Hidden Kingdom

[Machine Translation] This is the second album by Rodney Whitaker, one of the leading bassists of the jazz renaissance of the 1980s and 1990s, and his allies. The second album by Rodney Whittaker and his allies is a more mature version of their debut album, and features the participation of fellow veteran Marcus Belgrave, who sadly passed away in 2015. Another highlight of the album is that the real name of the mysterious pianist, who was credited at the time of its release, has been revealed in this first reissue. Her true identity is, to my surprise, Junko Onishi. After declaring her retirement, many great musicians and celebrities did not allow it, and in 2015 she returned to the scene as support for Terumasa Hino. In commemoration of the release of her long-awaited new album produced by Naruyoshi Kikuchi, her name will be revealed for the first time in this first reissue.

Note: This is an import edition (manufactured outside of Japan).

1980～90年代ジャズ・ルネッサンス期を代表するベーシスト、ロドニー・ウィテカーとその盟友たちによる2作目。デビュー作を踏襲した編成に、より成熟したサウンドを乗せてゆく。2015年惜しまれ世を去った同郷のベテラン、マーカス・ベルグレイヴの参加も見逃せない。そしてもうひとつの見どころは、発売当時という名でクレジットされていた謎のピアニストの本名がこの初復刻で明らかに。その正体は、なんと大西順子。引退宣言をするも多くの大音楽家・著名人がそれを許さず、2015年日野皓正のサポートとしてシーンに復帰。このたび菊地成孔プロデュースによる待望の新作がリリースされることを記念し、この初復刻で初めてその名が明かされる。