Yoshitaka Mihara -- Urban Night Cruisin'

 

Yup, I'd think that for a lot of overseas City Pop fans who have yet to make it to Japan, getting on that night drive through Tokyo would be one of the must-do things on the itinerary. I'd suggest at least a cruise through Ginza, then onto Tokyo Bay Bridge into Odaiba, before making the trip up to West Shinjuku for one night at least.

Along with the usual City Pop classics as musical accompaniment, perhaps I can also suggest another song out of the blue. That would be electone player and keyboardist Yoshitaka Mihara's（三原善隆）"Urban Night Cruisin'" from his October 2000 album "Progress". Earlier this year, I introduced the Hokkaido musician through his "Summer Sunset" on his well-regarded 1993 album "Night Rider". Well, with "Urban Night Cruisin'", your ride through the capital city or any major city on the Japanese archipelago can have a bit more class and sophistication and Henry Mancini-esque swing.

"Progress" apparently is Mihara's last album to date although according to his J-Wiki profile, he's been holding his annual "Mihara Yoshitaka Super Session"（三原善隆SUPER SESSION）events with plenty of guests. I'm assuming that some of those guests were involved in "Progress" such as jazz pianist Hiroko Kokubu（国府弘子）, the late and great saxophonist Jake H. Concepcion and bassist Naoki Watanabe（ 渡辺直樹）.