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

[Hornbein]

The musical style called fusion lasted only a few years in the West but caught on in Japan. I supposed that's natural for a nation whose symbol is a fusion-fueled fireball. The exponents were T Square and Cassiopeia, which are getting pretty old but still doing it. Their influence was mostly indirect, their members working as session men for TV theme songs that would be much too hot for the USA. So two generations of both boys and girls have grown up exposed to this stuff since infancy. Here's a piece released literally today. https://youtu.be/exbIYCTQdpo?si=oL6wGe5Dn4WPLvAO&t=97 by guitarist Rei a.k.a. Suzaku. She's almost twenty years older than drummer Kanade Sato, who was able to sing the melody of Chick Corea's Spain before she could speak a word in any language.

 

[Hornbein]

You can't tell in that clip but bass player Juna Serita has got great groove. Here she is with Tokyo Brass Style. I saw this incarnation in a Tokyo jazz festival three years ago.. They didn't yet have this fancy choreography.

 

[Hornbein]

Phenomenal ebassist Nick Schendzielos.

 

[difalcojr]

Fusion music is new to me. I did not know of any fusion music or fusion groups until listening to some of your musical posts on the other threads. I like it a lot. Hope all the Asian groups tour in the U.S. soon. Might you consider putting a lot of your favorites or well-known ones all together here on this post for new listeners like myself? Only if you want to. Thanks for posting this genre already. Good stuff.

 

[Hornbein]

Fusion music is new to me. I did not know of any fusion music or fusion groups until listening to some of your musical posts on the other threads. I like it a lot. Hope all the Asian groups tour in the U.S. soon. Might you consider putting a lot of your favorites or well-known ones all together here on this post for new listeners like myself? Only if you want to. Thanks for posting this genre already. Good stuff.

OK.

One of the two original fusion albums. Only recording with guitarist Bill Connors. He was a weird guy. He is the only guitarist who reminds me of Rei.



The other original fusion album. It was popular. Guitarist John McLaughlin started the speed thing which persists to this day. Drummer Billy Cobham also changed everything. There are live recordings of concerts that are mind boggling. They have never been equalled.



Steve Morse with ebassist Jerry Peek. They couldn't make it so Jerry went back to graphic design. Steve got tired of poverty and joined Deep Purple.



Senri Kawaguchi's Triangle. Ebassist Armand Sabal-Lecco is terrific. Just goes to show how good you can be and still remain unknown.

 

[Hornbein]

Jeff Beck -- Blue Wind

 

[Hornbein]

Tetsuo Sakurai's Gentle Hearts.



That about does it for great fusion bands. It's very hard to do and doesn't pay.

 

[Hornbein]

Cassiopeia. I call this sort of thing "smooth fusion."

 

[Hornbein]

Etsugi Ogawa on guitar. I love the way this solo builds up gradually, a rare thing these days. You also get to see Senri Kawaguchi wearing a Peter Pan collar.

 

[Hornbein]

Guitarist Koichi Yabori is the star here.

 

[difalcojr]

What a feast of music! Thank you! So electric, high energy, fast. Nice to see jazz so alive in Japan today.
I missed Return to Forever back when, with its Captain Senor Mouse and Space Circus (sounds like Jeff Beck a bit there). Like nothing I have ever heard. McLaughlin's Meeting of the Spirits and Morse's Cruise Missile, wow.
Senri Kawaguchi Triangle, a modern version of Bill Evans on piano, Scott LaFaro on bass, and, I think Senri reminds me of Art Blakey on drums? Great cover of Brubeck's Blue Rondo a la Turk. Ginza Blues drum intro.
Tetsuo Sakurai is amazing, sounds influenced by Hendrix too, Casiopea a nice fusion of funk and jazz. Etsugi Ogawa and Koichi Yabori superb. Jeff Beck only one I knew. Love his Blow by Blow album too. All are virtuosi to be able to play that fast. Don't think that even many good musicians can play that fast. No wonder they are all so thin. Ten Years After played rock at superspeed too. You are right, greats unknown. Until now.
Found this one which I think fits too. It may already have been posted, not sure. Great drum solo.

 

[Hornbein]

I'd say drummer Sato excels with Latin beats.

Here she is playing something composed by her Dad. It appears he played all the other instruments. He's an illustrator for Nintendo.



The remaining trap drummer is Tamu Murata, who unfortunately mostly plays in mediocre rock bands. This is the theme from Lupin The Third, the anime James Bond of Japan. He's been popular for fifty years so everyone knows this tune.



Since you like trad jazz too, you can't beat this.



In Japan middle school bands are as good as music college bands in the USA. It could be the most musical country on Earth. Rock, jazz, classical, bossa nova, you name it.

 

[Hornbein]

For fusion, how could I forget Planet Geisha? It has my fave synthesizer solo, though I believe he used a sequencer and didn't actually play it. I don't care about stuff like that.

 

[difalcojr]

In Japan middle school bands are as good as music college bands in the USA. It could be the most musical country on Earth. Rock, jazz, classical, bossa nova, you name it.

Only instrument I could ever play well was the record player. Grew up with lots of music always around. Japanese bands are so talented. Like you say, Rei and Senri above do more with jazz and fusion, and more rock in this one. Seems like they rock up jazz and jazz up rock.

 

[Hornbein]

Only instrument I could ever play well was the record player. Grew up with lots of music always around. Japanese bands are so talented. Like you say, Rei and Senri above do more with jazz and fusion, and more rock in this one. Seems like they rock up jazz and jazz up rock.

Rei had rock bands for years. She's about 38 years old. I think she's a lot better at fusion though.

Here's Senri's first big gig. She was 15 years old at the time.



Here's a recent one in Canada. She's playing to a recording at first then with a local band. They surely have some great fusion musicians there in Montreal.

 

[difalcojr]

Not sure if this is posted anywhere already. So, would consider this rock fusion then.

 

[difalcojr]

Would this be considered fusion then in 1959? Amazing sounds and speed.

 

[Hornbein]

Rie burnin it up.

 

[Hornbein]

Would this be considered fusion then in 1959? Amazing sounds and speed.

That's called free jazz. Fusion generally has electric instruments and was invented in about 1971.

 

[pinball1970]

I have some catching up to do!

 

[difalcojr]

That's called free jazz. Fusion generally has electric instruments and was invented in about 1971.

Thanks. Don't see this one posted anywhere? This is fusion, yes?

 

[Hornbein]

Thanks. Don't see this one posted anywhere? This is fusion, yes?

Fusion all right. I think drummer Richard Bailey sounds great. Shuffle style drumming.

Here's Blue Wind featuring Jeff with Jan Hammer from the Mahavishnu Orchestra. On his usual keyboard but also on keyboard bass and even drums! He sure can play.

 

[Hornbein]

Not sure if this is posted anywhere already. So, would consider this rock fusion then.

Wow that's great. Fusion all right. Bassist Juna Serita is particularly good on this one. I used to go see her play every chance I got. She was in Tokyo Brass Style which had a regular gig at a horse racing track in Kawasaki.

I tried to buy the album download but "not available" in Indonesia. Dang.

Here's Juna with Senri Kawaguchi's jaw dropping version of drummer Robbie MacIntosh. I think Juna's four bar bass solo is the greatest.



I'm gonna go back to Tokyo and check these bands out.

 

[difalcojr]

Good sounding music. Tight.
Found a live version of one of my favorites by Jeff Beck. From his Yardbird days. Quite an expanded live version. Would you consider this rock or fusion?

 

[difalcojr]

I'd call this early rock fusion then, this one song on the album. Al Kooper and Michael Bloomfield.

 

[difalcojr]

not sure if this version posted anywhere else. "Train kept a rollin'" in it too.

 

[Hornbein]

Japanese fusion. Sounds more like smooth jazz David Sanborn to me, but they surely can play. To me the drummer is the star. Note that they are all reading charts. I bet the drummer and keyboard player are there for this gig only and this wasn't rehearsed.

 

[Hornbein]

Ami Nakazono on alto sax.

 

[difalcojr]

Excellent. Is that Senri Kawaguchi again on drums again? Like how the two drums trade leads at the end.

 

[Hornbein]

Excellent. Is that Senri Kawaguchi again on drums again? Like how the two drums trade leads at the end.

Senri again.