Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Big Band

A thunderclap of East and West — bold, cinematic, and rhythmically transcendent.

When Kogun was released in 1974, it didn’t just turn heads — it rewrote the language of big band jazz. Pianist and composer Toshiko Akiyoshi, already a formidable talent, joined forces with saxophonist Lew Tabackin to form a jazz orchestra that fused the explosive force of swing with the nuance and discipline of Japanese classical tradition. The result is an album that sounds just as radical and refined today as it did five decades ago.

Akiyoshi’s arrangements are meticulously constructed yet rhythmically alive, full of surprise turns and polyrhythmic propulsion. This isn’t nostalgia or tribute jazz. This is jazz as composition, jazz as cultural commentary, and jazz as identity reclaimed.