HIDEFUMI TOKI - Sky View

A vivid and beautiful story woven by the young Hidefumi Toki with a one-horn quartet.

Artist：Hidefumi Toki
Title：Sky View
Format：LP
CAT#：PROZ-7923
Barcode：4988031890844
Price：$50
Label：Universal Music
Japan Release Date：September 30th, 2026

 
Hidefumi Toki became a professional musician while still in high school, and went on to perform with groups led by New Herd, Isao Suzuki, Terumasa Hino, Ryo Kawasaki, Fumio Itabashi, and others. From the late 1970s onward, he also collaborated with artists such as Ryuichi Sakamoto and Tatsuro Yamashita, playing a broad role in Japan’s music scene across jazz, fusion, and pop. This work, recorded in 1976, is his third album, following "Toki" and "Lover Man," a co-led combo with Yoshio Otomo. It features a lineup of dazzling masterpieces and performances, including "Sky View," where Toki’s expansive saxophone shines over a delicate mood, and "Let's Get Together," which seems to carry the scent of fresh green leaves rising into the air. The backing support by Mikio Masuda, who also contributed compositions, as well as Yoshio Ikeda and Steve Jackson, is also superb. With a gentle perspective and refined, vivid performances, this is a masterpiece filled with the charm of Hidefumi Toki in his younger days.

Text by Yusuke Ogawa (UNIVERSOUNDS / DEEP JAZZ REALITY)

Tracklist:
Side A
01. Sky View
02. Rain Doctor

Side B
01. Let's Get Together
02. Taro's Birthday
03. I Love You Porgy