Vagabond Synth Nerd’s Journal Vol. 186 - Memorable Trumpet Solos Feature - J-Pop Edition Part 5

The most common single instrument solo in pop music is the guitar solo. Naturally, the guitar is the most major instrument in the pop music category.
These days, there are fewer songs with intros and fewer instrumental solos between choruses. As a music listener, I find it somewhat sad that there are fewer songs that showcase the skill and music sense of the performers, and that more and more songs focus only on the singing, with little or no ensemble.
So far, Keyboard Madness Drifting has featured synthesizer solos and other solo instruments. If you own an instrument, you may be interested in the solos of your own instrument.
In PART 5, I would like to shed light on a niche instrument among solos, the trumpet.

The trumpet is an instrument that often plays a leading role in jazz and brass band types. However, in the field of rock and pop music, the trumpet rarely gets a solo. In fact, I don't recall seeing a trumpet getting a pinpoint solo in any of the bands I have seen live, except for brass bands and jazz bands.
I think it is because even if there is one trumpet player in the band, the trumpet is not always needed. Because the trumpet is a brass instrument…So, I don't think there are any pop bands that have a single trumpet player in the band. However, a band with a horn section is a different story.
Actually, trumpet solos are very cool too.

Recommended album: The Boy Inside Me by Tatsuro Yamashita (1988)

Released in 1988, this is a masterpiece of an album by Tatsuro Yamashita, featuring such memorable ballads as “Get Back in Love,” which became the title song of a TBS TV drama, and “Sobo,” a gospel-flavored song.

Recommended Song: “New Tokyo Rhapsody”/Solo Player: Jon Faddis

This is the opening track of the album Boku no Naka no Shonen (The Boy Inside Me). Is the thick synthesizer ticks struck by Tatsuro Yamashita himself an overhyme? It was cut as a single and became the theme song for the Tokyo Marathon.
Tatsuro Yamashita composed this song after listening to a Freddie Hubbard song, and came up with the idea of writing a song with a trumpet solo. The solo is not played by Freddie Hubbard, but by trumpeter Jon Faddis. Jon Faddis performed with Tatsuro Yamashita on his first album Circus Town that includes the tracks “Circus Town” and “Windy Lady” on the New York side. It’s not clear if this is the connection or not, but John was called in to play a speedy solo, making full use of his Lou Soloff-like high tones.

Recommended album: FIRST LIGHT by Makoto Matsushita (1981)

A great city pop album by Makoto Matsushita that was released in 1981.
Makoto Matsushita was born in Fujieda City, Shizuoka Prefecture. He is also a guitarist for the bands Shogun and AB'S.
He is a skilled guitarist and arranger who has also played in the albums by Yosui Inoue and Haruko Kuwana. On this album, he has developed his own unique interpretation of the complex music of Steely Dan and others, but replacing it with Matsushita's own style of music.
I loved “One Hot Love” on this album so much that I asked my friend's brother-in-law, who is a bassist, to give me the original score by Makoto Matsushita.
His music is one-of-a-kind, with complex harmonies and played on a scale not used in pop music. It is truly one of the greatest J-pop albums of the 1980s.
On this album, first call musicians Yasuo Tomikura (B), Masahiro Miyazaki (Dr), Masato Matsuda (Key), Kazuo Nobuta (Key), Haruo Togashi (Synth), and others in Japan have successfully brought the complex music of Makoto Matsushita to life.

Recommended Track: “FIRST LIGHT” / Solo Player: Susumu Kazuhara

AOR-style music usually calls for a saxophone player, but this track calls for one of the best trumpeters in Japan, Susumu Kazuhara. Kazuhara is a horn player who has played with Tatsuro Yamashita and Toshio Tsunomatsu, and has played on many artists' albums.
In this piece, he plays flugelhorn instead of trumpet. You can hear a superb solo with a laconic and speedy sound, as if he were sliding down from a high snowy mountain with a soft sound.

Recommended album: “Love Songs” by Mariya Takeuchi (1980)

A masterpiece album by Mariya Takeuchi on the theme of love songs. The artists include Tetsushi Hayashi, Kazuhiko Kato, Yasuhiro Abe, Kingo Hamada, Tatsuro Yamashita, Mari Sugi, Takashi Matsumoto, Kazumi Yasui, and a frightening array of others. Arrangers are Gene Page and Nobuyuki Shimizu. The players are all well-known musicians from Japan and abroad, and their solid playing shines through on this album.
The singles “September” and “Mysterious Peach Pie” were hit singles from this album. The musicians involved in this album, though, are an incredible group of musicians, even now that I think about it.
Meanwhile, Mariya Takeuchi herself contributed two songs. This gives us a glimpse of her musical talent.

Recommended Song: “Good-bye Dawn”/Solo Player: Chuck Findlay

This song is assigned to the second song on the A-side, the most inconspicuous part of the album. Although it is a modest song, it is a masterpiece co-written by Tatsuro Yamashita and Mariya Takeuchi, and is full of flavor.
The pianist is Larry Nechtel, the master pianist who played on S&G's “Bridge Over Tomorrow. The keyboardist is Michael Bodiker, who has also played on Quincy Jones' recordings. The guitarist is Paul Jackson, which makes you wonder how much money they spent on him.
The trumpet player on this song is Chuck Findlay. The trumpet tends to be a very heavy solo with a lot of notes, but both the intro and the solo are restrained and the phrasing is very effective, making the solo memorable.

Recommended album: “Spectrum” by Spectrum (1978)

I don't know if this album can be described as a brass rock band, but it is the best album released by Spectrum in 1979! The tight and crisp brass sound, combined with Ichiro Nitta's falsetto vocals, made them known as the Japanese Earth Wind & Fire.
This time, since the theme is about players who were invited as guests on the album, it is not included in the scope, but Ichiro Nitta's trumpet solo is wonderful and is available at ...... as an added bonus.

Recommended Song: “Tomato Ippatsu”/Solo Player: Ichiro Nitta

This is the best known song of Spectrum's music. “Tomato Ippatsu” has a long outro section to which Ichiro Nitta's trumpet solo is assigned.
In the outro section, the rhythm changes as the slap bass enters, and a powerful trumpet solo starts off ear-piercingly in the odd time signature structure. Ichiro Nitta's solo is so perfectly suited to this music that it is hard to imagine any other instrument but the trumpet. As the solo progresses, Keiichi Oku's Fender-Rhodes piano intertwines, and the brass section adds the finishing touch. I couldn't help but smile, thinking that this is the kind of music these guys wanted to play.

Musicians, albums, and recommendations featured in this issue

• Artists: Tatsuro Yamashita, Jon Faddis, Makoto Matsushita, Susumu Kazuhara, Mariya Takeuchi, Chuck Findlay, Spectrum, Ichiro Nitta
• Albums: Boku no Naka no Shounen (The Boy Inside Me), FIRST LIGHT, Love Songs, Spectrum
• Recommended songs: “New Tokyo Rhapsody,” “FIRST LIGHT,” “Sayonara no Yoake,” “Tomato Ippatsu”

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