Once again, Japanese crossover/fusion is heating up. As a development or spin-off from the global reappraisal boom of city pop, Japanese fusion has rapidly risen back into the spotlight since around last year.

While honing his jazz guitar skills with the Terumasa Hino Group and Akira Ishikawa & Count Buffalos, Kiyoshi Sugimoto was also active as a session musician, handling a wide range of studio work including kayokyoku, enka, and pop music. In parallel, he released his first leader album in 1969. He then gradually began pursuing a more crossover-oriented sound, culminating in the release of "L.A.MASTER" in 1978, an album for which he composed and arranged all the tracks himself.

The recording lineup included Yasuaki Shimizu on saxophone, Haruo Togashi on keyboards, Akira Okazawa on bass, and Yuichi Togashiki on drums, along with Jun Fukamachi on keyboards and Tsunehide Matsuki on guitar. Leading this group of outstanding young musicians of the time, Sugimoto demonstrates precise guitar playing and refined musical sensibility throughout the album. This marks the first-ever reissue of the work. (Original release: 1978)

Remastering & cutting: Katsutoshi Kitamura (Mixer’s Labo)