I've been waiting to get this particular track up for a while now and finally I get to do it. But let me get this out of my system...something about that iconography for the album cover has me thinking Pac-man!
Anyways, I've been listening to a number of tracks from guitarist Kazumi Watanabe's（渡辺香津美）May 1980 fusion album "To Chi Ka", and they're all great. However the one that has stood out for me is Track 2, "Black Canal" at 6:45 of the above video for the entire album. Reading the Wikipedia article for "To Chi Ka", the album is jam-packed with some of the finest musicians from jazz, rock and the middle ground of fusion including Kenny Kirkland on keyboards, Marcus Miller on bass, and Steve Jordan on percussion.
I won't pretend that I'm in the know for any of these virtuosos, but my immediate reaction on hearing "Black Canal" is that this must have been the melodic equivalent of an All-Star game in one of the major team sports such as baseball or hockey. This was the type of music that I used to listen to on radio at home and in the car even before I realized that I enjoyed it, and "Black Canal" is the amped-up version with Watanabe, Kirkland, et al. immensely embracing their jam sessions. I've read that a lot of the album included plenty of improvisation and it's incredible to hear all of these people in synch with each other.
"To Chi Ka" hit No. 10 on Oricon. According to the J-Wiki article for the album, it was named after Watanabe's Hokkaido dog, Tochika.🐕
To Chi Ka is easily my favorite Kazumi Watanabe album. One of the best jazz-fusion albums ever, right alongside greats like Jeff Beck's Blow by Blow and Jean-Luc Ponty's Enigmatic Ocean.
ReplyDeleteThis album was produced in the perfect environment when studio musicians were at their best and jazz-fusion was at its peak. There was a video of Kazumi and the others rehearsing tracks for this album in the studio, but I guess it got taken down.
Hi, Michael. From what I've been reading in the YouTube comments, most of the folks are probably willing to bow down to "To Chi Ka" and state "We're not worthy!". Would be a nice acquisition someday.:)
DeleteI got a box set of Kazumi's works from CDJapan awhile ago which included To Chi Ka. Naturally I was blown away. Perhaps the only comparable experience was when I acquired Casiopea's self-titled debut album which featured the Brecker brothers and David Sanborn on horns. They just don't make fusion albums like these anymore. Don't know why. I may come across a great track every now and then but never an incredible full album on par.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Sanborn, he was on that wonderful ballad by Minako Yoshida, "Hoho ni Yoru no Akari". One of the best by her! https://kayokyokuplus.blogspot.com/2012/04/minako-yoshida-hoho-ni-yoru-no-akari.html
DeleteNice track. Total '80s city pop drenched in AOR vibes, reminiscent of the stuff commonly heard on AM stations back in the day. Sanborn and other notable studio musicians performed for a wide variety of artists from practically everywhere. This track is suitable for relaxing on a cool night. Thanks for sharing.
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