FUMIO ITABASHI Vinyl & CDs

Review: Wewantsounds press ahead with their hotly-awaited reissue of Japanese piano jazz master Fumio Itabashi's acclaimed album from 1981, Watarase. A seminal document of the history of jazz recorded at the rough moment that the pianist reached his career apogee - the eighties saw him perform several international tours - Watarase is exemplary of Itabashi's unorthodox piano playing for the time. Virtuosic, yet not indulgent of sustained notes or boilerplate consonance, Watarase is keen to wring out the purity of each composition, seeming less interested in style or ornamentation over pure composition. The result is an album which we're not surprised was raised to the heights of jazz standard exalt, with the title track being of most note in this regard; although the less obvious cuts here are also particularly enchanting, such as the rollicking two-chord improvs of 'Miss Cann'.