''Brasilian Skies'' is the fourth studio album by Japanese jazz fusion guitarist

Masayoshi Takanaka is a Japanese guitarist, composer, and producer. He was born in 1953 in the Shinagawa ward in Tokyo, Japan. Takanaka's music was influential in the city pop genre of the late 1970s and '80s. Early life Takanaka was born to a Chinese fathe ...

, released via Kitty Records on July 21, 1978. The album's initial release was distributed in two physical formats: a

vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

and on a

cassette tape The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens ...

. Stylistically, the record unites jazz-fusion with

bossa nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovativ ...

samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...

, and progressive rock and soul.

Background

Masayoshi traveled to Brazil in 1978 to record part of the album at PolyGram's studios in

Barra da Tijuca Barra da Tijuca () (usually known as Barra) is an upper-class neighborhood or bairro in the Rio de Janeiro#West Zone, West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, located in the western portion of the city on the Atlantic Ocean. Barra is well known for it ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. The remainder of the record was recorded at Westlake Studios in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California. In 2018, Masayoshi held a 40th anniversary tour of the album's release in Japan with the theme of ''Brasilian Skies''. The five-show concert tour commenced on September 22 at the

Hitomi Memorial Hall was built by Showa Women's University in Tokyo, Japan on its campus in 1980 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the foundation of its predecessor, the Japan Women's School of Higher Education. It is a concert venue. Notes Buildings ...

in Tokyo and ended on October 28 in Osaka. A live album recording from his performance at the Tokyo

Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall The is an outdoor theater in Tokyo, Japan's Hibiya Park. There are actually two concert halls; the smaller was erected during the Meiji era, and the larger was first built in the Taishō era. The larger venue is colloquially abbreviated to . No ...

on October 13 was released on May 22, 2019.

Track listing

All music is composed by Masayoshi Takanaka, except "I Remember Clifford" by

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz Jazz drumming, drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in h ...

, and "Star Wars Samba" by

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

. All arrangements by Masayoshi Takanaka.

Personnel

Credits and personnel adapted from liner notes *

– guitar, production, remixing * Haruko Kawana – backing vocals *

Ryuichi Sakamoto is a Japanese composer, pianist, singer, record producer and actor who has pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto inf ...

– keyboard, strings *

Abraham Laboriel Abraham Laboriel López Sr. (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. ''Guitar Player'' magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the f ...

– bass guitar * Getao Takahashi – bass guitar * Scott Edwards – bass guitar * Barrozo Netto – bass guitar * Sergio Portillo – bass guitar * Daudeth De Azevedo –

cavaquinho The cavaquinho (pronounced in Portuguese) is a small Portuguese string instrument in the European guitar family, with four wires or gut strings. More broadly, ''cavaquinho'' is the name of a four-stringed subdivision of the lute family of instr ...

* Maria Aparecida De Souza – backing vocals * Maria Helena Violinn – backing vocals * Maria Rita Kfouri – backing vocals *

James Gadson James Gadson ( James Edward Gadson; born June 17, 1939) is an American drummer and session musician. Beginning his career in the late 1960s, Gadson has since become one of the most-recorded drummers in the history of R&B. He is also a singer and ...

– drums *

Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on ...

– drums * Shi-chan Inque (Shigeru Inoue) – drums *

Wilson das Neves Wilson das Neves (June 14, 1936 – August 26, 2017) was a Brazilian percussionist and singer from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was a key figure in the history of Brazilian music, having played with many of Brazil's greatest musicians across many ...

– drums * Motoya Hamaguchi – flute *

Marlo Henderson Marlo Henderson was an American guitarist and saxophonist, who played in mainly blues and R&B genres. As a session musician he played on albums such as '' Off the Wall'' by Michael Jackson, '' Them Changes'' by Buddy Miles, '' Face to Face'' by Ev ...

– guitar * Keiko Yamakawa – harp *

Greg Phillinganes Gregory Arthur Phillinganes (born May 12, 1956) is an American keyboardist, singer-songwriter, and musical director based in Los Angeles, California. A prolific session musician, Phillinganes has contributed the role of keyboards to numerous alb ...

– keyboard * Kiyosumi Ishikawa – keyboard * Sergio Carualho – keyboard * Altamiro Coelho Rosa – percussion * Antenor Marques Filho – percussion * Elyeu Felico – percussion * Hermes Coutesini – percussion * Luna Do Pander – percussion * Motoya Hamaguchi – percussion * Milton Delfind Marcal – percussion * Paulinho da Costa – percussion

Release history

References

External links

{{Authority control 1978 albums Masayoshi Takanaka albums