A couple of years before forming Yellow Magic Orchestra with Yukihiro Takahashi and Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono released the 1976 album Bon Voyage Co..  Here’s a funky little tune called ‘Chow Chow Dog’ that combines 9th Ward r&b groove with some skankin’ and lounge singer savoir faire.

I hear echoes of Leon Redbone, Beefheart and Van Dyke Parks in Hosono’s music of this period.
 

 
Here’s a delightful documentary on Hosono (with the American appellation of Harry)  and his re-imagining of American music genres, with an emphasis New Orleans-style R&B, with its Caribbean and Jamaican influences. Featuring live, studio & rehearsal footage. 1974-1977.