Universounds, HMV Record Shop and 180g team up for an exceptional release in their highly acclaimed WaJazz series, to be out on Jiro Inagaki's 90th birthday, October 3rd, 2023, celebrating the life and music of one of the most iconic Japanese jazz musicians of the last 60+ years. This is the ultimate collection of music from legendary saxophone player Jiro Inagaki and his Soul Media band, covering their 1968–1980 golden age, releasing as a spectacular gold vinyl double LP with extensive and detailed liner notes by Universounds' Yusuke Ogawa, comments by Jiro Inagaki, and exclusive pics. 16 tracks of pure gold music spanning jazz, jazz-funk and jazz-rock, including an unreleased version of the track “Express” — first time on vinyl!
Yusuke Ogawa has been running the Universounds store in Tokyo since 2001, specializing in jazz and second-hand, rare, and collector records. He is also a reissue supervisor, label manager, DJ, and music writer. Known for his vast musical knowledge, eye for detail, and archival skills, Ogawa has worked on more than 250 reissues and compilations – including the highly praised Deep Jazz Reality and Project Re:Vinyl series. He is the co-author of the Wa-Jazz Disc Guide and the Independent Black Jazz of America books.