Kenichi Fujimoto -- Asa no Wakare（朝の別れ）

Found this gem in my copy of "Beams" from the "Light Mellow" series. Let me introduce you to "Asa no Wakare" (Mornin' Good-bye) which is the first track from Kenichi Fujimoto's（藤本健一）one and only album "Aperitif" from 1986.

I mean, this is another one of those AOR/City Pop tunes that would get some appreciative applause from The Doobie Brothers including Michael McDonald, right from Note One. The familiar keyboard riff is there, supplied by the amazing Hiroshi Sato（佐藤博）who also provided backing vocals, and there's a pleasant sax solo by Akio Suzuki（鈴木明男）. Fujimoto was the one behind the music while Masanori Matsuo（松尾正徳）took care of the lyrics. Considering the influences involved and how often I've heard them in other genre-specific songs over the years, I am now wondering whether there should be a sub-genre called J-Doobie.

All kidding aside, it was hard to find out much about the singer-songwriter himself. In fact, although there is a J-Wiki entry for Kenichi Fujimoto, it's actually about the drummer for the 90s band ZYYG who simply has the same name, right down to the kanji characters. However, what I could glean from reading the liner notes in "Beams" and one website is that Fujimoto was born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1959. He apparently became a songwriter thanks to an encounter with his high school sempai, bluesy singer Masaki Ueda（上田正樹）, and first gained some fame in the Kansai area for "Memories", a single that became a campaign song for the kids' apparel shop Miki House at around the same time.

To finish off, I have to say that I was impressed by this brief review of the album "Aperitif" from another site. To translate and paraphrase, this is the type of album that one wants to listen to either on a linoleum floor or in a car with a sunroof rather than a tatami room. Well, not to disagree with the author, but I started my City Pop love in my old Ichikawa apartment, and yep, there was a well-worn tatami floor.