Tatsuya Takahashi & Tokyo Union - Scandinavian Suite - Composed by Bingo Miki

Recorded in 1977

Big band pyrotechnics by the 20-piece Tokyo Union. This is no sleepy Scandinavian voyage, more a groovy collection of orchestra and electronics in the shape of six varied stormers written by legendary Japanese bandsman Bingo Miki and perhaps a little more accessable and funky then some of the big band outings released under his own name around the same period.

Familiar orchestral colours are melded with more progressive and funky arrangements and styles of the period culminating with the monstrous cop-show theme sounding "Children At Play". A surprising and original jazz album that's a pleasure from start to finish.

Yoshifumi Tada, Hiroshi Abiko, Motoharu Suzuki & Tomokazu Saio - trumpets
Eijiro Miyazaki, Kiyotaka Uchida & Koichi Okada - trombones
Kenichi Sudare - bass trombone
Keiji Hori & Hiroshi Yaginuma - alto saxes
Seiji Inoue - tenor sax
Takemi Ishikane - baritone sax
Masahiro Kanayama - piano
Yoshinori Ishida - bass
Kazuhiro Ebisawa - drums
Kenichi Araya & Takao Naoi - guitars
Yuji Imamura - percussion
Mickey Yoshino - synthesizer
Tatsuya Takahashi - leader & tenor sax

Tracks:

Part I Midnight Sunrise
Part II Sketches Of Munch
Part III The Legend Of Garbo
Part IV Anderson Fantasia
Part V Sibelius' Testament
Part VI Children At Play