Awesome stuff!



This is a clip from 1979:


[Edited 5/19/09 22:03pm]

A Japanese student gave me a copy of Galactic Funk a few years ago. Might have to give it another spin.

...

I a have a handful of their import albums from the early 80's. Someone also played me an audio tape of Casiopea and Level 42 having a good-natured "battle of the bands"....that was fun!






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paligap said:

I had a feeling you'd know this band.

this seems right up t/A's alley...pretty cool...

paligap said:

Ah... here it is:

coolcat said:

Yup, that's it!




...

More of Japan's fusion artists...

Kazumi Watanabe




T-Square


I'm really digging this stuff...

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I heard alot of these groups over the years , but My favorite has always been Kazumi Watanabe--and may be because of the way his "Mobo" albums stood out in the mid-80's. After a few years of playing radio-friendly Pop-jazz guitar, he really broke out, first with the fusion of Ganaesia, then with the Mobo project - an interesting mix of Ska/Reggae, Jazz and Rock Influences, played with a double rhythm section-- Sly and Robbie on drum and bass, along with Marcus Miller and Omar Hakim, also on drum and bass!

I remember buying this album on the same day that Prince's Purple Rain album was released--and I loved both, but for completely different reasons --

I knew Purple Rain was gonna launch Prince to new heights in popularity...
...but I was blown away by Kazumi's album because it sounded so fresh and different to me--it Certainly wasn't gonna get any airplay, it was too different for that--but for me it certainly was an exciting , new sound...




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paligap said:

Awesome!

I do like that 3-piece format. Gives a lot of space to the music... And Kazumi really seems to do a lot of interesting things sonically with the guitar...

Terumasa Hino

Pyramid


Still Be Bop


Samba De La Cruz : http://www.imeem.com/peop...e-la-cruz/



Teruo Nakamura

Cat




Tiger Okoshi





Sadao Watanabe & Hiroshi Fukumura

Hunt Up The Wind




Satoru Shinoya - Trans Cafe : http://www.imeem.com/peop...rans-cafe/


Native Son - Savanna Hot Line : http://www.imeem.com/peop...-hot-line/


Naniwa Express - Believin' : http://www.imeem.com/peop...-believin/


Masoto Honda - After School Like Sunday : http://www.imeem.com/peop...ke-sunday/

Thanks Shango!

coolcat said:

You're welcome coolcat

I just remembered 2 more albums from guitarist Makoto Horiuchi :

"Nside" (1985) and his selftitled project (1984) were both released on Quincy Jones' Qwest label, though i just discovered that the 1984-album originally came out on Path Records.
Makoto's selftitled album is my fave, with tracks like : No Tellin / Equinox / Funky Fuj / San Francisco Ondo / Fook Sang (Rebirth) / Dark Mood / Spirit Dance.
His band includes drummer Billy "Shoes" Johnson and keyboardist Philip Woo, both from the group Maze & Frankie Beverly.


[Edited 5/21/09 7:57am]

coolcat said:

That's a very cool version of "Unicorn" you posted, originally from his "To Chi Ka"-project around 1980 :



It was one of the first cd's i bought in the late 80's, lol, and like Paligap posted earlier, it includes indeed Marcus "Thriller" Miller.
Other cats on here are :

- Kenny Kirkland / Warren Benhardt (keyboards)
- Steve Jordan / Peter Erskine (drums)
- Sammy Figueroa (percussion)
- Tony Levin (fretless bass)
- Mike Mainieri (vibraphone)

Here's the studio-version of Unicorn





And still have plans to check one day this set below, from 1978. I found most of Kazumi's
early work of the late 70's so far, but this might be another interesting project to explore.


[Edited 5/21/09 8:17am]

I like this thread.

Shango said:

I have that first Makoto album! Never heard the second one, though....





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paligap said:

"Nside" is a more vocal-album, with Portia Griffn as one of the leadsingers. I also thought that Claytoven Richardson from Bill Summers Summer Heat is on there,
but as for now i can't check the linernotes because all my music is temporarily stored somewhere else. My house s going through a make-over, lol.

TRON said: