Scenery, Ryo Fukui [WRWTFWW, 2018]

This week on Morning Mari* our album of the week is a reissue of Japanese jazz masterpiece, Scenery by Ryo Fukui. Brought to us courtesy of We Release Jazz (WRWTFWW Records’ new sister-label), Scenery is one of the most important Japanese jazz records in history.

Ryo Fuki (1948 – 2016) was a self-taught jazz pianist who took up the instrument aged 22. Scenery, released in 1976, was his debut album. Featuring Satoshi Denpo on bass and Yoshinori Fukui on drums, it fused modal, bop, and cool jazz to create some extraordinary takes on jazz standards.

Despite his enormous talent, Fukui wasn’t fully recognised until after his death. But thanks to We Release Jazz, “Scenery” and Fukui’s second album, “Mellow Dream“, will now get the kind of international acclaim they so deserve.

Tracklist:
01 It Could Happen To You
02 I Want To Talk About You
03 Early Summer
04 Willow Weep For Me
05 Autumn Leaves
06 Scenery

Personel:
Ryo Fukui (piano)
Satoshi Denpo (bass)
Yoshinori Fukui (drums)