Chick Corea Elektric Band
May 10-12

Keyboard virtuoso best known for his late 60s work with Miles Davis, and for penning the joyous modern Latin jazz classic Spain, Chick Corea brings his Elektric Band into town this month. Throughout his career the pianist has seamlessly shifted stylistic platforms (until recently emphasizing a more standard set up with his Akoustic Band), while consistently racking up Grammy nominations for his arrangements as well as for his soloing. Add to this his classical work for orchestra (notable among which stands Rendezvous in New York with Bobby McFerrin), and it is easy to see why the 64-year-oldcomposer/performer is among the most respected and influential names in jazz and fusion styles. 2004's To the Stars, Corea's ambitious musical adaptation of the late L. Ron Hubbard's 50s sci-fi novel of the same name, finds the band leader in full command of his craft and vision, with the perfect vehicle to express both. The phenomenal recording “portrays scenes, events and characters in the novel with a brilliant interweaving of melodies, rhythms and arrangements that has already been heralded as one of the most technically and creatively triumphant achievements in the group's storied history.” This month join the peerless auteur for a special mid-week adventure at Osaka's Blue Note.

Osaka Blue Note
Time: 18:30/21:30 • Entry: ¥10,600-¥12,600
Tel: 06-6342-7722

Trashcan Sinatras

May. 18

Scottish veteran pop rockers Trashcan Sinatras, in the midst of a glorious comeback from a 5-plus year recording hiatus, are a must-hear for cynics who insist that pop and music are mutually exclusive. All of the best pop elements are in abundance — jangly melodic guitar hooks, heartfelt and captivating vocals, earnest and clever lyrics, with little or none of the unfortunately typical one-dimensional formulae prevalent among too many charted acts. Fans know TCS as repre-sentative of what good pop is supposed to sound like, despite their existence beyond most people's radar.

Grapevine Culture notes “If this were the 1980s they'd be natural compatriots of the Smiths and Cocteau Twins with their wispy melan-cholic tendencies and their floating, ethereal vibe.” A telling compliment is that here in the mid 00s, The Sinatras have to settle for significantly less competition. Their latest offering Weightlifting, hailed by Sound-stage magazine as “one of the most impressive pop records of 2004, finds the group a little more seasoned but no less compelling at their patented brand of multi textured, contemporary pop composition, typically as atmospheric as it is hummable.” Beat the post-Golden Week blues by catching this terrific quintet this month at Quattro.

TCS is: Stephen Douglas (drums/vocals), Paul Livingston (lead guitar), John Douglas (rhythm guitar/vocal, Davy Hughes (bass) and Francis Reader (lead vocals).

Club Quattro
Time: 19:00 • Entry: ¥5,800
Tel: 06-6281-8181

Sanseverino
May 26

France's Stéphane Sanseverino, founding mem-ber of avante garde outfit Voleurs de Poules, (literally 'chicken thieves,' a derogatory refere-nce to gypsies), has spent more than the past decade garnering respect in his post-theater career. The guitar/ banjoist's love for 50s era swing jazz and Eastern European traditional music has allowed him to carve out a uniquely refreshing niche in musical expression, and won bags full of awards along the way.

His debut Le Tango des Gens, released in 2001, secured him the prestigious 54th Academie Charles Cros award, a yearlong tour with outstanding rising French star Tete, and eventually an appearance at The Nice Jazz Festival. Dedication to the live circuit also paid off in the form of the award for Best Live Group or Artist of 2003 at the annual Victoires de la Musique Awards. The versatile performer arrives in Osaka's Quattro this month in support of last year's highly anticipated sophomore album, Les Sénégalaises.

Club Quattro
Time: 19:00 • Entry: ¥6,000
Tel: 06-6535-5569

Japan Blues Carnival

May 31

As a superb follow-up billing to last year's emotion-drenched performance by
a hobbled Otis Rush, fellow Chicago legend Buddy Guy headlines this year's proceedings, joined by distinguished journeyman John Hammond and blazing upstarts the North Mississippi Allstars.

Winner of 19 WC Handy Blues awards, Buddy Guy is considered by many to be the greatest living exponent of classic Chicago electric blues. The reception and subsequent success of his most recent release Damn Right, I Got the Blues, on which he showcases his uncanny alchemic ability to fuse sorrow, humor, anger, pain and passion into something transcendent and uplifting.

Vital and thrilling as ever in his 45-year career, he is unlikely to have much of the blues he sings about now that 2005 has given the artist a well-deserved induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Exuberant blues-rock outfit the North Mississippi Allstars, brainchild of brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson, betray a range of influences from Big Star to Junior Kimbrough to The Replacements. Infusing refreshing youthful energy into the genre, NMA have established themselves as one of the most potent jam-bands on the scene, as their current live album Hill Country Revue, can begin to attest. The CD, along with their thrilling 2004 performances and tour has them currently up for 3 Jammy awards, as of this writing.

Soul cat, jug band steel master, folk balladeer and well-traveled bluesman, John Hammond is best known as a great interpreter of classic acoustic blues, and has steadily grown his audience of admirers by his brilliance in reworking covers of such artists as Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Percy Mayfield, Howlin' Wolf and Ray Charles. John Hammond's inclusion on the Blues Carnival stage assures that enthusiasts and casual fans alike have more than enough to satisfy their palette for some good, down home roots music in Osaka this month.

Namba Hatch
Time: 19:00 • Entry: ¥6,800
Tel: 06-6535-5569

Live Listings May

5/4
Bloc Party @ Club Quattro. 18:00. ¥5,500. 06-6281-8181. Punk Rock
5/6
Yano Saori @ Osaka Blue Note. 18:30/21:30. ¥4,500~¥6,500.
Tel: 06-6342-7722. Jazz Saxophone
5/6
Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, John Petrucci @ Osaka Kokusai Kaigijo Hall. 18:30. ¥8,500. Tel: 0570-02-9999. Rock
5/6
Clammbon @ Taku Taku. 19:00
¥4,200. Tel: 06-6357-4400. Rock
5/7
Yuki @ Kyoto Kaikan Daiichi Hall 18:30. ¥5,800. Tel: 06-6357-4400.
Pop
5/7
TKY @ Club Quattro. 18:00. ¥4,725 Tel: 06-6281-8181. Jazz
5/9
Yuki @ Kobe Kokusai Kaikan Kokusai Hall. 18:30. ¥5,800. Tel: 06-6357-4400. Pop
5/10
Zazen Boys @ Club Quattro. 19:30 ¥3,500. Tel: 0570-02-9999. Rock
5/10-12
Chick Corea Elektric Band @ Osaka Blue Note. 18:30/21:30. ¥10,600~ ¥12,600. Tel: 06-6342-7722. Jazz
5/13&14
Okinawa Pops @ Osaka Blue Note. 18:30/21:30. ¥5,000/¥8,000.
Tel: 06-6342-7722 Oknawan/World
5/14
Clammbon @ Chicken George. 18:00 ¥4,200. Tel: 06-6357-4400. Rock
5/15
Zakk Wylde @ Club Quattro. 17:00. ¥6,500. Tel: 06-6281-8181. Rock/Metal
5/15
Hidano Shuichi @ Xebec Hall. 19:00 ¥2,500. Tel: 06-6380-2221. Taiko Drumming
5/16
Judas Priest @ Osaka-Jo Hall. 19:00
¥7,500/¥8,500 Tel: 0570-02-9999. Rock
5/16-18
Swing Out Sister @ Osaka Blue Note. 18:30/21:30. ¥10,000/¥12,000.
Tel: 06-6342-7722. Pop
5/18
Trashcan Sinatras @ Club Quattro. 19: 00. ¥5,800. Tel: 06-6281-8181. Rock
5/19
Roy Ayers w/Jocelyn Brown @ Osaka Blue Note. 18:30/21:30. ¥5,400~ ¥7,400. Tel: 06-6342-7722. Jazz Funk
5/20
Tennoji Gakuso Garyokai @ May Theater. 19:00. ¥1,800. Tel: 06-6380-2221. Traditional/Court Music
5/20&21
Vicente Amigo @ The Symphony Hall. 17:00. ¥1,000~¥6,000. Tel: 075-791-9437. World
5/20 & 21
K-Ci & JoJo @ Osaka Blue Note. 18:30/21:30. ¥8,500~¥10,500.
Tel: 06-6342-7722. R&B/Soul
5/22
Hanoi Rocks @ Namba Hatch. 18:00 ¥6,500. Tel: 0570-02-9999. Rock
5/22
Kojo Misako @ Namba Hatch. 17:00 ¥4,500. Tel: 06-6362-7301. World
5/22
Moonriders @ Club Quattro. 18:00. ¥6,000. Tel: 06-6535-5569. Rock/ Experimental
5/24&25
Dee Dee Bridgewater @ Osaka Blue Note. 18:30/21:30. ¥6,400~¥8,400 Tel: 06-6342-7722. Jazz Vocals
5/26
Sanseverino @ Club Quattro. 19:00. ¥6,000. Tel: 06-6535-5569. French, Jazz
5/26
Martinu Quartet @ The Phoenix Hall
19:00. ¥6,000. Tel: 06-6135-0503. Classical
5/26 & 27
Regina Belle @ Osaka Blue Note. 18:30/21:30. ¥6,400-¥8,400.
Tel: 06-6342-7722. R&B/Soul
5/28 & 29
The Brothers Four @ Osaka Blue Note 18:30/21:30. ¥7,000~¥9,000
Tel: 06-6342-7722. Folk/Pop
5/29
Yo La Tengo @ Club Quattro. 19:00 ¥6,000. Tel: 06-6535-5569. Rock
7/29-31
Fuji Rock Festival @ Naeba Ski-jo, Niigata. All day. ¥16,000~¥38,000
Tel: 0180-993-998. Rock/Various
5/29
Jack Johnson w/G. Love and Special Sauce @ Zepp Osaka. 18:00. ¥6,500
Tel: 06-6233-8888.Rock/Pop
5/31
Anna Saeki @ Osaka Blue Note 18:30/21:30. ¥7,000~¥9,000
Tel: 06-6342-7722. Tango
7/31
Accept @ Namba Hatch. 18:00. ¥7500. Tel: 06-6233-8888. Metal
5/31
Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra, Heinrich Schiff @ The Symphony Hall. 19:00. ¥3,000~¥5,000. Tel: 06-6577-1381. Classical
5/31
Japan Blues Carnival @ Namba Hatch. 19:00. ¥6,800. 06-6535-5569. Blues

LIVE Section compiled by HWJ