Blog By James

Japanese group “Casiopea” was a big part of my music listening back in my late teens. It was through their music that I’d heard the amazing Akira Jimbo on drums for the first time.

Jimbo wasn’t the only thing that made Casiopea great though because the whole band has always been made up of stellar musicians. Bass player Tetsuo Sakurai quickly became a favourite and I’ve been following his work ever since.

For the last couple of days, I’ve been playing “My Dear Musiclife” in the car and really digging it. Joining Tetsuo on this one are what appears to be mostly Japanese musicians, some of which I hadn’t previously heard of. Two of the tracks are Jaco Pastorius tunes including the classic “Teen Town” (previously covered brilliantly as well by Marcus Miller) and the Pastorius/Hancock penned “Kuru”. Also included is a new arrangement of the 20+ year old Casiopea track, “Domino Line”. Here is some old footage of the band playing it live:

Another killer track is the album’s riffy opener “Regenerate”, which has some absolutely burning playing by all. The drum solo at the end by Hiroyuki Noritake had me shaking my head in disbelief. This recording has a great variety of styles and dynamics including both a solo bass piece and two duets with acoustic guitarists Issei Noro of Casiopea fame, and Rynten Okazaki.

If you’re interested in more info and hearing a few short samples, head over to Audiophile Imports.

“Subdivisions” is the opening track from Rush’s “Signals” album, released in 1982. I was about 11 years old then and as a pretty unpopular kid through school, this song has always hit home for me.

—

Sprawling on the fringes of the city
In geometric order
An insulated border
In between the bright lights
And the far unlit unknown

Some will sell their dreams for small desires
Or lose the race to rats
Get caught in ticking traps
And start to dream of somewhere
To relax their restless flight
Somewhere out of a memory of lighted streets on quiet nights…

-Neil Peart

—

I had posted the below video a while back on Facebook. But for those that missed it, it’s definitely worth checking out. I’m usually pretty against Rush covers in general because most that attempt playing a Rush song just embarrass themselves. However, Jacob Moon’s version of this song is absolutely an exception:

I’ve updated and most importantly, simplified the gear page. I’ve added recent images and fixed some of the links.

My big brother Tom has a lot to do with much of the music I listen to today. There are a few albums that he loaned me in my early teens that set me on exciting musical paths. The top two are most definitely Frank Zappa’s “Zappa In New York” and 1984’s “The Introduction” by The Steve Morse Band.

As soon as I heard the first track, “Cruise Missile” with Rod Morgenstein’s unmistakable double bass shuffle, it was all over. I remember thinking “Now THIS is what I want to be playing. This is unbelievable!”. Since hearing Rod’s drumming for the first time here, I’ve followed his career and enjoyed everything he’s done to date very much, including The Jelly Jam, Winger and of course most of the Dixie Dregs‘ back catalog.

At the time I remember being into saxophone players quite a bit and it wasn’t until this record that I really got into guitar. Steve Morse is someone whose guitar playing is difficult to describe and simply must be heard to understand. His tone, precision and musicality is second to none. “The Introduction” is one of the few records from my youth that I can still listen to today, at 38 years old, and still have that same feeling of excitement and inspiration I originally had.

25 years later, The Steve Morse band release “Out Standing In Their Field” and I absolutely love it. On drums this time is Van Romaine and the fantastic Dave LaRue on bass. There aren’t many bass players that can keep up with Morse and Dave does it confidently. Steve has released many solo efforts throughout the years, all of which are strong in my opinion. But this is the first album since the debut that I’ve been equally as excited about.

I know I’m always going on about metal bands and rock shows, etc. Truth is I’m a bit of a jazzer at heart and have been since I started playing music 26 years ago. I will now take this opportunity to say that if there are two jazz records that you should buy this year, it should be these two…

bug: The Gadfly

OK so Brian Hamada is the f’n man. I took some drum lessons from him as a kid and at the time I had no idea the genius I was experiencing. I’ll be the first to say that today, I couldn’t swing my way out of a wet paper bag. But this would be absolutely no reflection of his instruction. Everything I’ve ever heard the man play is superb and this record is no exception. Although the drumming alone is worth the price of admission, “The Gadfly” is jam packed full of dynamics, musicality, brilliant melodies and some of the best playing I’ve heard in quite some time.

Highlight tracks for me include “Dark Matter”, “Invernessence” and the title track. None of that old stuffy purist rubbish going on here, oh hell no. This is the good stuff people. Hear and buy it here. Watch here and here.

Benny Greb: Brass Band

I was late to the party and only discovered Benny Greb’s music (”Grebfruit”) early this year. When it comes to the hippest and tastiest grooves around, this guy is the master. You might be thinking… But what about *drummer name here* or *another drummer name here*? Afraid not. Come on, *drummer name* is reall..SHHH! Nope. Greb. Master.

“Brass Band” is made up of brass (tuba, trombone, trumpet) and drums, two of my favourite things in life. The recording sounds amazing and the songs get stuck in my head all the time. Not only is Benny Greb a world-class drummer, his songwriting is just as awesome. Check out a little medley of this CD over here.