snobb Hino-Kikuchi Quintet was a short-lived project founded by two future leading artists of Japanese jazz pianist Masabumi Kikuchi and trumpeter Terumasa Hino. Current all-Japanese line up recorded and released only one album ("Hino=Kikuchi Quintet" is stated on cover as a confirmation of co-leading). In mid 90's the band will be reunited for live gig with Greg Osby on sax and different rhythm section, in 2007 Hino and Kikuchi will release two more collaborative albums as co-leaders, but generally speaking "Hino=Kikuchi Quintet" will always mean this only released recording in such important for development of jazz year of 1968.

Both Terumasa Hino and Masabumi Kikuchi were Miles-influenced musicians introducing Japanese listeners to his kind of jazz. Trumpeter Hino already released some hard bop albums,but this work became to him the transition to more complex modal jazz.

Four Kikuchi originals sound exactly as if they are recorded under fresh impression of Miles band with Hancock,or better to say - close to Hancock's own albums, recorded in late 60s (before Mwandishi). Rhythm section is still conservative and anchors advanced Hino & Kikuchi's mainstream jazz building strict repetitive hard bop rhythm basis. Quite well played, tunes aren't memorable at all and main interest is exactly how both Kikuchi and Hino are leaving hard bop searching their new identities in more modern sound of upcoming era.

It's interesting that right after this release Kikuchi will switch to even more new Miles Davis influence - much more revolutionary fusion (and will become this genre leading pianist in Japan), Terumasa Hino future music will split between fusion and mainstream jazz. He will become leading Japanese jazz trumpeter very soon as well.

"Hino=Kikuchi Quintet" stays an important evidence where both them are started, and quite nice listening itself till nowadays.

snobb Japanese leading trumpet player Terumasa Hino's "Hi-Nology" is his most commercially successful album and in fact his start to international fame.Released in 1969,it was one of the very first fusion album recorded by country's artists and released in Japan.Sometimes described as "Miles Davis undone step" in reality it isn't that.

Terumasa Hino started as mainstream jazz trumpeter and in 1968 switched from hard bop to more modern post-bop forming Hino-Kikuchi Quintet with pianist Masabumi Kikuchi. Their debut,recorded same year,was released in 1969 only, and few month later Terumasa Hino releases "Hi-Nology" with same band,just with different pianist (acoustic pianist Kikuchi has been changed with Hiromasa Suzuki on electric piano).The concept of electric fusion was just in the air around, and Hino was obviously heavily influenced by Davis re-tuning his quintet for playing more advanced sound.But if Miles very soon brewed jazz improvisation with psychedelic rock jamming,Terumasa stayed deeply rooted in mainstream jazz building his fusion on boppish basis.Miles concentrated his interest on textures against form, Hino demonstrates perfectly framed and structured songs in mainstream jazz tradition.

Released on the peak of fusion "revolutionary" popularity, this album was a true success between both yesterday's jazz adepts searching for new sound and part of rock fans,since very jazzy by its nature album's compositions were not so different from tuneful well-structured rock songs (thanks to thunder-like Motohiko Hino drumming Hi-Nology sounds not all that different from some rock albums of the time).

So,representing just a different (and generally more conservative by its nature) leg of just-born fusion comparing with Miles Davis music of the moment, Hino's quintet plays music which has born under Davis influence. The real reason why it sometimes sounds more advanced is that that hard-bop rooted Hino is more open to another huge moment's influence - free jazz. Miles was known by his negative point of view towards free jazz (what not always means his music isn't influenced by it), Terumasa Hino saw free jazz as part of his music (even if in reality Hino's music as rule is never such free as Miles'). As a result on "Hi-Nology" one can find lot of freer soloing which don't change basic structure but add lot of fashionable free jazz arrangements hardly possible in Miles music. Miles has been never interested in flirting with free jazz, and because of that Hino music for some ears sounds as "Miles undone next step brewing fusion and free jazz". I believe if Miles would be interested to make this step his music would sound much freer.

"Hi-Nology" stays one of the best early Japanese fusion album and start of commercial success for Terumasa Hino. Besides of few other country scene's similar releases it built the basis for plenteous and influential J-fusion movement some years later.

snobb Trumpeter Terumasa Hino, the first candidate for best Japanese jazz trumpeter ever,is known quite well outside of his home country,mostly by his Miles Davis-influenced fusion albums. It's less known that during early 70s he was involved in free jazz movement, and almost unknown that during his first ever visit to New York in 1970 he recorded one-shot project's "Group Everything Everything Everything" album (released exclusively in Japan though).

I have no idea if Terumasa has been influenced by Alan Silva "Luna Surface" radical album, recorded and released some month prior to "Group Everything..." session, if not than probably very similar idea just flew somewhere around in that creative and electrified air of late 60s-early 70s. Silva in Paris formed 11-piece band (participating as violinist/conductor) and let musicians to play whatever they want,all at once. Resulted two-sides long track "From Luna Surface" presented kind of organized chaos,collective unframed and uncontrolled improvisation,reflecting creative freedom of the time and having it's own (non-conventional) beauty.

Terumasa Hino formed in New York 12-piece Japanese-British-American band (with Dave Holland on bass,sax players Dave Liebman and Steve Grossman among others)and recorded two-sides long free-improvised composition "Journey To Air" - electro-acoustic tsunami with lot of personal soloing. If Silva's work was more about unlimited freedom, Terumasa's music is better organized,contains more tunes and virtuosic solos and aesthetically is closer to contemporary classic avant-garde than Silva's destructive anarchistic no-wave.

The future of both above mentioned albums are polar different - French BYG-released "Luna Surface" became a cult album (what as rule means everyone heard about it but almost no-one heard the music itself),Japanese-only album "Hino's Journey To Air" became a collectable rarity(in late 70s it was re-released as Terumasa Hino's solo album of the same title)."Luna Surface" was first, "Journey To Air" sounds better - those who like the former most probably will really enjoy the later.

P.S. It's interesting that part of the project musicians (without Terumasa Hino) three months later recorded another similar album (this time as "Everything Is Everything" band,another excellent line-up including guitarist John Abercrombie,bassist Reggie Workman,trumpeter Randy Brecker and drummer Lenny White besides of Liebman/Grossman duo from initial project). Japanese only release as well.

snobb One of the leading Japanese trumpeter Terumasa Hino (often titled "Japanese Miles Davis")differently from many co-patriots started his musical career not from short-lived but extremely popular free-jazz of late 60s.His first recordings were all hard bop (including album release in US in 1968 - quite a rare case for the time). In early 70s his music became heavily influenced by Miles Davis first fusion works.

"Alone Together" is one of Terumasa's five studio albums, released in 1970 (very successful year for Hino). Three long compositions (between nine and almost eighteen minutes long)represent very eclectic proto-fusion, kind of Davis "Miles In The Sky", but freer and more kaleidoscopic version.

If Miles genres evolution often being revolutionary has strong systematic logic, Terumasa's music here sounds more like chaotic bag full of colored glasses. Bassist Richard Davis (who played on Dolphy's "Out To Lunch!")is deeply hard-bop rooted musician who doesn't afraid playing free though. Pianist Harold Mabern is more comfortable with post-bop or even soul jazz, sax player Steve Grossman is Miles Davis fusion band's musician of the time. Terumasa's brother Motohiko Hino,who is generally great drummer,on this album is another destructive factor,blasting heavy rock-influenced strokes as he would be a God of thunder. This far not subtle drumming is stated in a front of sound mix what is most probably a fashion of the day but it often destroys initial beauty of musical pieces.

Changing styles from fusion to hard-bop to free to post-bop and closing fusion again on same long composition doesn't work all that well. Separate few minutes parts are often quite great if not too original, but chaotic travel over the genres builds potpourri-like feeling in moments. It should be noticed that Terumasa playing itself is quite great, he's less passionate trumpeter than Davis,but freer what let him find his own accents. Still all band of skilled but too different musicians where almost each member sees his mission a bit different from the rest of team, sounds undirected. Still enthusiastic atmosphere of that time and Terumasa's strong playing save music from being uninteresting or boring.

After few months Terumasa Hino will step to his next, even more adventurous period, playing freer and more advanced music, "Alone Together" stays his transitional work still interesting for his fans and probably for listeners who enjoy Japanese jazz from early 70s.