Takehiro Honda: Japanese Jazz Piano Trio

I have to say that I am a huge fan of the piano trio format. In fact Bill Evans 'Sunday at The Village Vanguard' was the first Jazz album I ever owned. Ever since hearing this album, I have always taken the opportunity to buy and listen to as much piano trio jazz as I possibly can. Which takes me to my record shopping experience in Tokyo. I've always had a keen interest in Japanese jazz. From the far out realms of Kaoru Abe and Masayuki Takayanagi, Toshinori Kondo to more mainstream artists bebop influenced artists. One of the more mainstream Japanese jazz musicians I like is the relatively obscure (at least outside Japan) pianist Takehiro Honda. Takehiro sounds a little bit like Oscar Peterson, with spliced with Erroll Garner, with a pinch of Ray Bryant. His playing style isn't exactly the most unique, but it's still infused with a heavy dose of energetic bop.

I found out about him simply by chance. I was in the Jazz Disk Union store, and was looking through the Japanese Jazz section, where I came across some LPs that were extraordinarily low priced. One of these albums was Honda's "The Trio", a 1970 album priced at a remarkable 140 yen ($1.20 US). At that price, I couldn't refuse to "give it a try". Thankfully for my good fortune the LP was well worth the dollar (and a bit) I paid for it.


The Cheapest LP in Tokyo

At the same time I picked up a second album by Honda that was a little more pricey (but in better condition) at 800 yen ($6.70 US). The LP was a later album entitled "I Love You" released in 1973.


The Album Cover of "I Love You"