A hidden japanese vocal jazz gem resurfaces via Mule Musiq’s reissue selection from Tokyo’s legendary Johnny’s Disk Records
“Studio Mule present a reissue of Mayumi Sonoda with Kichiro Sugino Trio's Gogo Sanji No Aki, originally released on Johnny's Disk Record in 1982. Johnny's Disk Record is an independent jazz label run by the owner of jazz cafe Kaiunbashi No Johnny located in Rikuzentakata City in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. The legendary label released a string of albums of high quality but down-to-earth music, spanning from modern jazz, avant-garde jazz, to left-field pop. Albums such as 1980's Farewell My Johnny / Left Alone and 1978's Aya's Samba (STUDIOMUL 013LP) have reached cult status among fans as some of the best works to come out of the Japanese jazz scene.
Gogo Sanji No Aki is an album by vocalist Mayumi Sonoda -- a jazz vocalist who looked up to Chris Connor and made her debut at a US Army camp at the age of 16 -- that was recorded with the help of Kichiro Sugino's Trio. Opening with the bilingual ballad "It's over", in which she sings in both English and Japanese, the album sees her covering standards that giants like Helen Merrill, Frank Sinatra, and Billie Holiday have popularized, while showcasing her vocal abilities that set her apart from her peers. A hidden, Japanese female vocal jazz gem.”
