Masayuki Takayanagi

Here are some albums which I feel to be amongst his best work. Please choose a favourite. If you don't know his work then it's definately worth checking out, especially if your of the avant-garde persuasion!

His music is mainly situated in the avant-garde vein, hence the selection of albums I've chosen here. However, throughout his career he did also have a latin, and cool jazz performing unit which were still active late in his career. Even his avant-garde work varies from out and out noise based material, through free jazz and into electronically processed free improv. And yes his albums can be hard to come by, but not all, with recent reissues on the Three Blind Mice label. One of my favourite free jazz guitarists.

Yes, towards the end of his career he started to play the guitar as an 'object' whilst applying various found utensils to make the sound, which was then fed through effects or filtered through a small mixer. He called this 'Action Direct' and it was Fairly similar to the way that Keith Rowe from AMM has played for most of his career. Interesting soundscapes, but I prefer it when he plays the guitar in a more conventional manner, although free from strict tonality.

OK, my next try is "Ginparis Sessions", legendary place  - Japanese avant-garde jazz born there. But - the  year is 1963. Masayuki's collaborators are Masahiko Togashi, Hideto Kanai,Masabumi Kikuchi,Terumasa Hino,Yosuke Yamash*ta (among others) - creme de la creme of future Japanese adventurous jazz. But here on this live album all them play ... bop. Extremely interesting recordings historically, musically ... ok, I need to try his other album again

you got me on Takayunagi   -   found few more

"Second Concept" (studio version) is very nice cool jazz, well played but not quirky enough to be special, still nice listening

Got "Reason For Being" as well, still need more spins to have my opinion

give me some more time and I'll become qualified enough to participate  in your poll


Edited by snobb - 28 Apr 2015 at 7:27am

OK, "Reason For Being" is one from "Lonely Woman" group of Masayuki sound, adding bassist is interesting but in general he somehow plays softer and warmer here,even if it's a live recording. Of two, "Lonely Woman" has more character for me and is better one. Both are good albums - rare guitar free (or freer) jazz and plus having its own face.

My next step is 2011's "Solo"

"Solo" is similarly good as two above, but probably too "same" for me - of all three I still prefer "Lonely Woman".

Finishing my Takayanagi investigation for a while must to mention that the last in line was his "Kaitai Teki Kohkan" - and this one is most interesting for me. Duo with sax player Kaoru Abe - one of rare very early radical free jazz attack, kind of Broetzmann's "Machine Gun" but with guitar. One can hear roots of Japanese later avant-rock and brutal guitar improvs (Keiji Haino,etc) here - very interesting.Not like I listen such music often, but as for researcher on Japanese free jazz this is most interesting album of all I listened from Takayanagi. His more jazzy music is really more beautiful, but for me it reminds some other great jazz guitarists (non-free). In all - I am really happy I did these series of his music listening, it's even strange I didn't dig it earlier - besides of Masahiko Satoh and Masahiko Togashi I investigate in very details,he's cornerstone of Japanese free jazz.


Edited by snobb - 30 Apr 2015 at 1:39pm

After some break returned back to Takayanagi's music - this time I got two his albums: "850113" and "Live At Moers". I afraid here my opinion will be quite polar to yours.

Album with lot of numbers in title is one of least interesting Masayuki works for me. It's quite accessible and generally pleasant listening, but.... it's not all that much interesting. Four pieces (could be one or eight -doesn't matter) recorded live during 65 minutes rockish jam. Masayuki's techniques is much more sophisticated comparing with just another rock shredder, but generally he starts and finishes at the same point - and I will lie if will say there is something added between start and finish. I will hardly call this music improvs - it's more jam session, kind of Masayuki plays "Grateful Dead". What I don't like here - it's his guitar sound. I can enjoy him playing bop or cool jazz even if both aren't my cup of tea. And I really like him for his early noise-jazz - I believe his place in history is guaranteed right because of this. But - mid-tempo to lazy distorted guitar,sometimes on the shredding border? Is he a rock star? Probably that rock aesthetics in combination with directionless is main reason of my partial disappointment. There are more jazzy parts which sounds better though, but it didn't save common impression.

"Live At Moers" is different - and much better for me. Starting from very first seconds - very his "Coleman"-like take on guitar in combination with shamanic narrative in German and Japanese - this works!  "Blood" Ulmer's translation to Japanese with domestic taste, here I see where from later cult Japanese avant-rock and all these brutal improvisers came from (from Ruins to Haino Keiji,etc,etc).
There are some longish parts,but whole album looks being too short for editing. Plus sound -Three Blind Mice (even live recording's) sound is a head higher in quality than Akita's.

Expecting to get two more Takayanagi's albums soon


Edited by snobb - 26 May 2015 at 3:12pm

the next one is "Archive 2" and it's a Takayanagi's album I listened most of his all till now

this one is from noise-jazz series, but not too loud, and with unique white noise component

Archive 2 is regular single CD, just around 45 minutes long, two compositions

two guitarists and percussionist trio

it's recorded not so early as some his other material so there already was noise as musical genre around, but still this sound is quite personal