include Steve Grossman, George Cables, Lenny White, Hubert Eaves, and Alphonze Mouzon. Tracks are long and jamming, but also have a wonderfully soulful component – a bit of the post-Coltrane spiritualism of some of Gary Bartz's early albums, and some of the open-ended styles you might hear on a label like Strata East. Singer Sandy Hewitt sings on 2 tracks – including the funky "Umma Be Me", which almost feels like an Andy Bey groover from the same time!

allmusic.com (thom jurek) sez:

Unicorn was bassist Teruo Nakamura's first date as a leader. Recorded and issued in Japan on the legendary Three Blind Mice imprint in 1973, Nakamura had been working in New York since 1964. He'd done a lot of hardscrabble work before 1969 when he landed the gig as bassist in Roy Haynes' fine group of the time. During that year he formed a band with Steve Grossman and Lenny White, who both appear here. This is an interesting date because it is equally divided between very electric fusion tracks and more modal acoustic numbers…

The music is very much of its time, and though it is a session players gig, with rotating lineups, there is plenty of fire here. Grossman had already done his stint with Miles Davis and is in fine form on soprano (especially on the opening title cut), and tenor on John Coltrane's "Some Other Blues." White and Mouzon are both outstanding, so the drum chair is killer throughout, no matter who's playing, and Cables' Rhodes work on the Trane cut and "Derrick's Dance," written by Miller, is stellar. Nakamura, for his part, is more than an able bassist; he leads by guiding the rhythm and not standing out as a soloist. This set has aged very well and was finally issued in the states on CD in 2007 on the Passion Music imprint.

tracks:

Unicorn Lady; Understanding; Some Other Blues; Umma Be Me; New Moon; Derrick's Dance

musicians:

Teruo Nakamura bass; Steve Grossman soprano sax; Charles Sullivan trumpet; George Cables electric piano, piano; Hubert Eaves III electric piano, piano; John Miller piano; Alphonse Mouzon drums; Lenny White drums; Ronald Jackson percussion; Alvern Bunn congas; Keiji Kishida percussion; Sandy Hewitt vocals

Samurai Era — 15 lost grooves from the land of the rising sun

barabara sounds sez:

Another compilation, but this time highlighting the wealth of homegrown jazz talent that has emerged at this end of the planet. Despite the subtitle, few of the 15 tracks here are actually "lost" — and weren't even in 1999 when this album came out. In fact a number of them were/became club standards, not least Teruo Nakamura's TBM classic Umma Be Me (which is of course by Hubert Eaves, was recorded in NYC and features all US jazzmen apart from Nakamura himself, which hardly makes it "from the land of the rising sun").

And there lies both the weakness and strength of this collection: it's aimed at those discovering j-jazz through the clubs. Nothing wrong there at all. I just fast-forward/program out the overly-slick numbers by Zerosen and Imada — yes, and Hino-san too (sad to say) — to get to the core nuggets. From the chilled opening track by Isao Suzuki to Kawaguchi with Art Blakey to the percussive gems by Ponta Murakami and Shiraki's Stereo Drums, there's plenty to groove on here. 

Best of the lot? Most times round, my vote goes to Poo-Sun Kikuchi's La Moca Está Domingo, from Wishes/Kochi, his brilliant album on East Wind (Hino is in stellar form here, happily). But don't sleep on the curiosities: Masayoshi Takanaka's Star Wars Samba and Pecker's strangely named Dr. Dr. Humanity – yes that's for real: try googling it ;-)... Now there's one that really was lost from sight!