Kazuko Ishibashi -- Fuyu ni Sayonara（冬にさよなら）

 

Well, I guess this is a first, providing two Kazuko Ishibashi（石橋和子）songs on KKP in a calendar year. 

Up to now, the articles on singer-songwriter Ishibashi have focused on tracks from her 1981 album "Nice to Meet You" (including the last article on her) since that's the only one I've known due to its presence in the book "Japanese City Pop". I managed to find a track though from her 1982 release "Nora ga Tobira wo Akeru Toki"（ノラが扉をあけるとき...When Nora Opens the Door） with the beaming face of the singer-songwriter smack dab on the cover.

"Fuyu ni Sayonara" (Goodbye to Winter) is the final track on Side A of the original LP according to Discogs, and although there is a City Pop sax instrumental bridge in the song, I wouldn't really place it within that genre. There is also a feeling of Fashion Music in the European-ness floating all about but in the end, I've categorized it as a pleasant pop ballad written by Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）and composed by Yasuo Kosugi（小杉保夫） (nope, Ishibashi had nothing to do with its creation this time). Would be interested in hearing some of the other tracks from the album, and for that matter, I'm wondering who the heck Nora is.

Kazuko Ishibashi -- Koi no Wasuremono（恋の忘れもの）

 

Kazuko Ishibashi（石橋和子）is probably one of the more obscure singer-songwriters that I've encountered in the annals of Yutaka Kimura's "Japanese City Pop" guidebook, but that album cover for her 1981 "Nice to Meet You" is likely to be one of the most genre-friendly when it comes to everything from the iconography to the fashion that Ms. Ishibashi is sporting in the picture. Maybe the only thing she's missing is a bottle of Perrier.

I've already covered a few tracks from "Nice to Meet You" including the jazzy "Gin no Cigarette Case"（銀のシガレット・ケース）, and from listening to some of the other tracks on YouTube, the album isn't strictly City Pop as Ishibashi actually covers a few other genres. For example, here we have "Koi no Wasuremono" (Lost Item of Love) which was written and composed by the singer with arrangement by Shigeru Suzuki（鈴木茂）. This is definitely south-of-the-Equator stuff with some good ol' samba in the mix here. Interestingly, as I continued to listen to "Koi no Wasuremono" right to the end, I got the impression that Ishibashi and band could have performed this in some sort of hotel Tiki bar as the headliner with the lady bantering in a most friendly manner with the guests afterward. Nice to meet you, indeed.😀

Kazuko Ishibashi -- Gin no Cigarette Case（銀のシガレット・ケース）

 

Ah, yes. The gigantic Don Quixote in Asakusa...filled with all sorts of goodies ranging from souvenir Kit Kats to sexual aids. It's quite the facility, looking more like a Las Vegas gambling casino.

I guess when Las Vegas pops up in my mind, I sometimes think of jazz, probably because of the band that played behind the Rat Pack back in the day. But usually, I envisage cities like New York, Chicago and New Orleans. This time for this article, the Big Apple is definitely in my head when I listen to Kazuko Ishibashi's（石橋和子）"Gin no Cigarette Case" (Silver Cigarette Case).

A track from Ishibashi's 1981 debut album "Nice to Meet You", it was written and composed by the singer-songwriter and arranged by Jun Sato（佐藤準）as this torchy jazz piece in contrast with the first song that I profiled from "Nice to Meet You", the bouncy City Pop "I-Yo-"（イーヨー）. Ishibashi seems to be just at home in this older genre as she is in the relatively more recent urban contemporary genre, and as I listen to "Gin no Cigarette Case", I think of some NBC radio announcer from a century ago at the top of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel crooning the introduction for Ishibashi before she appears behind the huge microphone with her breathy vocals.

The effect of old-time jazz is almost complete aside from an electric piano and perhaps a synthesizer to finish things off.

Kazuko Ishibashi -- I-Yo-（イーヨー）

Now, I've seen this album cover in the pages of "Japanese City Pop" often enough and I was intrigued about what Kazuko Ishibashi（石橋和子）had to offer in terms of the genre.  However until recently, I couldn't find anything of her material on YouTube. That has now changed thanks to folks like Xerf Xpec, so many thanks to them all.

Singer-songwriter Ishibashi released her first album "Nice to Meet You" back in March 1981 and from what I've read for the review of this inaugural release, it's not chock-filled with City Pop but showcases a number of genres from Ishibashi such as blues and jazz as well. However, the first track "I-Yo-" (It's Alright) is indeed a fine example of the genre that has captivated so many folks outside of Japan for the past few years. "I-Yo-" has got plenty of that bouncy piano, the steady bass and that certain wailing electric guitar thanks to the melody by the singer. Ishibashi was also responsible for the lyrics. Shigeru Suzuki（鈴木茂）arranged Side A of "Nice to Meet You" while Jun Sato（佐藤準）took care of Side B.

As for Ishibashi herself, from what little information I could discover from Idol.ne.jp, she hails from Tokushima Prefecture, and in 1978, she won at the 2nd annual Fresh Sounds Contest sponsored by the TBS Radio program "Sounds With Coke" and Coca-Cola Japan. She released her first single "Nice to Meet You" in 1981 along with its namesake album. The following year, she and Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）had their stints as personalities for a year on "Sounds With Coke". Then in 1985, she left show business to start a family, returning 20 years later to get back to music. Including "Nice to Meet You", she has released 2 albums and that single, with a mini-album coming out following her return to the music industry.