MASUDA, MIKIO

Mikio Masuda’s 1978 album Moon Stone is an incredibly smooth, rhythmically elastic masterwork of Japanese jazz-funk and soft fusion. Originally released on Nippon Columbia’s iconic Better Days imprint, the record captures the self-taught keyboardist channeling the sophisticated, radio-warm palette of American contemporaries like Bob James and Ramsey Lewis, while filtering it through a distinctly refined Tokyo studio lens. It stands as one of the golden-era staples of late-70s groove music, balancing lush melodies with impeccable sonic precision