Kazuko Ishibashi -- Happiest

 

Earlier this year, I gave my first write-up on singer-songwriter Kazuko Ishibashi（石橋和子） through one bouncy track "I-Yo-"（イーヨー）on her 1981 debut album "Nice to Meet You", and I mentioned that she didn't just cover City Pop but also other genres such as blues and jazz.

Well, I guess she also explored the Latin side, too, since "Happiest" from the B-side of the original LP has got some pleasant samba going for it. Written and composed by Ishibashi, I gather that this can be a Resort Pop song but to reflect that she has apparently gone for the gamut of genre experiences, I have categorized "Happiest" in the Latin and Pop genres. Anyways, the whole song matches the title quite nicely. Jun Sato（佐藤準）arranged it as he did all of the songs on the B-side.

Not surprisingly, "Nice to Meet You" is not exactly the easiest album to find still on sale on the various sites but I did find Discogs selling the original LP for a little over $85 Canadian. May the best fan win!