Biography
Pianist 太田邦夫 [Ohta Kunio] in addition to this album, can also be heard on "My Back Pages" (1977, TBM-3002). The book "three blind mice - TBM - The Complete Disc Guide" explains the context. By 1976, the TBM label was well established and several important musicians were associated with the label. One can think of Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, Isao Suzuki, Masaru Imada etc, who recorded several popular albums in the first five years of TBM. However, one of the primary missions of Takeshi Fujii was precisely to promote newcomers of the Japanese jazz scene, to offer a platform to release their works. It seems that during this period, around 1976, opportunities to promote new talents became rarer, at least for TBM. The album "Free And Lovely" showcases the debut work of a major newcomer, Kunio Ohta, a pianist living in Nagoya. It seems that Kenji Mori has been associated with the process, and he suggested Masamiki Takano on saxophone, who is from the same hometown. After listening to Ohta's quartet in a jazz club located in Nagoya, producer Takeshi Fujii planned a recording. According to the Legend, Fujii asked to the band to practice for a certain time, and if the result was satisfactory, an album would be released.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.