Improvised Music from Japan

Improvised Music from Japan is a website and record label.

The website was originally known as "Japanese Free Improvisers". As its name suggests, it concentrates on Japanese and Japan-based improvisers, particularly free improvisers.

In December 2001, a compilation box-set, also called "Improvised Music from Japan", was released to mark the fifth anniversary of the website. It was a 10 CD collection of previously unissued material from a variety of Japanese musicians (some of them collaborating with Europeans and Americans). The artists featured on the release are:

* Tetuzi Akiyama
* Big Picture (band)
* Haco
* Shoji Hano
* Junji Hirose
* Ryoji Hojito
* Yoshimitsu Ichiraku
* Kazuo Imai
* Incapacitants
* Atsuhiro Ito
* Utah Kawasaki
* Kyoko Kuroda
* Brett Larner
* Sachiko M
* Toshimaru Nakamura
* Takehito Nakazato
* Mitsuru Nasuno
* Masahiko Okura
* Aki Onda
* Yasuhiro Otani
* Yoshihide Otomo
* Tetsu Saitoh
* Michihiro Sato
* Skist
* Taku Sugimoto
* Tamaru
* Yumiko Tanaka
* Tsuguto Tsunoda
* Kazuhisa Uchihashi
* Michiyo Yagi
* Seiichi Yamamoto
* Tetsuro Yasunaga
* Ami Yoshida
* Yasuhiro Yoshigaki

The label has since released a number of other records featuring similar artists:

* Toshimaru Nakamura, Tetuzi Akiyama and guests, "Meeting at Off Site Vol. 1" (IMJ-501, April 2002)
* Otomo Yoshihide, "Ensemble Cathode" (IMJ-502, July 2002)
* Kaffe Matthews, Andrea Neumann and Sachiko M, "In Case of Fire Take the Stairs" (IMJ-503, December 2002)
* Ami Yoshida, "Tiger Thrush" (IMJ-504, July 2003)
* Shoji Hano, "48" (IMJ-505, May 2003)
* Toshimaru Nakamura, Tetuzi Akiyama and guests, "Meeting at Off Site Vol. 2" (IMJ-506, May 2003)
* Yumiko Tanaka, "Tayutauta" (IMJ-507, due January 2004)
* Raku Sugifatti (Radu Malfatti and Taku Sugimoto), "Futatsu" (IMJ-508/9, December 2003)
* Aki Onda, "Bon Voyage!" (IMJ-510, October 2003)
* Otomo Yoshihide, Park Je Chun and Mi Yeon, "Loose Community" (IMJ-511, December 2003)
* Peter Brötzmann and Shoji Hano, "Funny Rat" (IMJ-512, October 2003)
* Toshimaru Nakamura, "Side Guitar" (IMJ-513, December 2003)
* Han Bennink and Kazuo Imai, "Across the Desert" (IMJ-514, December 2003)
* Toshimaru Nakamura, Tetuzi Akiyama and guests, "Meeting at Off Site Vol. 3" (IMJ-515, December 2003)

Other Japanese artists which could be considered free improvisers include:

* Kaoru Abe
* Masayuki Takayanagi

ee also

List of Japanoise artists

External links

* [http://www.japanimprov.com/ Home page]