Berkeley Jazz Festival
Poster by Rupert Garcia
Rupert Garcia created the poster above. Rupert is a wonderful artist and person that was hanging out with us during the time of Kamikaze. He graciously created this poster for us. I thought it would be nice for you to see it. Rupert if you see this contact me.
Musicians: Piano: Eiji Tsuchiya; Bass: Paul Jackson; Drums: Eddie Marshall; Soprano, Alto, Tenor Saxs: David Davoud Johnson; Alto Sax, Flute, Fue, Taiko: Russel Baba; Guitar: Makoto Horiuchi; Percussion: Doug Santos; Shamisen: Takechan; Taiko: Seichi Tanaka, Taiko: Jeannie Mercer; Taiko: Steve “Gitch” Yamaguma
Kamikaze was an Asian American band that wanted to fuse Black music with Asian music. They were one of the first to experiment with using Asian instruments in their music. The others being Gerald Oshita and Hiroshima who were also experimenting with using Asian instruments and applying the Asian sensibility i.e. scales, breathing, and rhythms to their music. This particular performance was part of the Berkeley Jazz Festival. I clearly remember this concert because the people who gathered to listen were completely amazed especially when Takechan began his Shamisen playing. The first tune Berkeley Ondo was partially from a Shamisen melody that Takechan had taught the band. The other thing I remember was that Paul Jackson came to play with us. It is always a treat to play with Paul – a great human being and the funkiest man on the planet. The 3rd song has a Paul Jackson (Tha funkiest Human on tha planet!!) solo. And the combination of Paul and Eddie Marshal was dynamite!
The concert was recorded and cast live on the great CAL radio station KALX. You can hear everything from the mikes feeding back to having a live mix.
For tha Geeks and audiophiles
This tape was converted to 24bit 44.1 audio files, but the software used for the internet is only compatible with the 16bit mp3 format so the sound is a little compressed. This session was transferred from a 1/2″ copy recorded by one of the techs at KLAX the UC Berkeley radio station that luckily didn’t crumbled. If you would like a 24bit copy send me an email. I felt that the performance needed to be heard by those who would be interested. For myself even given all these limitations the spirit of the performance and the aura of the times comes through the recording. I hope you enjoy it.
Pictures were taken by Bob Hsiang and Jeannie Wong