KAZUMI WATANABE

Man I've been spinning Jazz and related albums since last September and I say this because this might be a fine record but 3 stars is all I got. Just not huge on the guitar style even though he changes it up plenty and those electronic drums even though neither would keep me from giving this another spin. It's not bad at all. Forgot to mention Kazumi plays synth guitar on here too which I'm not big on but it has it's moments. I mean these are players I'm just not a fan of a lot of this. If I had to pick a couple of favourites one would be "Lim-Poo" with the spacey synths as bass and drums join in then guitar. I enjoyed this track a lot. But the opener is my favourite because of how much it sounds like "Discipline" era KING CRIMSON and Bruford is here!

The album begins with Melancho, an imitation of "Discipline" era King Crimson, where Watanabe overlays guitar parts and string bending solos, impersonating both Fripp and Belew at once. Berlin alternates between his usual flying fingers basslines and Levin-like growls.

The rest of the album is more original, with Bruford being Bruford, with his adept technique making difficult patterns sound smooth and easy. Watanabe and Berlin sound like they were born to play together, pushing each other to more and more challenging lines.

While I wouldn't quite call this a masterpiece, it is a standout work of fusion, which was unusual in the depressing eighties.

His band is spectacular. Bassist Vagabonde and drummer Rikiya Higashara along with percussionist Tomohiro Yahiro are easily up to the task of following Watanabe through his world of fusion, from straight electric jazz rock, to the Weather Report styled Peking Doll to Thelonius Monk influence be-bop. No matter what, the intensity stays high. There is even a piece with a violinist, and Zakir Hussain on tabla (Passy Home) that would give John Mclaughlin's Shakti a run for their money.

Another highlight is Fire Cracker. With a Blues Brothers style rhythm, Jao Jing Yin on pipa and Zhang Lin on yang-qin give the tune a fantastic east Asian flair.

I love this album as much as Watanabe's work with Bill Bruford & Jeff Berlin.