A quick one before we jump back into The Flower Kings series. Sometimes you just know something is going to work for you. I read the description for Rock Communication, the 1970 album from composer Norio Maeda and was instantly intrigued. More and more I’ve been drawn to how other countries and cultures interpret and absorb more western expressions of music. Finally available in NorthAmerica on CD (rather than a pricey import), Rock Communication excels at the Japanese soul jazz that was percolating in the region at the time, and recalls to my ears some of the prime arrangements Zappa was doing in the 70s as well as the jazz-inflected scores David Holmes composed for Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s series. If that appeals to you, this is going to down down just fine…

Taking traditional folk songs and arranging them in a soul jazz style might seem blasphemous, but listening to the stellar arrangements of “Yagibushi” and especially “Tsugaru Jongara Bushi” with it’s Zappa guitar licks (guitarist Kiyoshi Sugimoto sounds amazing through the album) you’d be forgiven for thinking these tracks were composed on the spot out of improvisational jams. That’s a credit to both Maeda’s skill as an arranger as well as the incredible band he put together. Big band horns accentuate the groovy easy jazz flow of “Hanagasa Ondo” and the killer guitar work comes back on “Sad Okesa” making for a varied journey for Maeda and his All-Stars.

Maeda himself doesn’t appear on the album; the keyboards and organ are handled by Karol Iiyoshi and are fantastic as well, sometimes standing out as the lead instrument, sometimes laying in the back to support the other players. There’s a cinematic flourish to each song that can fit in any genre: one minute you’re taken to a late 60s romantic screwball comedy, the next you’re thrilling to an imaginary giallo. Phase your attention to the background and Rock Communication is a great background to anything; but tune in loser and you can marvel at all the technical brilliance on display, and the way the arrangements play with tempo, dynamics, and rhythm. As an introduction to Norio Maeda it’s set a high bar for anything else I’ll check out, and you can bet I will certainly be checking more out.