Jun Fukamachi -- Letter to New York

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The first time that I ever went to New York City was in 1993 when it was already in the midst of being cleaned up. I was still quite nervous about going there though because of all of the stories that I had heard about The Big Apple in the past and its nickname of being The World's Most Dangerous City. But taking that one-hour hop from Toronto to New York and spending a few days there with friends was a revelatory and enjoyable one. I think the only tense moment, even if you would call it that, was when one guy in a trench coat came up to us on the edge of Central Park and opened up his "store" asking if we needed any drugs. I politely declined saying that "Sorry but I am cutting down this week". He must have pegged me automatically as a Canadian.

Having said all that, I'm convinced that movie makers and Japanese musicians were in love with New York City despite all of the crime, aggression and financial woes that it was suffering in the 1970s. Writing this article, I was reminded of not only the late songsmith and keyboardist Jun Fukamachi's（深町純）"On The Move" album from 1978 but there was also Shigeru Suzuki's（鈴木茂）"Kennedy Airport" from that same year.

I already did Fukamachi's title track from "On The Move" but I have here another scintillating track from the album, "Letter to New York". I think the only thing missing from the title is the word "Love" since the music by Fukamachi seems to be absolutely dripping with a heartwarming Manhattan-hugging fusion of jazz and bluesy funk. It's all seasoned with Michael Brecker's tenor sax, Will Lee's bass and Richard Tee's piano accompanying the crooning vocals of Zachery Sanders backed by Ullanda McCullough. Brecker's sax solo so belongs in New York that it probably deserves a key to the city. "Letter to New York" may be a creation of its time but I would still be happy with it being an accompaniment to any future arrival back in the titular city.