Today's Fusion Music: T Square, Cassiopeia, Rei & Kanade Sato

[Hornbein]

90's? Sounds contemporary to me.

 

[Hornbein]

Music by Mike Stern from 1985 but sounds contemporary.



Mike also writes beautiful ballads.

 

[morrobay]

When disco and punk collide.

 

[Hornbein]

A brand new supergroup. In particular ebass player Wakazaemon is terrific. How can anyone get around the instrument that quickly and smoothly? It seems superhuman.



She is five feet tall.

 

[Hornbein]

More amazing ebass playing.

 

[Hornbein]

Frank Gambale, 65 years old and still doing it great. The inventor of sweep picking.

Catchy tune.

The original.



I like the South Korean dance version.

 

[Hornbein]

Better than ever.

 

[difalcojr]

For sure. Their new album is really good, all 10 tracks, Worth the price, thanks. Some slow songs too. This one sounds more pop than jazz, like Kenny G. a bit, maybe, rich, smooth sound like Billy Vaughn's orchestra. Like the drumming in the background. What a great band!

 

[morrobay]

Not really fusion fan. But if this is fusion - not bad

 

[Hornbein]

Most complicated beat in the world?

Senri Kawaguchi, Flux Capacitor. (The title comes from Back To The Future.)

 

[Hornbein]

The Jazz Avengers do it again.

I'm in Japan but buying tickets online here is so difficult I can't go see them.

 

[difalcojr]

Bummer. They are amazing! Have their own sound. Think they are very popular now.
That Dynamogenic video before and band sounded like Steely Dan a little.

 

[Hornbein]

Ebassist Juna Serita gets my vote as the funkiest non-black musician on Earth. She improved a lot after she gained weight. Maybe you have to actually be fat to get that fat sound. It works for Dennis Chambers and Skeet Harris.

That's her on the lower left.

 

[difalcojr]

My vote too. So, they each wrote a song on the album. Here's hers. Almost put this in the disco music thread, it's got that beat.

 

[difalcojr]

OMG, I put the same one on. Sorry, not paying attention at all. Bad day at the PF all around! I'm out.

 

[morrobay]

They have my vote too.

 

[morrobay]

These two groups sound like they are coming from the Jazz Crusaders style: Borderline Jazz/Jazz Fusion.

 

[morrobay]

 

[Hornbein]

These two groups sound like they are coming from the Jazz Crusaders style: Borderline Jazz/Jazz Fusion.

That's mainstream in Japan. The David Sanborn/Brecker Brothers sound is what sells. This has been going on since about 1978 with T Square and Casiopea. Most of T Square's stuff is too smooth for me but you inspired me to give it another chance. This one from 1994 burns like a forest fire.

T Square 1994

Far ahead of the USA but we knew nothing of it. Here's Casiopea from 1979 with the virtuoso rhythm section of Akira Jimbo and Tetsuo Sakurai. By the way, there is a famous anime called Akira that starred a fictional Akira and Tetsuo. I like to think that was intentional.

Casiopea 1979

Both bands remain popular to this day. This thread may be "Today's Fusion" but if this 45 year old stuff came out today it would sound fresh so what the heck. I bet that anime music evolved from this but I wasn't around then and can't say.

Today's young artists have heard this stuff since they were in diapers so it comes naturally to them. They mix freely with the old guard and often perform and record with them. There is a certain amount of tension in that some of the young guns would rather do edgier stuff, but that hurts your income.

Japan is a much fierier nation than the USA, that's how this music can be popular there. The national symbol is an enormous fireball (the Rising Sun). That's what you get when you have a nation that started out as a colony of fishermen, the world's most dangerous occupation. Japan has very little farmland so there aren't many farmers to mellow out the place. It is a very restrained society that smolders under the surface. It's like that other national symbol, Mount Fuji. Mostly it sits there under its snows but every now and then blows its top, spewing lava and ash everywhere. By the way Bali's Mount Agung is shaped almost exactly like Mount Fuji. Same thing. I've never seen it, but on (rare) suitable occasions Bali people run amok.

Anyway thanks for getting me to give this another chance. They've made over a hundred albums between them with no end of changes of personnel so it's easy to miss the good stuff.

 

[Hornbein]

Senri Kawaguchi -- Jinshin No Ran



Senri was hired by Shinto priests to drum for their album. This is about a war in 672.

 

[Hornbein]

A touch of Purple Haze in there. The precision of this drumming just won't quit.

 

[pinball1970]

Most complicated beat in the world?

Senri Kawaguchi, Flux Capacitor. (The title comes from Back To The Future.)

Fantastic musicianship all round.

 

[Hornbein]

Super classical/jazz pianist Riyoko Takagi is visiting New York City for a month. Here is what she has to say.

Derrick Hodge and The Color of Noize band performed their own beautiful world with their unique way which has some marriage of classical strings part unison and the funky grooves of the rhythm section which expressed the sound I have never heard.Especially,the last two songs were so exciting..!!Madison Guidry the drummer was so hot and killing me with some superb tequniques.What a solo performance!And the guitarist Simon Martinez was also terrific,the trio sound of these two guys and Derrick sounded crossover which easily transcended jazz,fusion,rock and other genres.Was so excited.I felt like I’d really like to join them right now..!!!

And heerrrre's Derrick!



This classical/jazz fusion thing could become a movement. I hope so. I thought classical made a huge mistake when they trashed harmony, melody, and rhythm.

Meanwhile in Tokyo in ten days I get to see alto sax player Patrick Bartley, Jr. Some think he is the best in the world today. He doesn't list his movements on the Internet so the only way to find out about his gigs is through luck.

 

[Hornbein]

How hot can you get it.



The Jazz Avengers were always a latent fusion band. Senri looked bored as a beat drummer. Looks like they've decided to let their true nature loose and devil take the hindmost.

I believe this is their first international gig so they were, uh, jazzed. Next month they are at Tokyo Dome, the very symbol of Making It, as the opening act of a jazz festival. I saw four of them a couple of days ago and they were ebullient as could be. There was a great deal of girl talk up there on stage.

Note how the Chinese fans can't deal with plurals. I taught English in Bali and never could get anyone to voice a plural.

 

[Hornbein]

Wings / D_Drive​

featuring Yuki

 

[Hornbein]

 

[Hornbein]

At the first the Jazz Avengers were all serious. Then they decided ^%$# that, we'll have fun out there.

 

[Hornbein]

Here's another good one. Etsuji Ogawa burning up that eguitar. Tatsuya Fujimura on ebass doing a great job as is frontperson Miku Yonezawa and the epianist knows hip scales. As usual I wish Miku wouldn't talk so much. That's just the way it is with many women. It's her gig, she can do as she pleases.

​

 

[Hornbein]

Man! This trio can really play. Chizuru is the standout.



I don't care for the composition so skipped over it.

 

[Hornbein]

Drummer



Guitar & Ebass



Synthesizer



I saw the guitarist and ebassist in Tokyo playing covers of classic rock like Toto's Hold The Line.

 

[Hornbein]

 

[Hornbein]

 

[Hornbein]

I prefer this slowed down version.

 

[Hornbein]

I think the ebass player in particular is teriffic.

 

[Hornbein]

Rie a.k.a. Sazuka gets extreme.



At Blue Mood between songs she was quite talkative. The opposite of what I thought. A man in the audience implied she isn't like that in everyday life.