Description
– A TAV Essential Listening Album –
After first turning heads as the rousing anchor of Jos James horn section, Takuya Kuroda soon garnered acclaim as a bandleader himself with his highly praised Blue Note debut in 2014. Produced by James, the Japanese trumpeter wows onRising Son with an invitingly warm blend of future jazz, soul, funk, hip-hop and Afrobeat. Backed by keyboardist Kris Bowers, electric bassist Solomon Dorsey, drummer Nate Smith, and trombonist Corey King – Kuroda composes eight simmering and sublime fusion tracks that feel both modern (sometimes evoking DAngelo) and vintage at (sometimes evoking Roy Hargrove) simultaneously. Standouts include a terrific cover of Roy Ayers’ “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” (featuring James on vocals), the entrancing “Afro Blues” (featuring Beninois guitarist Lionel Loueke), and the uplifting Piri Piri, among many others. – The Analog Vault
First Word Records is incredibly proud to bring you an exclusive vinyl-only re-issue of Takuya Kurodas highly-sought after album, Rising Son. This was first released on the seminal Blue Note Records imprint 10 years ago in 2014, with Takuya being the first Japanese artist to sign to the label. The record received widespread critical acclaim, hitting No.1 on Japans jazz charts at the time, with original copies now fetching hundreds of pounds on Discogs and the like. There has long been high demand for a re-press of this album, and were very pleased to say its finally here, a decade on.
The re-issue is to be released via London-based Worldwide Award-winning label First Word Records, who coincidentally celebrate their 20th year running in 2024. First Word released Takuyas highly-revered previous two albums, Fly Moon Die Soon (2020) and Midnight Crisp (2022). For those that dont know, Takuya Kuroda is a Kobe-born, Brooklyn-based trumpeter and musician, who was also a longtime player for Akoya Afrobeat as well as DJ Premiers BADDER band. Initially playing on the Japanese circuit with his trombonist brother, Takuya went on to relocate to New York City, where he has largelyremained to this day, becoming a prominent player in the jazz scene there. The original album featured several Roy Ayers covers, including the all-time classic “Everybody Loves The Sunshine”, and this 2024 pressing also includes a brand new remix of the track from keys player & producer, Joe Armon-Jones. Joe is hugely-acclaimed in his own right as a solo artist, as well as his recent collaborations with Mala (who has a track named after him on this very project, as Takuya was influenced heavily by his 2012 Brownswood album Mala in Cuba ), and as an integral member of the legendary Ezra Collective, winners of the 2023 Mercury Music Prize in the UK.
Flitting between the genres of jazz fusion, soul, r&b, hip hop and afrobeat, the album was predominantly produced by a previous Takuya collaborator, vocalist Jos James, while also featuring phenomenal accompaniment from Nate Smith (drums), Solomon Dorsey (bass), Corey King (trombone) and Kris Bowers (keys). via Bandcamp
Label: First Word Records
Format: 2x Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo
Reissued: 2024 / Original Release: 2014
Genre: Jazz, Funk / Soul
Style: Jazz-Funk, Fusion, Soul-Jazz
File under: Soul-Jazz / Jazz-Funk
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.