RYO KAWASAKI Vinilo y CD

Review: Last year, NuNorthern Soul treated us to a much-needed reissue of Japanese jazz guitarist Ryo Kawasaki's sublime 1983 LP Lucky Lady. Now Mr Bongo has decided to deliver a new edition of another full-length gem from the late, great musician's catalogue: 1976's jazz-funk and fusion-flavoured Juice, which has previously not been released on CD outside of Japan. It's an exceptionally vibrant set all told, with the virtuoso Kawasaki being joined by a range of similarly talented musicians to race through tracks that generally slap hard, boast infectious breakbeat-driven rhythms, and come blessed with a range of exciting, life-affirming solos. Critics of jazz-funk often point out that in the wrong hands it can get self-indulgent and noodly; Juice never falls into this trap and remains thoroughly tight and on-point throughout.

Review: NuNorthern Soul take a brief respite from their BJ Smith series so boss man 'Phat' Phil Cooper can indulge his love for Ryo Kawasaki. Focusing on the period that the '70s met the '80s, Selected Works pulls together five delicious slices of Kawasaki bliss from a boundary pushing discography that spans writing, arranging, producing and playing. For an introduction to Kawasaki, this release is near perfect, taking in sublime jazz through heaving slabs of funk to out-there electronic vibes. Extra context is provided in the extensive sleeve notes from Marc Rowlands that pull from his 2015 interview with Kawasaki. Despite being five tracks long, this still feels like a generous rifle through the Ryo archives.

Review: Last year, Nunorthern Soul unveiled the first part of their Ryo Kawasaki retrospective. While that focused on selected works created by the Japanese jazz guitarist between 1979 and '83 - including a couple of strong nods towards disco - this follow-up looks at material recorded and released between '76 and '80. There's plenty to enjoy, from the Abbey Road-era Beatles-meets-Courtney Pine vibes of "Snowstorm" and George Benson-in-space trip of "Quasar Infection", to the freestyle, synth-laden jazz-funk madness that is "Nogie". Arguably best of all, though, is "Thunder & Sea Gypsies (Medley)", an impossible-to-pigeonhole journey that moves from krautrock style looseness to cosmic jazz via some thrillingly psychedelic wig-outs.