Hideto Kanai Quintet - Concierto de Aranjuez

Bassist Hideto Kanai has been leading the progressive jazz scene in Japan since the 1960s (see Masayuki Takayanagi's Ginparis Session), and this 1978 recording is considered as one of his major achievements. Kanai's regular group, consisting of three young Japanese musicians and an American expat drummer Michael Reznikoff, recorded four long numbers – ranging from six to 13 minutes each – within just six hours. "Mr. Gabe" and "Silk Road" are original compositions by Kanai. The searching and experimental quality of their performance clearly shows that they have gone through the free jazz movement, but it is not totally atonal nor without structure.