Ino Hidefumi - Just The Two Of Us / Pillow Talk

Year Released: 2006
Genre: Jazz / Soul / Lo-Fi

Description:

Released on Ino Hidefumi’s Café Après-midi label in 2006, this double-sided 7 offers a minimalist reinterpretation of two classic soul staples. His cover of “Just the Two of Us” distills Grover Washington Jr.’s smooth-jazz original into a smoky, organ-led slow groove — intimate, understated, and steeped in Tokyo’s modern café-jazz sensibility. The warm Rhodes tones and gentle drum programming give it a laid-back elegance that feels both nostalgic and contemporary.

On the flip, “Pillow Talk” — originally by Sylvia — gets a similar treatment, transformed into a lo-fi lounge piece where Ino’s analog keys and subtly syncopated rhythm deliver a delicate balance of sensuality and restraint.

This single captures Ino Hidefumi’s signature aesthetic: breathing quiet sophistication into soul classics, reshaping them into mellow, headphone-ready urban jazz gems