Blues News from Japan




October, 1998

There has been a change in the line up of the Park Tower Blues Festival which is going to be held in December. Charles Brown who was billed as the headliner had to cancel due to his health problems. As mentioned in the last issue, it looks like he is not going to tour anymore. It is very sad that he's not coming, but Pinetop Perkins will be filling in for him. He will be appearing with Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin, and this should be a good one. Both Pinetop and Bob came to Japan once with Muddy Waters in 1980, and their appearance at the Park Tower Fest will be the first one after that.

A new blues festival series is going to start soon. The fest is called The Jook and it will be focusing on the hard rocking blues that would appeal to rock fans as well. The first of the series will be held on Oct. 31 in Osaka, and Nov. 2 and 3 in Tokyo. The line up includes Popa Chubby, The Fat Possum Juke Joint Caravan (featuring R.L. Burnside, Elmo Williams & Hezekiah Early, and Robert Cage), and Flat Out. Flat Out is a new band lead by Jun-ichiro Matsukawa who is known as the guitarist of the jazz band De-Ga-Show. He also plays in various blues sessions around clubs in Tokyo. Popa Chubby is not so known here yet, but P-Vine Records recently has released 2 CDs of him (one is a best album compiled by yours truly) and he is starting to draw some attention. I hope his first Japan tour would be successful.

Speaking of festivals, Hitachinaka Jazz Festival which I briefly mentioned in the last issue (Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters was among the line up), was a no-show. It was supposed be held for 3 days at the end of August, but heavy rainstorm hit that area during that time, and the Hitachinaka City was flooded. I heard that the artists had to be locked up in the hotel rooms for those three days, and went back home without playing. What a pity! Veterans Bernard Purdie on drums and Jerry Jemmott on bass came for this Fest to back up Carrie Smith, and they postponed their return flight to have an instant jam session at Jirokichi in Tokyo. Though this gig took place on a short notice (they actually decided to do this a night before the session took place), many Japanese musicians gathered at Jirokichi to jam with them. The session ended with the classic tune from King Curtis's "Live at Fillmore West" album, "Memphis Soul Stew". Purdie said it was the first time for him in 25 years to play this tune with Jemmott. At least it was worth it for them to come to Japan!

If you are interested in seeing Japanese blues artists, it might be a good idea to check out the Kurume Blues Festival which is going to be held in the western part of Japan in Fukuoka Prefecture. The date is October 25, and it will feature good numbers of Japanese blues artists including harpist Nyudo, Nagasaki Slim, and Jujiro.

Pianist Sumito Ariyoshi (also known as "Ariyo") just released a new album from P-Vine Records ("Piano Blue" PCD-5757). Ariyo lived in Chicago till 1988, and played and toured with the giants of the blues such as Robert Jr. Lockwood, Valerie Wellington, Otis Rush, and Jimmy Rogers, so blues fans in Chicago might remember him from back then. He now resides in Kyoto where he leads his own band Ariyo's Shuffle, and he also plays with the Blues Gang lead by Ukadan's Atsuki Kimura. This new album features good solo piano work as well as cuts with Ariyo's Shuffle backing him up. The guest vocalist Stephen Burns sings on 4 cuts.

Setsuna Club Band of Tokyo has released their second album "Kakko Warui Boogie" (Club Dorothy DR-003). They play a good rocking hard driving blues with lyrics sang in Japanese. Harpist Hiro Nishimura has a new album as well. He's been around for sometime playing in blues clubs across the country, but this is his first CD. It's a live album titled "Hoo Doo Booze Live" (Vivid Sound UM-002), and includes songs ranging from New Orleans funk, blues, to original ballads.
(9/28/98)




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