I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
Credits
I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.
A couple of months ago, I profiled "Believin'", a song by Naniwa Express, the Kansai region's answer to Kanto-based fusion bands Casiopea and The Square. Well, this time, I'm bringing another tune by them, "Jasmin". Just like "Believin'" which was the lead track on the group's 1982 album"No Fuse", "Jasmin" also occupies the first spot on their 1983 album"Wind Up".
My usual feeling of jasmine is that it's pretty calm and refreshing. But "Jasmin" here is once again another busy funk fest by Naniwa Express. I could get all the genres of AOR, rock and jazz in there as Kou Shimizu（清水興）hits the bass hard and guitarist Kazuhiko Iwami（岩見和彦）flies away. "Jasmin" is really jammin' (I'll see myself out).
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.
Well with this pandemic, Canadians will be approaching what will be the most unusual national holiday stint they've ever experienced but with restrictions slowly and carefully being lifted, I think the good old-fashioned barbeque can still take place (although the season of traditional Ribfests is cancelled this year). Because Canada Day tomorrow will be falling on a Wednesday, a lot of folks (including my anime buddy) have managed to tie up the previous weekend with July 1st to create a Canadian equivalent of the Japanese Golden Week. I hope then that all of those families have a delectable BBQ with all of the fixins.
As such, I can perhaps introduce something BBQ-related to the blog today with "Charcoal Break", a song by the fusion band Naniwa Express（ナニワエキスプレス）from their 1984 album"Modern Beat". I've never written about this group so it's great to have them over on the blog alongside acts such as T-Square and Casiopeia.
"Modern Beat" is smooth sailing as saxophonist and jazz pianist Makoto Aoyagi（青柳誠）and guitarist Kazuhiko Iwami（岩見和彦） takes us on the most relaxing and lowest-altitude magic carpet ride. In a way, it's reminiscent of Tomoko Aran's（亜蘭智子）"Slow Nights" which came out in the same year. Not sure if this would be something that one would hear at a picnic with the Coleman grill in operation, but "Modern Beat" can make for some fine accompaniment over drinks at that seaside bar while the sun is going down.
Along with the two members mentioned, Naniwa Express also has Kenji Nakamura（中村建治）on keyboards, Ko Shimizu（清水興）on bass, and Rikiya Higashihara（東原力哉）on drums. The band had its initial run between 1977 and 1986 before getting together now and then going into the 21st century. Including their BEST compilations and live recordings, the band has released 13 albums up to 2012.
