A "Kayo Kyoku Plus" Tribute to Burt Bacharach (1928-2023)

 

I just left a comment for MN, who was lamenting the loss of rock guitarist Makoto Ayukawa（鮎川誠）, about how many of the musical greats in both Japan and overseas we've lost over the last year. And now I got word only in the last few minutes that American composer and pianist Burt Bacharach died yesterday at the age of 94. 

It was only a few weeks ago that I presented "What the World Needs Now Is Love" by Jackie DeShannon as a ROY article, another Bacharach classic and as a song that has been permanently imprinted in my memories as one of the cherished standards. Not surprisingly, the man has been represented throughout the history of "Kayo Kyoku Plus" since his songs were songs that I used to hear all the time through radio and television, and I can say that any of them can be part of the Great American Songbook. And my image of the man will always be as it has been shown above in the "Austin Powers" cameo: sitting by the piano while decked out in a tuxedo giving an understated and dusky performance of one of his hits. He wasn't a great singer but he made other singers great!

This won't be a Reminiscings of Youth entry but more of my Author's Picks in the form of a tribute to the composer. The following are a few covers of his songs by Japanese singers.

Akiko Kobayashi -- I'll Never Fall In Love Again (2013)

Anri -- Close to You (1997)

Aoi Teshima -- Alfie (2008)

Lisa Ono -- Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head (2019)

In addition to the love that Japanese singers have had for Bacharach and his songwriting partner, Hal David, Bacharach's music has had some influence on certain aspects of Japanese pop music thanks to his brand of lounge and orchestral pop of the 1960s whether it be a bit of City Pop and quite a lot on Shibuya-kei. Three songs that come immediately to mind as examples are Hi-Fi Set's "Moon Highway", Ruiko Kurahashi's（倉橋ルイ子）"The Best In My Life" and Pizzicato Five's "Baby Portable Rock".

Allow me to finish this tribute by also noting Bacharach's contribution of an AOR song for singer Hitomi "Penny" Tohyama（遠山ひとみ）, "Our Lovely Days" from 1983; it stands as his first entry in KKP. My condolences to the composer's family, friends and fans, and many thanks to him for his dazzling array of music.

Ryoko Moriyama/Aoi Teshima -- Sayonara no Natsu（さよならの夏）

 

A good Sunday to you wherever you are. Yup, things are getting cooler...we did have that possibly last blast of summer yesterday with the temperatures going into the low 20s Celsius with plenty of sun. Today, I woke up to things being a lot cooler at a mere 4 degrees this morning. However, I did get plenty of sleep last night to compensate for some of the problems I did have slumber-wise the other night that I described in my final article for Saturday.

It's rather appropriate then I start this KKP broadcasting day with a song that will lovingly place you into relaxing slumber. This is "Sayonara no Natsu" (Summer of Farewells) by folk singer Ryoko Moriyama（森山良子）which was released as her 25th single in April 1976 and served as the theme song for the NTV drama of the same title that had its run between April and June of that year. 

I was kinda stuck on how to categorize this ballad which beautifully flows like the freshest water in a cold stream. There are some of those folk elements which is of course Moriyama's area of expertise and in a way, I can even pick up on some New Music elements, but I just decided to go with regular pop or kayo for "Sayonara no Natsu". Written by Yukiko Marimura（万里村ゆき子）and composed by Koichi Sakata（坂田晃一）, that slightly wistful bittersweet flavour in the song has me assuming that the show "Sayonara no Natsu" was probably quite a melodramatic one.

Now, if "Sayonara no Natsu" above sounds rather familiar to you, then you may be a Studio Ghibli fan because a cover version of this was sung by Aoi Teshima（手嶌葵）as the ending theme for 2011's "Kokurikozaka kara"（コクリコ坂から）, translated as either "From Coquelicot Hill" or "From Up on Poppy Hill". For me, this version of "Sayonara no Natsu" has an even grander and more rustic feeling (as strange as that description might read). I'm assuming that the instrument from the intro is a pianica which, along with Teshima's whispery vocals, gives the arrangement that wistful feeling of nostalgia from Moriyama's original while the shimmering strings provide that "bigger picture" sensation. Interestingly enough, both "Kokurikozaka kara" and NTV's "Sayonara no Natsu" were set in Yokohama.

The full title for Teshima's version is "Sayonara no Natsu ~ Kokurikozaka kara" and this was her 4th single released in June 2011. It peaked at No. 22 on Oricon. One of the songs included on the single is "Asa Gohan no Uta"（朝ごはんの歌）, a happy jazzy ditty that I've already written about. I also read that the famous "Ue wo Muite Arukou" (上を向いて歩こう) by Kyu Sakamoto（坂本九）had also been brought in as an insert song for the movie.

Aoi Teshima -- Asa Gohan no Uta（朝ごはんの歌）

Whenever I visited Ebisu Garden Place in Tokyo, some minutes' walk from JR Ebisu Station, I always noticed that stately building off at the far end. In fact, I took a picture of the establishment when I visited in 2014. What I hadn't known was that the building was in fact the Joël Robuchon Restaurant. I had heard that this particular place was in Ebisu but never knew where it was.

Chef Joël Robuchon passed away today at the age of 73 from cancer. Although I don't think he was ever all that well known here in Toronto, the local news channel, CP24, mentioned his passing which surprised me. During my time in the Tokyo area, Robuchon was definitely a known celebrity because of his restaurants in the Big Sushi and his Michelin stars which he wore like epaulets on a commanding general's shoulders. He also made a number of appearances on Japanese TV including NHK's "Asaichi"（あさイチ）. In fact, I remember seeing this one episode last year from home as he and his assistant prepared pureed potatoes.

Along with the grand restaurant in Ebisu, I remember L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Roppongi Hills. Whenever I went to the complex to see one of my students in the 4th-floor cafe, I would pass L'Atelier since it was on the ground floor. I never went inside either restaurant or any of the other places that he had in Tokyo since I couldn't even imagine darkening the entrance of those places. Thanks to some of my richer and more generous students, I was taken to French restaurants a few times, but none of them were the Robuchon establishments.

On seeing the notice of his death this morning, I was wondering about finding a food-based kayo kyoku to talk about in tribute. So, a little look via Yahoo Japan revealed this song by Aoi Teshima（手嶌葵）titled "Asa Gohan no Uta" (The Breakfast Song). It's a whimsical old-fashioned song that was part of the 2011 Studio Ghibli film "Kokurikozaka kara"（コクリコ坂から）which has been translated as either "From Coquelicot Hill" or "From Up on Poppy Hill". With lyrics by Hiroko Taniyama（谷山浩子）and director Goro Miyazaki（宮崎吾朗）and music by the former, the song gives life to one of the most beloved daily sensory experiences: the sounds and the smells of breakfast being made in the kitchen while waking up in the morning. Well, as someone who has experienced both the Japanese and Western-style breakfasts being made in a homey setting, I will always appreciate bacon, eggs and pancakes along with the miso soup, grilled fish and freshly cooked rice.

I was looking for any YouTube representation of one of the episodes from Robuchon's old cooking show that used to be shown on the Foodies channel on Japanese cable. But unfortunately, I couldn't find it, but here's hoping that the above video will be appetizing enough.