Sadao Watanabe to Release 'Basie's At Night'

NEW YORK, NY. (KOCH Records)--Japanese jazz saxophonist Sadao Watanabe is set to release a new, double-disc album and perform on rare select dates in the U.S. "Basie's At Night" will be released on September 2, 2008 and features some of Watanabe's best songs recorded at Basie's in Ichinoseki, Iwati on April 14, 2007.

Watanabe learned clarinet and alto in high school, and moved to Tokyo in the '50s, where he joined Toshiko Akiyoshi's bop-oriented group. When the pianist moved to the U.S. in 1956, Watanabe took over the band.

Watanabe has remained mostly based in Japan throughout his career, but when he attended Berklee in the early '60s, he was able to work with Gary McFarland, Chico Hamilton, and Gabor Szabo.

The tracklisting for "Basie's At Night" is:

Disc 1
1. One For you
2. Plum Island
3. I'm Old Fashioned
4. Alalake - Lopin'
5. Tembea
6. Deep In A Dream
7. Maji

Disc 2
1. Bye Bye Babe
2. Basie's At Night
3. Life Is All Like That (For Snoopy & his friends)
4. See What Happens
5. Call me
6. Manha De Carnaval
7. Episode
8. Karibu
9. Harambee
10. Carinhoso

Additionally, Watanabe will perform on select U.S. dates in August and September.

The U.S. dates are:
August 29 - 31 San Francisco, CA Yoshi's
September 2 -3 Los Angeles, CA Catalina Jazz Club
September 5 - 6 Washington, D.C. Blues Alley
September 8 New York, NY Blue Note
September 9 Boston, MA Regatta Bar
September 10 Chicago, IL TBD