Blues News from Japan




February, 1999

JAMMIN' IN JAPAN

The details of the second Jook Festival (following the first one in Nov., 98) has just been announced. It will feature Long John Hunter, Walter "Wolfman" Washington and The Roadmasters, and Bob Log III. The dates are March 12 in Tokyo at the Akasaka Blitz, and at the Banana Hall in Osaka on the 13th. It will be the first tour to Japan for Hunter and Bob Log III. Hunter's tour to Japan was once scheduled three years back, but was canceled somehow, and I hope he can make it this time. Maybe some of you know that Bob Log III is a new artist from Fat Possum (a masked guitar player) and it would be interesting to see what kind of show he will be putting on, as he's completely unknown in Japan.

I went to see the final tour of Ukadan on December 18 at the Kudan Hall. The big hall was packed with fans hoping to see the veteran band for the last time. They did a set lasting about 100 minutes in a simple acoustic settings with just the four of them. They kicked off the show with Muddy's "Rollin' And Tumblin'" and played many of their classics as well as the recent ones.

Now that Ukadan is hibernating, it looks like we are going to see much solo activities of individual members from now on. The guitarist of the band Kantaro Uchida has just released a new all-acoustic album titled "Ikinone (translation: Breath)" (Columbia COCP-30207), and on this he teams up with Itsuro Shimoda, another veteran singer/guitarist. This one features music in singer-songwriter approach and there isn't any straightforward blues on it, but it features some great bluesy guitar works of Kantaro.

Singer/guitarist of Ukadan Atsuki Kimura also has a new one out. This one is also an acoustic duo album, a collaboration with guitarist Junji Ariyama titled "Kimura-kun, Ariyama-kun" (UK Project UKDL 001). While Kantaro's work is in soft sentimental mood, Kimura's new one is much more humorous.

Harumachi Family Band of Kobe has celebrated its 20th year, and released their second album on this occasion. The album is titled "Tasogare Rokko Ichiban-gai (translation: Rokko 1st Street at Sunset)" (Pandora Record SAMP-09510), and it contains a heart warming set of jug band style country blues. There are some good original song on it, but the cover of Jesse Fuller's "San Francisco Bay Blues" was especially impressive. They do it with lyrics in Japanese singing about the city of Kobe instead of the Frisco Bay.

P-Vine Records released CDs containing the rare gospel recordings from Savoy label. There are 7 CDs altogether (PCD-5442, 5443, 5444, 5445, 5446, 5447, 5463; each sold separately). Though many of the singers and groups on them look unfamiliar to many of us, they all are exceptionally good! These tracks were taken from the record collection of Ken-ichi Sasaki, one of the greatest blues/gospel record collector in Japan and a well known writer. He has over 50,000 records in his collection. Isn't that something? These CDs are limited editions, but the record stores say the feedback from their customers on this CD has been very good, and it seems that they're going to be sold out in no time. If you are interested, Hurry! Here are some of the names on them: Progressive Four, Selah Singers, Five Trumpets, Lincoln Gospel Singers, Caravans, Lucille Parks Singers, Prof. Alex Bradford, Marion Williams, and many, many more.

Also from P-Vine is the Vee-Jay Box of Jimmy Reed (PCD-5454/5459; 6 CD set). You may know that Charly label also has 6 CD set of Reed containing every released works of Reed on Vee-Jay (139 tracks), but this P-Vine box also contains previously unreleased rarities which makes it more complete (155 tracks altogether).

Another release from P-Vine is Lurrie Bell's "The Blues Caravan Live at Pit Inn 1982" (PCD-5470) which is a live album from his only Japan tour to date. He is backed up by Japanese blues stalwarts including Hitoshi Koide on guitar, Tadashi Kobori on bass, and Teruo Matsumoto on drums (the rhythm section of the legendary West Road Blues Band).

Unfortunately there are no blues programs on major Japanese radio or TV stations, but there is one radio program on local radio station featuring blues. The program is called "The Blues And Gospel Hours" on Musashino FM (78.2MHz) in suburban Tokyo. It is a 45-minute program aired once a month (on every 4th Sunday of the month from 3:15p.m.) with hosts Kei and Hisae Miyazaki, and as the title suggests, some good blues and gospel music are played on it. I sure hope the big stations would have similar kind of programs, but sadly blues music isn't big enough to make that come true.

B.B. King's show is scheduled in February at the Blue Note clubs, and despite the high admission fee (12,000Yen=approximately US$100.-), it seems that the advance tickets are selling quite well. The popularity of the king of the blues never seems to fade away.

By the way, A magazine named Blues Market helps me a lot when I write this article. It is a very informative bi-monthly magazine that covers the blues scenes across Japan in details. Unfortunately it is written in Japanese only, but for the blues fans in Japan wanting to check out where to hang out, this magazine is a must. Mie Senoh, the editor of this magazine, is also writes for other publications such as Blues & Soul Records. Her husband, Weeping Harp Senoh, one of the top blues harmonica player in Japan.

(1/29/99)





Tasogare Rokko Ichibangai
by Harumachi Family Band







Savoy Gospel Rarities Vol. 1
Various Artists
(P-Vine PCD-5442)










Blues Market







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