Akira Ishikawa & Count Buffalos - 1970 - Electrum

In 1970, they released an album of extremely accomplished but very conventional Burt Bacharach covers. Then, in the same year, they dropped this monster. There are parts of the structure that echo the earliest Mothers Of Invention albums but really this is hyped up jazz with a funk heart. The musicianship is truly jaw-dropping. 

A really far-reaching and dynamic little set from Japanese drummer Akira Ishikawa and his Count Buffalos group – one that definitely lives up to the promise of its Electrum title! As you might guess from a word like that, the sound here is relatively electric – served up with electric piano, clavinet, guitar, and electric bass – all in a style that's a lot more relaxed and open than some of the group's other work, almost in the best mode of spacier electric jazz from the US at the same time. Tracks are all quite long, and spun out in really evocative ways – dipping, turning, and cascading with a lot of soulfully searching energy. 

It took THIRTY SIX years before anybody thought to repress this ... seriously, what is wrong with people?