Terumasa Hino - Hip Seagull (1977) [Japanese Reissue 2010]

Terumasa Hino is one of Japan's most well-known jazz trumpeters, and has a long and illustrious career that has seen him play with a huge array of different musicians both here and in the US. His 1977 album Hip Seagull has now been re-issued on CD in Japan, and it's one of the most popular reissues of the past month. With some great Fender Rhodes and Fender bass accompaniment and some ethereal vocals from Tawatha and Kimiko Kasai, the album has a wonderful electric but spiritual vibe.

The sixteen-minute title track that was the first side of the original album is a Hino composition which starts softly and slowly and then gradually builds into a classic slow funk groove that is up there with some of the classic Miles or Freddie tunes of the era. The rest of the album is made up of three tunes, This Planet Is Ours and Fall, both great spiritual tunes and Life Trip, a superb jazz samba tune. Definitely worth getting.