#SlamminSunday

Hello Everyone!

It's been a while, but I am now at the point where I would rather post something when I feel it might actually be of interest instead of committing myself to daily posts with wavering amounts of substance.

Anyhow, in light of current events, my graduate school's planned international business trip scheduled for Europe this Summer has been changed to East Asia.  During class last week, the topic of Japan came up and I was excited about possibly going there and other parts of East Asia than Europe anyway, due to having traveled to Europe before already.  Somehow, I starting sharing with my classmates before class started about music that I have been listening to from artists from the country (like Yellow Magic Orchestra, etc.), which led to the question of the week:  "How'd you get into that?"

Well, answering the question highlights the preference I have for buying tangible copies of records, CDs, etc. Only through jacket sleeves, and linear notes on the inside of album booklets am I able to learn interesting and insightful information about the artist as well as study the personnel that performed in the production of the recorded work.  Doing this, one would be surprised at who has played on who's record. One will find that the musical circle is surprisingly very small.  So, I shared the story of how I became fascinated with the song that was covered by Michael Jackson and session keyboardist Greg Phillinganes, entitled, "Behind The Mask."  The writing credit cited an artist that I had not realized I had heard of before until I remembered having the song "Firecracker" by the Yellow Magic Orchestra in my collection.  The composer is Ryuichi Sakamoto, a prolific artist that compelled me to dive head-first into exploration of the Japanese music scene...  And so just when I thought I heard and explored it all, a new fascination arose.

So, I leave you with another prolific Japanese artist that has been recording and performing for as long as Sakamoto, Tomoyasu Hotei.  Known around the world for his anthemic masterpiece, "Battle Wihout Honor or Humanity," featured in Quentin Tarantino's film, "Kill Bill, Vol. I."

Have a great week!

#SoulfulSunday

Happy New Year, everyone!

It is a new year with new inspiration.  Today I wanted to share an artist that was introduced to me by a bass-playing friend of mine when I recently chatted with him about various Neo-Soul artists that I like and do not like.  The conversation initially started by me asking his opinion on the new album by D'Angelo, then after naming a few artists that I like, he recommended that I check out a gentleman by the name of Robert Glasper.  A gifted jazz pianist who has formed a band that incorporates elements of Jazz, Soul, and Hip-Hop into their sound, the song shared today is a cover of a song by Nirvana, a mid-90s Seattle alternative rock band of which I am also a fan.  I appreciate the new jazzy-mellow iteration of the tune. The two albums, "Black Radio" and "Black Radio 2" by this lineup are highly recommended.  Rest-assured, I will also be looking into his more traditional jazz work, as well.  Have a great day!