Sadao Watanabe
- Instrument:
- Alto Saxophone
- Styles:
- Fusion, Post Bop, Jazz-Funk, Bossa Nova, Contemporary Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Modal, Bop, Hard Bop, Latin Jazz
Best Sadao Watanabe Albums
Leader albums ranked by reissues and demand.
California Shower
Sadao Watanabe
1978
Flying Disk
Morning Island
Sadao Watanabe
1979
Flying Disk
My Dear Life
Sadao Watanabe
1977
Flying Disk
Hunt Up Wind
Hiroshi Fukumura With Sadao Watanabe
1978
Flying Disk
Orange Express = オレンジ・エクスプレス
Sadao Watanabe = Sadao Watanabe
1981
CBS/Sony
Rendezvous
Sadao Watanabe
1984
Elektra
Fill Up The Night
Sadao Watanabe
1983
Elektra
Maisha
Sadao Watanabe
1985
Elektra
Birds Of Passage
Sadao Watanabe
1987
Elektra
Timeline
Key Sadao Watanabe studio albums by decade, with the labels and styles that define each period.
| Decade | Key albums | Labels | Styles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s |
| King Records, Victor World Group, Columbia, Takt Jazz Series, CBS/Sony | Modal, Post Bop, Bop, Samba |
| 1970s |
| East Wind, Flying Disk | Jazz-Funk, Smooth Jazz, Fusion, Post Bop |
| 1980s |
| CBS/Sony, Elektra | Smooth Jazz, Fusion, Jazz-Funk, Afro-Cuban Jazz |
| 1990s |
| Elektra, Verve Forecast, Verve Records | Smooth Jazz, Contemporary Jazz, Fusion, Theme |
| 2000s |
| Verve Records, JVC | Smooth Jazz, Jazz-Funk, Contemporary Jazz |
| 2010s |
| JVC, Victor, NorikiMusic | Latin Jazz, Bossa Nova |
| 2020s |
| JVC | Smooth Jazz |
Albums by Style
Top albums grouped by style.
Smooth Jazz
Morning Island
Sadao Watanabe
1979
Flying Disk
My Dear Life
Sadao Watanabe
1977
Flying Disk
California Shower
Sadao Watanabe
1978
Flying Disk
Orange Express = オレンジ・エクスプレス
Sadao Watanabe
1981
CBS/Sony
Maisha
Sadao Watanabe
1985
Elektra
Post Bop
Open Road
Sadao Watanabe
1973
CBS/Sony
We Got A New Bag = ウィ・ガット・ア・ニュー・バッグ
Sadao Watanabe
1968
Takt Jazz Series
Jazz & Bossa = ジャズ & ボッサ
Sadao Watanabe Quartet
1967
Takt
Sadao Watanabe
Sadao Watanabe
1972
CBS/Sony
Round Trip
Sadao Watanabe
1970
CBS/Sony
Fusion
Paysages = ペイザージュ
Sadao Watanabe
1971
CBS/Sony
Pastoral
Sadao Watanabe
1969
CBS/Sony
Autumn Blow
Sadao Watanabe
1977
Flying Disk
Birds Of Passage
Sadao Watanabe
1987
Elektra
Similar Artists
Artists with similar styles and catalogs.
Sadao Watanabe Discography
Sadao Watanabe studio albums as leader and sideman.
Total: 280 releases
| Artist | Album | Label | Leader/Sideman | Style | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Kawaguchi's The Big 4 | Jazz At The Torys | King Records | Sideman | Post Bop | 1957 |
| George Kawaguchi, George Kawaguchi | On Stage! Big 4 Plus 1 = ビッグ・フォア・プラス・ワン登場! | Victor | Sideman | Hard Bop | 1958 |
| The Modern Jazz All Stars | Modern Jazz | King Records | Sideman | Cool Jazz | 1958 |
| Swing Journal All-Stars 1958 | Jazz Festival Of Japan | Toshiba Records | Sideman | Bop | 1959 |
| Modern Jazz Playboys | Un Temoin Dans La Ville / Blues De Memphis | Epic | Sideman | Hard Bop | 1960 |
| Swing Journal All Stars | Swing Journal Presents Reader's Idea: Far East Coast Jazz | King Records | Sideman | 1960 | |
| Modern Jazz Playboys | Modern Jazz Screen Mood | Epic | Sideman | Easy Listening | 1960 |
| Masao Yagi | Masao Yagi Plays Thelonious Monk | King Records | Sideman | Bop | 1960 |
| Mitsuru Ono | Funky Jam Session | Columbia | Sideman | Hard Bop | 1960 |
| The Modern Jazz All Stars | TV & Screen Hits | Toshiba Records | Sideman | 1961 | |
| Toshiko Akiyoshi, Toshiko Akiyoshi | Toshiko Meets Her Old Pals = トシコ旧友に会う | King Records | Sideman | 1961 | |
| Sadao Watanabe, Sadao Watanabe | Sadao Watanabe | King Records | Leader | Bop | 1961 |
| Modern Jazz Playboys | Modern Jazz Show Case | Columbia | Sideman | Hard Bop | 1961 |
| The Modern Jazz All Stars | Modern Funky Touch | Columbia | Sideman | Bop | 1961 |
| The Modern Jazz All Stars | Battle Of Funky | Toshiba Records | Sideman | Bop | 1961 |
| Akira Miyazawa, Akira Miyazawa | Yamame | King Records | Sideman | Post Bop | 1962 |
| Chiemi Eri, Carl Jones | Crazy Rhythm | King Records | Sideman | 1962 | |
| Jazz In The Classroom | Volume VIII: A Tribute To Duke Ellington | Berklee Records | Sideman | 1964 | |
| Gary McFarland | The In Sound | Verve Records | Sideman | Latin Jazz | 1965 |
| Jazz In The Classroom | A Tribute To Oliver Nelson | Berklee Records | Sideman | 1965 |
Sadao Watanabe Collaborations
Players they worked with most often, as leader and as sideman.
As Leader
| Musician | Role | Releases |
|---|---|---|
| Masabumi Kikuchi | Piano | 15 |
| Masanaga Harada | Bass | 14 |
| Masahiko Togashi | Drums | 11 |
| Yoshiaki Masuo | Guitar | 11 |
| Steve Gadd | Drums | 11 |
| Kazuo Yashiro | Piano | 8 |
| Fumio Watanabe | Drums | 8 |
| Dave Grusin | Piano [Acoustic] | 8 |
| Yoshio Suzuki | Electric Bass | 7 |
| Hiroshi Fukumura | Trombone | 7 |
As Sideman
| Musician | Role | Releases |
|---|---|---|
| Akira Miyazawa | Tenor Saxophone | 18 |
| Takeshi Inomata | Drums | 13 |
| Hidehiko Matsumoto | Tenor Saxophone | 10 |
| Hideto Kanai | Bass | 9 |
| Jiro Kubota | Supervised By | 8 |
| Tadayuki Harada | Baritone Saxophone | 8 |
| Tatsuro Takimoto | Bass | 8 |
| Keitaro Miho | Piano | 8 |
| Masao Yagi | Piano | 8 |
| Masahiko Togashi | Drums | 8 |
Styles & Genres Distribution
Style and genre mix across their releases.
Styles
| Style | Releases | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Fusion | 39 | 7% |
| Post Bop | 37 | 6.7% |
| Jazz-Funk | 33 | 5.9% |
| Bossa Nova | 27 | 4.9% |
| Contemporary Jazz | 26 | 4.7% |
| Smooth Jazz | 26 | 4.7% |
| Modal | 23 | 4.1% |
| Bop | 21 | 3.8% |
| Hard Bop | 16 | 2.9% |
| Latin Jazz | 15 | 2.7% |
Genres
| Genre | Releases | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Jazz | 261 | 46.9% |
| Latin | 34 | 6.1% |
| Pop | 33 | 5.9% |
| Funk / Soul | 27 | 4.9% |
| Stage & Screen | 12 | 2.2% |
| Rock | 12 | 2.2% |
| Folk, World, & Country | 8 | 1.4% |
| Electronic | 6 | 1.1% |
| Classical | 3 | 0.5% |
| Reggae | 3 | 0.5% |
Top Labels
Labels with the most releases in their catalog.
| Label | Releases |
|---|---|
| CBS/Sony | 40 |
| Elektra | 34 |
| Victor | 29 |
| JVC | 25 |
| Verve Records | 19 |
| Columbia | 18 |
| King Records | 17 |
| Flying Disk | 15 |
| Polydor | 12 |
| WEA | 12 |
Key Personnel
Frequent producers, engineers, and studio credits.
| Person | Role | Releases |
|---|---|---|
| Various | Leader | 35 |
| Kiyoshi Itoh | Producer | 24 |
| Toshinari Koinuma | Executive-Producer | 9 |
| Yozo Iwanami | Liner Notes | 8 |
| Mitsuru Yamada | Design | 7 |
| Tadayuki Naitoh | Photography By | 7 |
| Shoichi Yui | Liner Notes | 7 |
| Yoshihiro Suzuki | Engineer | 6 |
| Ralph MacDonald | Producer | 5 |
| Akihiko Sawada | Design | 5 |