Various

A deep dive into one of the most electrifying, elusive corners of global jazz, J Jazz is both a time capsule and a revelation. This hardcover volume opens like a secret archive—heavy with photographs, liner notes, and lost-era design—charting the rise of Japanese modern jazz as it fractured, expanded, and ultimately redefined itself across four decades.

From smoky, post-war clubs in Tokyo to the explosive avant-garde laboratories of the 1970s, the book captures an era where Japanese musicians absorbed American influences, then shattered them into bold new shapes—modal experiments, spiritual suites, free-form firestorms, and impeccably crafted modernist sessions pressed in tiny quantities and whispered about ever since.

The accompanying CD functions as a living pulse: rare cuts that breathe life back into forgotten studios, underground cafés, and fiercely independent labels. Crisp cymbals, searching horns, volcanic drums, and basslines that move with monastic discipline—this is music that vibrates with both restraint and rebellion.

More than a collection, J Jazz is an invitation to step into a parallel jazz universe—one uncompromising, inventive, and quietly revolutionary.