Theres no other way to put it. Masayoshi Takanaka is the man.
If you look at his biography on https://takanaka.com/en/profile it would indeed come off as very modest, but don't get it twisted, with a career over 50 years and 20 full releases and multiple tours under his belt. Takanaka can be considered one of the most important forces in Japanese music. While experiencing a recent career resurgence thanks to the internet and youtube algorithms he has been steadily working and touring throughout.
This leadsheet is from the 1977 release “An Insatiable High” and in the wide world of Masayoshi we can find him running through a desert this time! Since it includes a lot of LA musicians i'm going to assume its around southern California though. Takanaka got together with the leading session musicians of the time in LA like Chuck Rainey (Bass), Lee Ritenour (Guitar), the Tower of Power horn section and the great Patrice Rushen (Keyboard). In fact, Rushens fingerprints are all over this album as she features on almost every track!
Good Bad Old Days is an awesome smooth piece of music. Jazzy 2-5-1s and a great melody full of soul and perfect for improvising over, it really does evoke a feeling of nostalgic days gone past. So much potential.
In days like these, I hope this music can fill you with a sense of hope and i hope you enjoy. Thank you Takanaka-san.
Jake
Sources:
Japanese Wiki:
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AB%98%E4%B8%AD%E6%AD%A3%E7%BE%A9
Takanakas Website:
Musician Credits:
https://sessiondays.com/2018/02/08/1977-masayoshi-takanaka-insatiable-high/