At 9th grade I remember realizing that I had a liking for jazz. It turned out that I pretty much hear music of any genre as long as I like it. Then I started looking through my father's CD albums, and some of them were fusion jazz, some oldies, and disco (He was a pretty good disco jockey in his youth, I can say that). And then my father showed me his top favorites: two CD albums of a Japanese band called CASIOPEA. I have heard of the name before, because in earlier years when I was still in the Limewire fervor I came across one of their songs called "Eccentric Games", which was apparently the live version with a band named T-Square. Anyways, now I have come to adore this band just like my father did when he attended their concert in Jakarta almost 20 years ago.
Here they are. Starting from the left, is Minoru Mukaiyama, the keyboardist who seems to savor every song he plays live on stage with passion. He frequently plays with two keyboards, but he prefers having 3 around him. the next one is Akira Jimbo on the drums; he was a former member but left to pursue solo careers in the 1980's. He then joined the team again as an associate member to keep the band spirit alive and well. I'd personally say he's one of the top fusion jazz drummers I've ever seen. Next is the band leader, Issei Noro, the guitarist, whose passion remains blazing until last year, when he decided to freeze all band activity because he needed to take a break. Well, more than 20 years of band history must be tiring for him, I'd admit it. His style of playing is a bit old school in terms of guitar position, but his way of composing music is one of a kind. Lastly, there's Yoshihiro Naruse, the bassist, which is renowned as a master slapper (meaning he 'slaps' the strings with his thumb to create a unique and catchy sound, which is quite advanced as I would deduce it). although I think they are well in their 40's (not sure for Akira), they're still restless playing their own music because they know they love and and their fans do so too, including me. Now I have problems ordering their concert DVD because it's over 600,000 rupiah excluding shipping costs, which is a pain since firstly I haven't had the prerogative and freedom for online shopping yet and secondly, I don't make my own money yet.
My personal favorites from this band include:
ASAYAKE
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um4aR6xmdM8]
The title meaning "sunrise", it lives up to its name as a song greeting something new like the sunrise in the morning. It's their signature piece and Issei has a signature move for it too. It's the part where he raises his fist three times after playing a certain tune; he's been doing that ever since the song was first used on stage. And since the band teamed up with T-Square, another great Japanese fusion jazz band, the sax adds to the greatness of the song at full. It's sometimes played as a closing song, holding on the the 'save the best for last' principle.
Misty Lady
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHiSWq9hxL0]
The above link was when they toured in South Korea, around 1996. I consider this to be their best version of the song. Originally it had that smoky feeling, added with their unique upbeat rhythm to make a decent song that stands out. In this clip you can see Issei still had long hair and hasn't grown a beard and mustache yet, and frankly speaking, Yoshihiro still had that mushroom-shaped haircut.
Looking Up
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5FtjUMwKfI]
One of their intro songs when they teamed up with T-Square at one of the last concerts, I love this song particularly because of the catchy tunes and major keys and this song is the best example of Casiopea's uniqueness; they rarely make sad songs. The farthest they can go is just relaxing songs, but they still maintain its unique tune and distinct play style.
The Soundgraphy
I don't really have much to say because they sadly didn't play this song in any of their concerts, but it's still one of my most favored songs. They still have that positive beat, sort of vigorous and alive, which is not found in most of the run-off-the-mill smooth jazz releases found in America, and they aren't subject to the pressures American jazz players feel, so the consistency of their music is distinct and fresh.
Well, that's it for my first [Extra Stage] entry. All in all, I continue to search for their music scattered everywhere on Limewire and legally in stores, because I want to experience fully the band that takes fusion jazz on to a different plane.
From the schizophrenically psychotic retard,
Yoga Pradana A.K.A. Dr VoltsPerSecond
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