TBM: Three Blind Mice

TBM: Three Blind Mice

Nel vastissimo panorama delle label jazz non possiamo esimerci dal dare una sbirciatina alla giapponese TBM.
Three Blind Mice(TBM) fu fondata nel giugno del 1970 come vetrina per i musicisti jazz emergenti giapponesi.
Ha prodotto più di 130 album nei pochissimi anni di esistenza.

TBM-1 Mine Kosuke Quintet -Mine (LP)

TBM-2 Masaru Imada Quartet -NOW! (LP) 1970

TBM-5 Albert Mangelsdorff -Live at Dug, Tokyo

TBM-6 Hideto Kanai Group -Q (LP)

TBM-7 Allan Praskin Quartet -Encounter (LP, Album) 1971

TBM-10 New Direction For The Arts -Free Form Suite (LP, Album) 1972

TBM-11 Toya Shigeko With The Imada Masaru Trio (LP) 1972

TBM-12 Sunao Wada Quartet/Sextet -Coco’s Blues’ (LP) 1972

TBM-13 George Otsuka Quintet -Go On (LP) 1972
TBM-14 Masaru Imada Solo/Trio -Poppy (LP) 1973
TBM-15 Isao Suzuki Trio/Quartet – Blow Up (LP) 1973

(LP completo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxQA22rEjzQ)
TBM-16 Shigeko Toya & Her Jazz Friends -Fine And Mellow (LP) 1973
TBM-17 Terumasa Hino Quintet -Live! (LP) 1973
TBM-18 Teruo Nakamura Group -Unicorn (LP) 1973

TBM-19 Hiroshi Fukumura Quintet -Fukumura Hiroshi Quintet (LP) 1973
TBM-20 Naosuka Myamoto Sextet -Step! (LP) 1973

TBM-21 Mari Nakamoto & Yasuro Osawa Trio+2 -Unforgettable (LP) 1973
TBM-22 Masaru Imada Trio & Shigeko Toya -Yokohama Concert (LP) 1973

TBM-23 Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio – Midnight Sugar (LP) 1974

(LP completo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXGz8wmV4RM)
TBM-24 Isao Suzuki Quartet Plus One – Blue City (LP) 1974
TBM-25 Sunao Wada Quartet/Quintet – Blues World (LP) 1974
TBM-26 Kunihiko Sugano Trio +1 -Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (LP) 1974
TBM-27 Kenji Mori, Hideo Ichikawa Trio -Solo & Trio (LP) 1974

TBM-28 Takashi Mizuhashi Quartet+2 – When A Man Loves A Woman (LP) 1974
TBM-29 Isao Suzuki & Sunao Wada plus Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio, George Otsuka Quintet+2 -Now’s The Time (LP) 1974
TBM-30 Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio -Misty (LP) 1974
TBM-31 Takashi Mizuhashi Quartet -Who Cares (LP) 1974
TBM-32 Toshiyuki Miyama & The New Herd -New Herd (LP) 1974
TBM-33 Mari Nakamoto With The Shoji Yokouchi And Yuri Tashiro -Little Girl Blue (LP) 1974
TBM-34 Kimiko Kasai With Kosuke Mine Quartet – Yellow Carcass In The Blue (LP) 1971

TBM-35 George Otsuka Trio – You Are My Sunshine (LP) 1974
TBM-36 Isao Suzuki Quartet + 1 – All Right (LP) 1974
TBM-37 Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio – Live At The Misty (LP) 1974
(LP completo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEnWKjKGMt4)
TBM-38 Takashi Furuya Quintet – Solitude (LP) 1975
TBM-39 Masaru Imada + 2 – Green Caterpillar (LP, Wit) 1975

(LP completo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZTTOnhd5uE)
TBM-40 Yoshiko Goto With Takashi Mizuhashi Quartet -Day Dream (LP) 1975
TBM-41 Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio – Blues For Tee (LP) 1974

TBM-42 Masaru Imada Quartet – Now! (LP) 1970
(LP completo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2mwCoHZXpU)
TBM-43 Inaba & Nakamura Duo – Conversation (LP) 1975
TBM-44 Isao Suzuki Quartet + 2 – Orang-Utan (LP) 1975

(LP completo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2wJJ2-CifE)
TBM-45 Hideto Kanai & Kings Roar Orchestra – Ode To Birds (LP) 1975
TBM-46 Hidefumi Toki Quartet – Toki (LP) 1975

TBM-47 Masaru Imada Trio -One For Duke (LP) 1975
TBM-48 Toshiyuki Miyama And The New Herd Orchestra – Take The A Train (LP) 1975
TBM-49 Sunao Wada Quintet / Hitomi Ueda / Ushio Sakai Trio – Blues For Bird (LP) 1975

TBM-50 Sanae Mizushima – You’ve Got A Friend (LP) 1975

TBM-51 Yoshio Otoma / Hidefumi Toki – Alto Madness -Lover Man (LP) 1975

TBM-52 Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio – The In Crowd (LP) 1974

TBM-53 Seiichi Nakamura Trio/Quintet – Adventure In My Dream (LP) 1975

TBM-54 Yoshiko Goto With Inaba & Nakamure Duo – A Touch Of Love (LP) 1975

TBM-55 Toshiyuki Miyama & The New Herd Plus All-Star Guests* Shuko Mizuno’s -“Jazz Orchestra ’73” (LP) 1973
(LP completo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNIPLOeMvhg)
TBM-56 Mari Nakamoto With Suzuki & Watanabe Duo – Mari Nakamoto III (LP) 1975

TBM-57 Isao Suzuki & His Fellows -Touch (LP) 1975

TBM-58 Koji Moriyama With The Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio -Night And Day (LP) 1975
TBM-59 Yama & Jiro’s Wave -Girl Talk (LP) 1975
TBM-60 Masaru Imada -Masaru Imada Piano (LP) 1975
TBM-61 Motohiko Hino Quartet + 1 “Ryuhyo” – Sailing Ice (LP) 1976
TBM-62 George Otsuka Quintet -Physical Structure (LP) 1976

TBM-63 Isao Suzuki Trio -Black Orpheus (LP) 1976

TBM-64 Toshio Oida – It Was A Very Good Year (LP) 1976

TBM-65 Shoji Yokouchi Quartet – Blonde On The Rocks (LP) 1976

TBM-66 George Kawaguchi’s The Big 4 – The Big 4 (LP) 1976

TBM-67 Toshiyuki Miyama & The New Herd Sunday Thing (LP) 1976
TBM-68 Tatsuya Takahasi & The Tokyo Union -Got The Spirit (LP) 1976
TBM-69 Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio -Summertime (LP) 1976
TBM-70 Toshiyuki Miyama & The New Herd -The World Of Shuko Mizuno (LP) 1976

TBM-71 Shigeko Toya, Mari Nakamoto With The Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio -Shigeo & Mari (LP) 1976
TBM-72 Kunio Ohta Quartet+1 -Free And Lovely (LP) 1976
TBM-73 Hideo Ichikawa Trio -Tomorrow (LP) 1976
TBM-74 Hideiko “Sleepy” Matsumoto Quartet -Sleepy (LP) 1976
TBM-75 Sunao Wada Quintet+1 -Four Scenes (LP) 1976
TBM-76 Isao Suzuki Sextet -Ako’s Dream (LP) 1976

(LP completo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5bSpSH9AUg)
TBM-77 Masaru Imada Trio -Standards (LP) 1976

TBM-78 Isao Fukui Quartet -Sunrise Sunset (LP) 1976
TBM-1002.3 George Otsuka Quintet -In Concert (LP) 1973
TBM-1004 Toshiyuki Miyama & The New Herd + All Star Guests -Shuko Mizuno’s Jazz Orchestra ’75” (LP) 1975

TBM-1005 Tatsuya Takahashi and The Tokyo Union + 3 -Scandinavian Suite (LP) 1977
TMB-2502 = TMB-2
TBM-2515 = TBM-15
TBM-2517 = TBM-17
TBM-2524 = TBM-24
TBM-2559 = TBM-59
TBM-3001 Tatsuya Takahashi and The Tokyo Union -Maiden Voyage (LP) 1976
TBM-3002 Kunio Ohta Quintet -My Back Page (LP) 1976
TBM-3003 Kenji Mori Quartet -Firebird (LP) 1977
TBM-3004 Fumio Karashima Trio -Gathering (LP) 1977
TBM-3005 Mari Nakamoto With Shoji Yokouchi Trio/Sextet -Mari (LP) 1977
TBM-3006 Yuji Imamura & Air (6) -Air (LP) 1977
TBM-3007 Yoshio Otomo Quartet -Moon Ray (LP) 1977
TBM-3008 Ayako Hosokawa With Tsuyoshi Yamamoto And The Strings -Mr. Wonderful (LP) 1977
TBM-3009 Tsuyoshi Yamamoto With The Strings -Star Dust (LP) 1977
TBM-5004 Tee & Company -Sonnet (LP) 1977
TBM-5005 Ayako Hosokawa With The Masaru Imada Quartet -No Tears (LP) 1977
TBM-5007 Masaru Imada Quartet -Remember Of Love (LP) 1978
TBM-5008 Tee & Company -Spanish Flower (LP) 1977

TBM-5040 Ushio Sakai – Blues Meeting

TBM 5010 Bingo Miki & Inner Galaxy Orchestra

TBM-5019 Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio -Live in Montreux (CD)

Ha vinto il Jazz Disc Award cinque volte in Giappone.
Prodotti da Takeshi Fujii e spesso registrati dal Yoshihiko Kannari, TBM ha creato dischi dal 1970 diventati noti anche per la loro qualità del suono, audiophile ante litteram.
TBM fu molto importante, vibrante nell’era e per lo sviluppo del jazz giapponese.
Stelle come Isao Suzuki, Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, George Kawaguchi, Terumasa Hino e Mari Nakamoto hanno registrato i loro primi album con l’etichetta.
Tra gli artisti anche la “Jazz Orchestra ’73” di Shuko Mizuno, Toshiyuko Miyama e Masaru Imada.

A differenza del sound ECM(il “Sound ECM” è ampiamente conosciuto per la caratteristica fredda, groove mancante, fortemente influenzato dalla musica da camera europea quindi un sound colto non popolare), TBM propone sonorità ricche, analogiche naturalmente, molto Groovy, spesso calde come una buona sciarpa di cachemire, con bassi profondi, un sound fisico quasi tangibile, un ottimo equilibrio strumentale. Quasi tutte le principali etichette giapponesi a partire dal fine degli anni ’60 sono note per la loro qualità del suono audiophile, ma TBM è il re in mezzo a loro.
Per decenni le stampe TBM hanno avuto i loro fan e collezionisti, in generale erano collezionisti di costose rarità.
In giorni “più recenti” JVC ha riproposto parte della discografia TBM nella collana eXtended Resolution Compact Disc (XRCD) nota per la cura strabiliante del suono riprodotto e anche se ancora non è così a buon mercato, un sacco di registrazioni classiche TBM sono accessibili per gli ascoltatori e non per i solo collezionisti.
Sappiamo quanto il mercato giapponese fosse chiuso, interno. Pochi compratori statunitensi e ancor meno europei ebbero la fortuna di acquistare quelle registrazioni all’epoca.
Ora il net permette fortunatamente di goderne appieno.