jcp@osiris.UUCP (Jody Patilla) (05/03/85)
Kazumi Watanabe is a Japanese guitarist who has released two albums of fusion jazz, "Mobo I" and "Mobo II" (on Gramavision). He is fresh and inventive, and manages to incorporate the feel of Japanese instrumentation (such as the shamisen and the satsuma-biwa) into his playing. Rhythm wizards Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare appear with him on some cuts as does bassist Marcus Miller. Alto saxophonist Sado Watanabe (no relation to Kazumi) was one of the first Japanese jazzmen to achieve any recognition outside Japan, anmd has recorded with Chick Corea, among other American musicians. The Japanese pop group Apsaras is influenced both by traditional Japanese string sounds and reggae rhythms but their albums are completely in Japanese, so if lyrics are really meaningful to you, their music will probably not have alot of appeal. -- jcpatilla "'Get stuffed !', the Harlequin replied ..."