Sansui '4 Channel Golden Stage' Japanese FM QS Broadcasts

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steelydave

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Normally when I post one of these kinds of threads I've got a ton of info to share, but this time I'm hoping that by starting a thread maybe I'll create a kind of "central repository" for information and maybe we can collectively make some new discoveries. Annoyingly, there were a box of tapes for auction on Yahoo Japan a year or two ago of tapes recorded off the air from performances in this series and I forgot to save the images, but I'm hoping that someone like @Mark Anderson or @fizzywiggs41 might have these, or more info to add to my research.

As I said, information on this is scarce - all of what I have comes from a couple of short Billboard news items, a few Japanese bootleg collectors websites and YouTube - but in a nutshell, it seems that "4 Channel Golden Stage" was a radio program broadcast in QS matrix (being sponsored by Sansui) that aired on four Japanese FM stations (the Japanese quadraphonic wiki page says it "was broadcast on FM Tokyo , FM Osaka , and FM Aichi .") from possibly as early as 1971 through at least 1975.

It was a one-hour program that ran on Sundays, culled from live performances of both Japanese and Western artists in various Tokyo venues, with the broadcasts usually occurring between two to four weeks after the performance was given. The fact that this was seemingly a weekly show that ran over the course of several years means there could be dozens, if not hundreds of performances that were aired as part of this series. The fact that the performances weren't aired live is interesting in that it suggests that these were possibly recorded to multitrack and mixed to quad after the fact, which makes one wonder if discrete masters or multitracks exist somewhere in the vault of a Japanese radio station.

Broadcast DateRecording DateArtistLocationInfo SourceYouTube
Broadcast Date
YYYY-MM-DD
Recording Date
YYYY-MM-DD
ArtistLocation
1971-??-??1971-??-??Oscar Peterson TrioShinjuku Kosei Nenkin Kaikan, Tokyo_[YouTube]
1973-??-??1973-??-??Ryoko Moriyama
森山良子
__[YouTube]
1973-??-??1973-??-??Engelbert HumperdinckTokyo__
1973-10-141973-09-24Kimiko KasaiPostal Savings Hall, Tokyo'Commuter Friend' blog_
1974-09-011974-07-16Herbie HancockShinjuku Kosei Nenkin Kaikan, TokyoBillboard 9/7/74 pg 48_
1974-12-011974-11-21Tom JonesNippon Budokan, TokyoBillboard Dec. 14/74 pg. 58_
1974-12-041974-??-??Toshiko Akiyoshi & Sadao Watanabe Big Band
秋吉敏子 & 渡辺貞夫
_<date uncertain>[YouTube]
1974-12-081974-11-09Nancy WilsonShibuya Kokaido, TokyoBillboard Dec. 14/74 pg. 58_
1975-02-021975-01-22Miles DavisShinjuku Kosei Nenkin Kaikan, Tokyo'Days of Rain and Radio' blog_
1975-02-091975-01-22Miles DavisShinjuku Kosei Nenkin Kaikan, Tokyo<2nd set or rebroadcast>_
1975-05-191975-??-??Mitsuru Furuya / George Otsuka
古谷充 / ジョージ大塚
Tokyo City Center Hall ("5 Days in Jazz" concert series)
日本都市センターホール
_[YouTube]
1975-08-311975-07-23Toshiyuki Miyama & The New HerdShinjuku Kosei Nenkin Kaikan, Tokyo
"Newport Return" Concert
_[YouTube]
1975-??-??1975-??-??Toshiyuki Miyama & The New Herd<unknown>_[YouTube]
1975-??-??1975-09-??Dave Liebman Lookout FarmTokyo[YouTube]
197?-04-28197?-??-??Yosuke Yamashita Trio
山下洋輔トリオ
<probably 1974 as 4/28 falls on a Sunday>'Aoki's Jazz' website_
197?-04-25197?-??-??Albert King / B.B. KingNakano Sun Plaza
<probably 1971 as 4/25 falls on a Sunday>
'Aoki's Jazz' website_

Billboard-1974-09-07-Herbie-Hancock.jpgBillboard-1974-12-14-Tom-Jones---Nancy-Wilson.jpg
 
Dave, I just checked my files and although I remember having some home recorded cassette pictures but I cannot find them and the only info I have is on the Radio Broadcast page.
 
I think you pretty much have what I've dug up in Billboard, Steely.

There is a little more concerning Tokyo FM .

Abbey Lincoln live from the Jean Jean , Tokyo 30th June 1973, and

Tokyo Music Festival featuring: Kenny Gamble , Leon Husk , and The Three Degrees...September 1974. Sponsored by Sony.



But my thread sure has A great deal of Syndication's, all seemingly from the U.S. though.

I will bump the post for Tokyo FM , if you wish to peruse.
 
Weird to see listed Gamble and Huff, which were the producers, and then only Three Degrees - and not any other big PIR act. Nevertheless it would be a nice find, Three Degrees is the only major PIR act that got a string of hits but didn't have a quad release.
 
Weird to see listed Gamble and Huff, which were the producers, and then only Three Degrees - and not any other big PIR act. Nevertheless it would be a nice find, Three Degrees is the only major PIR act that got a string of hits but didn't have a quad release.

Yes I agree . The Third Degree would be nice in QS .
However if I had to chose my personal faves it would be have to be
Oscar Peterson's Trio, or Miles Davis.

I wonder... as I always have with these broadcasts in matrix quad, where are they now ?
And why were they not properly advertised for us Quadraphiles , so we could add our 2 cents to debate their performances. In this case Sansui's promotion.
 
But I found this from Sansui's 4CHANNEL Scene

View attachment 101688
Here it is reformatted. Hope this helps. Thank you for the articles.

April 1975

Four Channel FM
Popular In Japan


Tokyo, Japan ... Japan's nationwide network of commercial FM stations is apparently moving in force into four-channel broadcasting. World-famous musicians are being broadcast live every Sunday on a combined network of FM Tokyo, FM Aichi, FM Osaka, and FM Fukuoka, using an hour long program, the "Sansui Four-Channel Golden Stage." The volume of phone calls from listeners indicates popular acceptance of this new type of broadcasting.
Two of the most popular artists broadcasting in four channel were Miles Davis and Tom Jones who were recorded live at their performances in Tokyo. The next major artist will be Englebert Humperdink whose broadcast is scheduled to be made in a few weeks.
The shows originate weekly from the facilities of FM Tokyo and will continue to feature major artists each week.

August 1975

SANSUI QS 4-CHANNEL ANALYSIS AT JAPANESE TV ENGINEERS' CONFERENCE


New York ... The theoretical background of Sansui's QS 4-channel system was recently examined in detail at a conference of the Institute of Television Engineers of Japan. The conference, with an estimated attendance of 1500 engineers and scientists, was held at Kyoto University of Industry and Textiles from July 14 to July 16 in commemoration of the Institute's 25th anniversary.
One of the lecturers in the four-channel broadcasting division was Susumu Takahashi of Sansui Electric Co., Ltd. Takahashi is responsible for the development of the QS 4-channel system. He explained the signal conversion theory for QS 4-channel, drawing on the color television principle as an example of similar signal conversion.
The same division also hosted five other lecturers, including a report by Yoshimitsu Hamada, director of JOAU-FM. Hamada stated that his experience with the QS 4-channel system in producing Japan's only live 4-channel program, the Four-Channel Golden Stage, has been extremely satisfactory and successful.
Sansui has been making similar technical presentations this year at various conferences around the world, including the 50th Audio Engineering Society Convention held in March in London, and the 51st Audio Engineering Society Convention held in May in Los Angeles.
 
Ok, THANKS @Old Quad Guy

@steelydave
-Unfortunately those two mentions of Sansui's Golden Stage , are all I could find in Sansui's own Reporter .

Perhaps I can find out more on American History Radio...FM magazines.
Looks like I got some homework to do.

👨‍🎓
 
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