• Hiromasa Suzuki High-Flying LP clear orange vinyl Japan import COJY-9604
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Nippon Columbia / NIPPONOPHONE

Hiromasa Suzuki – High-Flying LP (Clear Orange Vinyl, Japan Import COJY-9604)

Hiromasa Suzuki – High-Flying LP (Clear Orange Vinyl, Japan Import COJY-9604)

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Hiromasa Suzuki's 1976 jazz-funk crossover classic, reissued on limited clear orange vinyl. The arranger behind Hiroshi Suzuki's "Romance" and Jiro Inagaki's "Breeze" steps out front with a stacked band: a young Ponta Murakami on drums, Akira Okazawa on bass and Masayoshi Takanaka on guitar. Produced by Inagaki and back on vinyl for Japan's Record Day 2026. Japanese pressing, new.

  • A pre-fusion landmark. Seven tracks of tight grooves, sharp horns and analog keys, all written and arranged by Suzuki.
  • All-star session players. Ponta Murakami, Takanaka, Okazawa, Jun Fukamachi and Jiro Inagaki, recorded at Nippon Columbia Studio 2 in April 1976.
  • Clear orange vinyl. A limited color pressing for Japan's Record Day 2026 (レコードの日).
  • Japanese pressing. NIPPONOPHONE / Nippon Columbia, catalog number COJY-9604, released November 3, 2026.

About the album

If you've dug into Japanese jazz-funk, you've heard Hiromasa Suzuki's work even if you didn't know his name. The composer, arranger and keyboardist was the man behind the scenes on Hiroshi Suzuki's "Romance" and Jiro Inagaki's "Breeze," and from the late '60s to the mid '70s he was deep in the most forward-looking records of Terumasa Hino, Akira Ishikawa and Inagaki. He also wrote and arranged across kayōkyoku, film, TV and commercials, always a step ahead of his time.

High-Flying, recorded in April 1976, is where all of that comes together. Suzuki wrote and arranged every track, Inagaki produced, and the band is stacked: a young Shuichi "Ponta" Murakami on drums, Akira Okazawa on bass and Masayoshi Takanaka on guitar, plus Jun Fukamachi on synths and Kayoko Ishu on vocals. The result is a pre-fusion, crossover masterpiece of tight grooves, sharp horns and analog keys. This reissue is pressed on limited clear orange vinyl for Japan's Record Day 2026 (レコードの日), so grab it while it's around.

Tracklist

Side A

  1. High-Flying
  2. Screwdriver
  3. Scramble

Side B

  1. Between O&M
  2. Smash
  3. Straight Flash
  4. Out Of Focus

Personnel

  • Hiromasa Suzuki (鈴木宏昌) – piano, synthesizer, keyboards
  • Jiro Inagaki (稲垣次郎) – tenor & soprano sax, flute
  • Jun Fukamachi (深町純) – synthesizer, keyboards
  • Kiyoshi Sugimoto (杉本喜代志), Fujimaru Yoshino (芳野藤丸), Masayoshi Takanaka (高中正義) – guitar
  • Akira Okazawa (岡沢章), Kenji Takamizu (高水健司) – bass
  • Shuichi "Ponta" Murakami (村上秀一) – drums
  • Larry Sunaga (ラリー須永) – Latin percussion
  • Kayoko Ishu (伊集加代子) – vocals

Release details

Artist Hiromasa Suzuki (鈴木宏昌)
Title High-Flying (ハイ・フライング)
Composed & Arranged Hiromasa Suzuki
Produced Jiro Inagaki
Recorded Nippon Columbia Studio 2, Tokyo, April 1976
Label NIPPONOPHONE / Nippon Columbia
Catalog No. COJY-9604
Barcode 4549767376851
Format 12" LP, clear orange vinyl, limited Record Day 2026 release
Country Japan (import)
Released November 3, 2026 (original album: 1976)
Genre Jazz-Funk, Fusion, Crossover Jazz
Condition New

More '70s and '80s Japanese jazz-funk on colored vinyl: Mikio Masuda's Mickey's Mouth (clear yellow). Want more Takanaka? Try T-WAVE (180g clear orange) and Rainbow Goblins Story: Live at Budokan 1981 (3LP).

Why buy from STOKYO

STOKYO is run by DJs and vinyl heads, and we've been importing Japanese records and analog gear since 2004. This LP comes straight from Japan and ships from Los Angeles.

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