The Church of the Ecstatic presents:

Tonight we have a mix of City Pop and Smooth Jazz, both ‘sounds’ that took over in the 80’s to early 90’s in Japan and the US., respectively.

Neither is really a genre, as much as a feel, mixing jazz, bossa nova, R&B, disco, synthpop, and more.  City pop exemplified the light feel and optimistic future of the booming “bubble economy” in 80’s Japan, and due to it pulling from so many parts of ‘Western’ music, it’s currently experiencing a resurgence in popularity on the internet – to our modern ears, it seems nostalgic and foreign at the same time, and fascinating.  And it IS nostalgic – because to a generation, “Smooth Jazz” dominated a chunk of the airwaves in the US at least (and some stores to this day.)  So I tried to thread the needle between these two, to see how they differ and are the same – as well as just make a chill as hell playlist, because I want to put that out there for you guys.

This is a good article from Rolling Stone that explains more about City Pop, that I pulled a couple of quotes from on tonight’s show. This video from Vox about Smooth Jazz also helped me better understand the phenomenon, and its rise and fall.  Both of those helped me find tracks for tonight’s show, as well as this youtube playlist/mix – which actually inspired the whole thing.  So if you want to check out more, here you go!

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Playlist:

    Time: September 8 - 9:05:02 pm
  • Beach Diggin', Vol. 4

    Noriko Miyamoto, “My Life”

    from Beach Diggin', Vol. 4

    Heavenly Sweetness - 2016

  • Time: September 8 - 9:11:48 pm
  • Miki Matsubara Best Collection

    Miki Matsubara, “Mayonaka no Door / Stay With Me”

    from Miki Matsubara Best Collection

    ポニーキャニオン - 2008

  • Time: September 8 - 9:18:49 pm
  • Anita Mui, “Oh No Oh Yes!”

    from Si Huo Tan Ge

    Capital Artists - 1987

  • Time: September 8 - 9:26:31 pm
  • Tomoko Aran, “Midnight Pretenders”

    from Fuyukukan

    Warner Music Japan - 1983

  • Time: September 8 - 9:29:48 pm
  • Step By Step (Expanded Edition)

    Jeff Lorber, “Pacific Coast Highway - Instrumental”

    from Step By Step (Expanded Edition)

    RCA/Legacy - 1985

  • Time: September 8 - 9:33:21 pm
  • Light Mellow Junko Ohashi

    Junko Ohashi, “Telephone Number”

    from Light Mellow Junko Ohashi

    Universal Music LLC - 2014

  • Time: September 8 - 9:37:09 pm
  • Breezin'

    George Benson, “Breezin'”

    from Breezin'

    Rhino/Warner Bros. - 2005

  • Time: September 8 - 9:43:24 pm
  • LAGOON (Remastered 2017)

    Shigeru Suzuki, “LADY PINK PANTHER”

    from LAGOON (Remastered 2017)

    日本クラウン株式会社 - 2017

  • Time: September 8 - 9:46:16 pm
  • Midnight Cruisin'

    Kingo Hamada, “Midnight Cruisin'”

    from Midnight Cruisin'

    WM Japan - 1982

  • Time: September 8 - 9:50:18 pm
  • Anthology

    Grover Washington, Jr., “Just the Two of Us”

    from Anthology

    Rhino/Elektra - 1985

  • Time: September 8 - 9:56:03 pm
  • Midnight Theme

    Manzel, “Midnight Theme (Dopebrother 7 Inch Remix)”

    from Midnight Theme

    Dopebrother Records - 2004

  • Time: September 8 - 10:00:09 pm
  • The New Standard

    Herbie Hancock, “Thieves In the Temple”

    from The New Standard

    Verve - 1996

  • Time: September 8 - 10:08:17 pm
  • Asian Dreamer

    Casiopea, “GALACTIC FUNK”

    from Asian Dreamer

    PONY CANYON - 1994

  • Time: September 8 - 10:13:05 pm
  • MONOCHROME

    Minako Yoshida, “MIDNIGHT DRIVER”

    from MONOCHROME

    Sony Music Direct (Japan) Inc. - 1980

  • Time: September 8 - 10:21:05 pm
  • Kaoru Akamoto, “Dress Down”

    from COLOGNE

    JVCKENWOOD Victor Entertainment - 1986

  • Time: September 8 - 10:26:05 pm
  • Trust

    Boney James, “Metropolis”

    from Trust

    Craft Recordings - 1992

  • Time: September 8 - 10:30:17 pm
  • The Best of Sade

    Sade, “Smooth Operator”

    from The Best of Sade

    Epic/Legacy - 1983

  • Time: September 8 - 10:33:09 pm
  • Butterfly

    Kimiko Kasai, “I Thought It Was You (with Herbie Hancock)”

    from Butterfly

    Columbia/Legacy - 1973

  • Time: September 8 - 10:41:46 pm
  • Touchdown

    Bob James, “Angela (Theme from ""Taxi"")”

    from Touchdown

    Gallo Record Company - 1978

  • Time: September 8 - 10:48:02 pm
  • Philharmony

    Haruomi Hosono, “SPORTS MEN”

    from Philharmony

    Sony Music Direct (Japan) Inc. - 1978

  • Time: September 8 - 10:50:45 pm
  • VIVA LAVA LIVA

    サンディー&ザ・サンセッツ, “Drip Dry Eyes”

    from VIVA LAVA LIVA

    Sony Music Direct(Japan)Inc. - 1984

    (Sandii & the Sunsetz)

  • Time: September 8 - 10:56:00 pm
  • Best of/20th Century

    Wes Montgomery, “Road Song”

    from Best of/20th Century

    Verve Reissues - 2006

    The Church of the Ecstatic    September 9th, 2020

Posted In: Music Shows