The Legend of Tachibana

Episode 18: Tachibana, since reissued by the fantastic BBE records, has been one of the holy grail albums for Japanese jazz collectors for many years. This week we are in a couple of fine joints in Gunma, before Philip’s extended interview with Tohru Aizawa, the driving force behind the music on this album.

As we work our way through a 10 course meal, hear about how he got started in music, his family’s feeling about jazz musicians in the 60s, his meeting with Bill Evans, how long it took, the origin of the name Tachibana, how many copies really exist and his bewilderment in an album he made in his distant youth, what might have been, drugs, why jazz took such a firm hold in Japan and his experience of living in America. It's a bumper episode!