Akira Ishikawa & His Count Buffalos – Dawn (1972) (recorded May 6, 1971)

This superb, psychedelic-tinged jazz-funk jam appeared on the rare LP African Rock, considered one of the finest albums recorded in Japan during the 1970s.

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Akira Ishikawa (November 10, 1934 – February 10, 2002) was a Japanese drummer who recorded several albums with his jazz-funk band the Count Buffalos.

On May 6, 1971, they were at Minoruphone Studio in Tokyo during the final recording session for their masterpiece album African Rock, which was released the following year in 1972.

African Rock is regarded by many as one of the finest albums recorded in Japan during the 1970s, and its sound compared to the best of Fela Kuti and Miles Davis during his electric period.

One of the album’s most brilliant tracks was the psychedelic-tinged jazz-funk excursion “Dawn.”

Its other standout cuts included the beautiful “Love,” the very funky “Jumbo,” and the stunning jazz-funk jam “The Earth.”

Besides Ishikawa on drums, the album's superb lineup included Kunimitsu Inaba on electric bass, Kimio Mizutani on electric guitar, Hiromasa Suzuki on electric piano, Kenji Shiraishi on marimba, Masami Kawahara and Naomi Kawahara on percussion, Ken Muraoka playing tenor sax and alto flute, Tadataka Nakazawa on trombone, Takehisa Suzuki on trumpet, and the Alkylene Quartet handling strings.

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