Incredible mastering by Kevin Gray! This historic record happened when sax player Steve Marcus, upon visiting Japan alongside Herbie Mann and Woody Herman, accepted an invitation from Jiro Inagaki. Joining in on this monumental session was Inagaki's jazz rock unit, Soul Media with a lineup including Masahiko Sato, Ryo Kawasaki, Yasuo Arakawa, Hajime Ishimatsu, and Seiji Tanaka.

Featured in Vinyl Gourmet Audiophile TOP 100

• First-time reissued on vinyl
• Audiophile 180 Gram HQ Vinyl
• Faithfully restored original artwork
• Heavy tip-on gatefold cover
• Remastered from the 1st generation Nippon Columbia master tape
• Lacquer cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio

INAGAKI JIRO & SOUL MEDIA + STEVE MARCUS - Something
지로 이나가키와 소울미디어 + 스티브 마커스 (1971/2022. 11)

COBRAROSE RECORDS: CR69055 (a division of BeatBall Music)

This historic record happened when sax player Steve Marcus, upon visiting Japan alongside Herbie Mann and Woody Herman, accepted an invitation from Inagaki Jiro. It's an important historical marker not only for Japanese jazz but also for recording in general, since it was the first work recorded on PCM digital audio. Joining in on this monumental session were Inagaki and his jazz rock unit, Soul Media - with a lineup including Masahiko Sato (p, elec. p), Ryo Kawasaki (g), Yasuo Arakawa (b), Hajime Ishimatsu (ds), and Seiji Tanaka (ds). 'Fairy Rings', an original track by Sato, boasts a tight interpretation that makes it a highlight of the album. Included as a bonus track is a sprawling, 13-minute long alternate take jazz rock / free jazz rendition of 'Something', which was discovered at the time of the 2013 CD reissue.

"So far, speaking of the world's first digital recording work on LP, Tsutomu Yamashita's concert held at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Small Hall on January 11, 1971 was recorded with the NHK Technical Research Institute's PCM recorder. It was said to be "The World of Tsutomu Yamashita" released in April of the same year, but it turned out that there was a work digitally recorded before that. The first CD album released on April 24, Steve Marcus + Jiro Inagaki's "Something [+1]" (COCB-54056 2,625 yen including tax) is that work. Recorded on September 14, 1970 at Nippon Columbia's studio, also borrowed from NHK Technical Research Institute. However, since there is no existing device that reproduces the digital master, the analog tape master that was recorded at the same time is used for this CD.

"Something" is an album co-starring Steve Marcus and Jiro Inagaki, who were representatives of the East and West as jazz rock saxophone players in the 60's and 70's. In addition to the two, Ryo Kawasaki (guitar), Masahiko Sato (piano, el-p), Yasuo Arakawa (bass), Gen Ishimatsu (ds), and Seiji Tanaka (ds) are a unique twin drum formation. Masahiko arranges the arrangement and plays "Something" by The Beatles. Furthermore, in this CD version, another take over 13 minutes of "Something" that has not been released so far has been added as a bonus track." (automatic translation from Japanese at CDJournal online)

Musicians:

Arranged By – Masahiko Sato
Bass – Yasuo Arakawa
Drums – Hajime Ishimatsu, Seiji Tanaka
Electric Guitar – Ryo Kawasaki
Electric Piano, Piano – Masahiko Sato
Tenor Saxophone – Jiro Inagaki
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Steve Marcus

Track Listing:

A1. Something (6:43)
A2. Fairy Rings (11:36)
B1. Serenity (9:43)
B2. Something (alternate take) (13:16)

Click here to listen to samples on YouTube.com ♫