A gem of a release. In the 1930s Koichi Sugii helped to create a Japanese kind of jazz music by incorporating, swing, tango and Latin music into Japanese minyo (folk) and popular music of the time. He formed orchestras, featuing the very best musicians to record those songs, which was labelled as 'Salon Music', at an age when American jazz records were not exactly encouraged. This album includes all 40 of the Japanese tango, Latin and jazz songs he arranged, this so-called salon music, such as Ryoshu, Kiso Bushi, Kusatsu Bushi, Itako Bushi, Oiwake, Shanghai no Hanauri Musume performed by King Novelty Orchestra, dance/tango music such as Manshu Musume performed by Sakurai Y Su Orchesta, dance/jazz music such as Aozora performed by King Jazz Band. Fantastic stuff. 40 tracks.
