Naniwa Express -- Believin'

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from 663highland

 

For fusion bands, new fans to the Japanese variety have often thought about Casiopea and The Square, and they're both from the Kanto region including the Greater Tokyo Area. 

Well, the Kansai area wasn't going to be left out in the cold when it came to fusion (I think there's a metaphorical joke in there somewhere). Naniwa Express（ナニワエキスプレス）was formed in 1977 and the lineup includes Shimane Prefecture bassist Kou Shimizu（清水興）, guitarist Kazuhiko Iwami（岩見和彦）from Wakayama Prefecture, Kyoto keyboardist Kenji Nakamura（中村建治）, Kagawa's Rikiya Higashihara（東原力哉）as the drummer, and Makoto Aoyagi（青柳誠）, also from Kyoto on piano and saxophone.

Their first album, "No Fuse", came out in May 1982 and the lead track is "Believin'". Quite the percolating funk piece, Iwami shows off some sparkling moves on the guitar while Shimizu leads with some boppy bass. Of course, Aoyagi comes in with his beefy saxophone chops for some added summery spice.