Song of Island

A private press rarity that few know of, ‘Song of Island’ was the third album from pianist Yasuhiro Kohno’s trio, recorded live at the jazz club and live house (gig venue) ‘Again’ in August 1985. Pressed up in small numbers, ‘Song for Island’ was issued on the private ASCAP Records, set up by pianist and band leader Yasuhiro Kohno.

The album is a follow up to Kohno-san’s previous two albums, ‘Peace’ and ‘Roma in the Rain’, released on the cult Aketa’s Disk label. However, unlike the ‘Peace’ and ‘Roma in the Rain’ albums, ‘Song of Island’ has never been reissued before – until now. The title track was included on J Jazz volume 3. This is a very special album that captures a special time in Japanese jazz, when exemplary acoustic jazz was still being performed and recorded by dedicated and talented artists at the height of mid-80s synth pop. ‘Song of Island’ features four original compositions by Yasuhiro Kohno plus a distinctive take on a jazz standard.

Yasuhiro Kohno was born in Nara, southern Japan, in 1953 and made his professional debut as a member of Japanese rocker Eikichi Yazawa’s band before going on to accompany actor/singer Masatoshi Nakamura. As well as recording and performing under his own name, Kohno has also played with American musicians such as Richard Davis and Mal Waldron and continues to perform regularly in Japan.

‘Song of Island’ will be issued as a full reproduction of the original work, with inserts, translated original sleeve notes, plus new sleeve notes, photos, and interview with Yasuhiro Kohno by Tony Higgins.