Michael Brecker
Feb.5&7
 Osaka
Blue Note welcomes Michael Brecker, one of the most talented and
influential jazz tenor saxophonists around, who is currently touring
with his ambitious and critically acclaimed quindectet (fifteen
players).
This is the same group with whom he released
“Wide Angles,” his first large ensemble recording, this
past September. It has been no surprise to fans that “Wide
Angles” has since appeared on many “Best Jazz records
of The Year” lists, was nominated for three Grammys, and as
of this writing, is under consideration for the February 8th Grammy
Awards. Having performed for a week in New York City this past November
to much acclaim, the Michael Brecker Quindectet brings its fresh
and exciting sound to Japan, and with the same New-York based band
members.
Brecker began forging his career through a “countless
number of studio sessions during the 1970s and '80s, popping up
practically everywhere (including with James Taylor, Yoko Ono, and
Paul Simon).” Since then, he has secured his status as one
of the foremost and most sought-after saxophonists of electronic,
experimental and of course straight ahead jazz. Winner of numerous
Grammys, as well as Downbeat Magazine’s Readers Polls, Brecker
is someone fans of Coltrane, Shorter, Rollins,
and new music in general, should not miss.
@ Osaka Blue Note
19:00/21:30 • ¥8000/¥8500 • Tel: 06-6342-7722
Quasimodo
Feb.6
The brainchild of acclaimed reedist Ed Jones,
Quasimodo combines “acoustic jazz” and “groove music,”
and re-works of a wide range of material from jazz standards to
drum ‘n bass grooves from Fotek, not to mention new material
written specially for the current Japanese tour.
Jones has been touted as “One of Europe's
most exciting and innovative Band leaders” (BBC Music Magazine),
and Quasimodo, featuring Hamamura Masako on keyboards, Takumi Seino
on guitar and Keith Michael on Drums, promises to coalesce this
sense of dynamism into a satisfyingly groovy form.
Alongside his own projects, Ed has played as a regular member of
immensely popular UK bands 'Incognito' and 'Us3’. In addition,
he has worked extensively throughout Europe and the USA, with artists
as varied as George Benson, Chaka Khan, D'angelo, Aswad, and Philip
Bailey. Quasimodo will serve up their heady brew of eclectic jazz,
funk, and more at Kyoto's club Metro.
@ Kyoto’s Club Metro • ¥2,000-¥2,500
• Tel: 075-752-4765
Calexico
Feb.6
If you believe in a world strictly divided into
simple categories by intransigent boundaries, Calexico’s music
isn’t for you. Always making it their business to negate the
borderline that separates the Sonoran desert into the Calexican
and the Mexicali (which might partly explain why they’re so
much more popular in boundary-minded Europe than in their home country),
Calexico moves upward and outward, finding themselves in our own
expatriate backyard on February 11th, at Club Quattro, Osaka. What
converts already know is that Calexico well, rocks, and do so in
a refreshingly hard-to-describe, multicultural yet unabashed mariachi-esque
funky fashion. Which is, after all, the way it should be, with the
name and all. Free geography slang quiz for the unitiated: California
+ Mexico = ?
A west L.A. reviewer recently described them as
follows:
“There is nothing like seeing Calexico live.
Period… Joey has a voice that could melt the coldest heart,
but the real unsung heroes are Jacob Valenzuela and Martin Fink…on
trumpet and a number of other instruments… [who] make Calexico
the greatest and most talented band alive today.”
Especially encouraged to give them a listen are
the eclectic and open-minded music-lovers who feel their thirst
for new sounds, somehow, sometimes goes unquenched in Nippon. Not
to mention those who just love anything hinting at the sound track
to one’s long drive south from San Diego, California.
@ Club Quattro
19:00 • ¥5000 • Tel: 06-6281-8181
Kraftwerk
Feb. 24 & 25
Referred to as “the Dusseldorf Beach Boys,”
Kraftwerk staked their claim as wonderfully mad postmodern scientists
of our increasingly computerized pop kingdom. In the early 70s,
while most pop acts still seemed content to churn out their 2nd
hand version of the musi-cal blue print created by The Beatles,
Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson, Kraftwerk were bravely forging a new
musical form. More than a novelty of clever sound effects and self
indulgent tech-noodlings, they remain undeniably relevant by their
attentiveness to detail of song craftsmanship and the warmth and
beauty of their repertoire.
While many acts using cutting edge technology
soon sound dated as soon as newer technology appears, Kraftwerk’s
Computer World, for example, still sounds ultra modern and vital.
This group “changed music forever and ‘Computer World’
should be on every 10-greatest-albums-ever-made list out there,”
says a 2003 review. Just from Copenhagen, and in support of their
2003 “Tour de France Soundtracks” release, Kraftwerk visit
Osaka on February 24th and 25th as they sweep eastward toward Tokyo.
Expect a visual and aural spectacle of lights, sounds and action,
as fore-shadowed by their enthralling set at the 2003 MTV Europe
Music Awards, complete with laptops, big-screens, and of course,
very clever outfits.
@ Namba Hatch
19:00 • ¥7500 • Tel: 06-6341-4506
Live Listings November
2/1
Misia. Osaka Dome. 18:00. ¥7000.
Pop/R&B. Tel: 06-6233-8888
2/2
Blue. Kousei Nenkin Kaikan Dai Hall.
19:00. ¥7000/¥6000. Pop/R&B Tel: 06-6341-4506
2/2
Pretenders. Namba Hatch. 19:00. ¥7500.
Rock Tel: 06-6341-4506
2/3
Hughes Turner Project.
Club Quattro. 19:00. ¥6800. Rock Tel: 06-6281-8181
2/3
Helloween. Namba Hatch. 19:00. ¥6500.
Rock 0570-02-9991
2/5-2/7
Michael Brecker. Osaka Blue Note. 19:00/21:30.
¥8000/¥8500. Jazz. Tel: 06-6342-7722
2/6
Lee Scratch Perry w/Mad Professor. Bayside
Jenny. 18:00. ¥5500/ ¥5000. Reggae. Tel: 06-6450-2211
2/6
Kings of Leon. Club Quattro. 19:00.
¥5800. Rock. Tel: 06-6535-5569
2/6
Quasimodo feat. Ed Jones Metro. Call
for time. ¥2000-¥2500. Jazz/Groove. Tel: 075-752-4765
2/6-7
Rancid. Zepp Osaka. 19:00 (7th) 18:00.
¥6300. Rock. Tel: 0570-00-0027
2/7
Eric Sardinas. Club Quattro. 19:00.
¥5000. Blues/Rock.
Tel: 0570-00-0405
2/7
Iron Maiden Festival. Osaka-Jo Hall.
15:00. ¥9500 (adv.) /¥8000. Heavy Metal. Tel: 03-3475-5999
2/7
Jet. Club Quattro. 19:00. ¥5800.
Rock Tel: 06-6535-5569
2/10
Fiction Plane. Club Quattro. 19:00.
¥5480. Rock
Tel: 06-6535-5569
2/11
Calexico. Club Quattro. 19:00. ¥5000.
Rock Tel: 06-6281-8181
2/13
Mark Farner. Namba Hatch. 19:00. ¥7000.
Funk/Rock.
Tel: 06-6233-8771
2/13-14
Al DiMeola Band. Osaka Blue Note. 19:00/21:30.
18:00/20:30. ¥8000. Jazz. Tel: 06-6342-7722
2/14
Irina Mejoueva. Symphony Hall, 14:00,
¥1000-¥3000. Classical.
Tel: 06-6453-6000
2/14
Xiximund. May Theater. 19:00. ¥2300.
World. Tel: 06-6380-2221
2/16-17
Dianne Reeves. Osaka Blue Note 19:00/21:30.
¥6500/¥8500. Jazz Vocals. Tel: 06-6342-7722
2/18
Stacie Orrico. Festival Hall. 19:00.
¥6500/¥7000. Pop/ Christian. Tel: 06-6231-2221
2/22
Lillix. On-Air Osaka. 18:00. ¥5800.
Rock/Pop. Tel: 0570-02-9991
2/23
Dashboard Confessional Big Cat. 19:00.
¥5500 (adv.). Rock Tel: 06-6361-0313
2/24 & 2/25
Kraftwerk. Namba Hatch. 19:00. ¥7500.
Pop/Dance. Tel: 06-6341-4506
2/25
"Bamberger Symphoniker, cond. Jonathan
Nott". Festival Hall. 19:00. ¥6000-¥12000 Classical.
Tel: 06-6231-2221
2/28
Wire. Club Quattro. 19:00. ¥6000.
Rock. Tel: 06-6882-1224
3/1
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals
Namba Hatch. 19:00 ¥6500. Rock/Folk/Alternative Tel: 0570-02-9991
3/1
Jody Watley.Osaka Blue Note. 19:00/21:30.
¥8500. R&B.
Tel: 06-6342-7722
3/5
Incubus. Zepp Osaka. 19:00. ¥7000.
Rock Tel: 06-6341-4506
3/9
London Symphony Orchestra Kyoto Concert
Hall. 19:00. ¥6000-¥18000. Classical. Tel: 075-711-3231
3/10
Ani DiFranco. Club Quattro. 19:00. ¥6000.
Prog Rock/Alternative.
Tel: 06-6882-1224
3/11
David Bowie. Osaka-Jo Hall. 19:00. ¥7700
(adv.)/¥8700. Pop/Rock/ alternative. Tel: 06-6341-4506
3/17
Deep Purple. Osaka Kosei Nenkin Kaikan
Dai Hall. 19:00. ¥7500. Rock. Tel: 06-6341-4506
3/19
Iggy Pop/Primal Scream/ South. ATC Hall.
18:00. ¥11000.
All night. Rock. Tel: 06-6450-2211
3/27-28
Blink 182. Zepp Osaka. 18:00. Rock.
Tel: 06-6341-4506
3/31
Papa Grows Funk. Big Cat.
19:30. ¥5000. New Orleans Funk.
Tel: 06-6361-0313
4/14-15
Radiohead. Intex Osaka. 19:00. ¥7500.
Prog Rock/Alternative.
Tel: 06-6776-1400
4/24
Dream Theater. Imp Hall. 18:30. ¥6000
(adv)/ ¥7000. All standing. Prog Metal. Tel: 06-6450-2233
5/2
Keith Jarrett/Gary Peacock/ Jack DeJohnette.
Festival Hall. 19:00. ¥8500/¥9800 All rsvd seating. Jazz.
Tel: 06-6450-2277
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