Pre-Order – Expected to Ship August, 2025

This album was recorded in 1968. Building on the resounding success of his performance at the Newport Jazz Festival, Hozan Yamamoto was beginning to fully develop his great musical versatility. Regarding , Hozan recalled that, When it came out, I was still a poor musician living in Koganei(). I listened to it on an 8,000 yen record player. I started getting a lot more recording gigs after its release, so I guess that makes this my debut album. I find it comforting to listen to. This was the first album released under Hozan Yamamotos name as the lead act.

The backing band on this album was the Shungo Sawada () Quintet. Members included Shungo Sawada (guitar), Takeru Muraoka (, tenor saxophone), Y Tokuyama (, piano), Yoshio Ikeda (, bass), and Motohiko Hino (, drums). Jazz and folk music tend to pair very nicely, and fusions of the two genres had been often attempted in the past. This album adds a taste of bossa nova to this mixture. While the distinctive feel of Japanese traditional / folk music remains very present, the velvety yet contrasting musicality of bossa nova comes together with Hozans resonant shakuhachi tones to create a profoundly exotic vibe.

Although the albums theme could have lent itself readily to easy interpretations, the sheer musical mastery of Shungos quintet ensures an overall sophistication throughout the album. The arrangements also point to Shungos role. For instance, the intro to track B-1 Sado Okesa() borrows from Ike Quebecs Loie, from the Blue Note bossa jazz masterpiece.

• 180g HQ vinyl pressing
• Old school style heavy tip-on gatefold sleeve
• Linernotes by Yusuke Ogawa (Universounds)

Track List: