Peter Barakan @Sound Cafe Dzumi

Had been looking for an excuse to go to Kichijoji to check this place out and wasn’t disappointed. Dzumi is a small venue and was packed to capacity for this talk show event featuring PB and master Izumi-san playing tunes back and forth  and yakking about music in general. We were treated to some pretty eye-opening (for me at least) stuff including this John Handy track and Louis Sclavis covering Archie Shepp’s Blasé as well as some questionable ECM numbers, but it was all good. The wine went down a treat and I would have happily stayed longer. Looks like becoming a regular post-Disk Union stop-off in Kichi.

New Year Cinema Triathalon 2012

Well, we did it. Three movies in three different parts of Tokyo. Didn’t quite manage the three different languages rule, but that’s OK.

First up was Gus van Sant’s Restless in Hibiya. Surprised this wasn’t a bigger hit as it has all the ingredients for prime melodrama … plus Dennis Hopper’s son. Not a classic, but a good way to start the day. Would like to see this in a morbid double bill with Harold and Maude

Next, after a ramen refueling stop, was the latest Mission Impossible in Shinjuku. I’m not a great fan of the franchise, but this was quite passable. We even had the bonus of a real live earthquake halfway through. It was scary enough, but luckily it wasn’t the big one. Might not even have noticed if it had happened during a car chase or other action sequence.

Finally, we caught the interesting, but overlong, Saudade in Kichijoji. I’ve never been to Kofu, where the film is set, but despite the fairly bleak view of the city it piqued my interest.

Other than the Triathalon, we’ve been ploughing through some DVDs over the break. Honorable mentions to Charlie Varrick (unreleased Lalo Schiffrin soundtrack), Monsters, and Seijun Suzuki’s Yumeji. Is there such a thing as a bad Suzuki Seijun film? If so I’ve yet to see it.

 

Winter cats

It’s been a while since I posted pics of the nekos, so here goes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flicker is most often to be seen in this pose. Needs a bigger cushion.

Sometimes she does leave the house, though. And this is what happens.

 

Sweet sixteen years ago

Just stumbled across this site and was led down memory lane.

I remember making a dash to Aichi Arts Centre between classes to see AMM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And my first sighting of Otomo Yoshihide’s Ground Zero was at La Mama supporting Charles Hayward. Nomura Makoto from Pou Fou joined them on piano and they blew the Ex-This Heat man off stage. Still one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen.

Winter sounds

As a result of various trips domestic and foreign, several trades with members of the VG+ and Waxidermy community, and some fortunate scores at the stores in and around town I now find myself with around 100 LPs and 30 or so 45s to listen to. And to cap it all, the VG+ Xmas swap CDs arrived today.

Pizza delivery …. check. Wireless internet …. check. No need to leave the house for a month!

IAWE Melbourne

Spent an enjoyable week in the wonderful city of Melbourne for the IAWE conference. I managed to catch up with some old friends in the evenings and pick up a few records and books, too.The food was pretty good as well: Greek, Moroccan, Italian, Vietnamese and I even had a kangaroo steak!

Power Jazz 2011

To Kunitachi yesterday for the 5th Power Jazz festival. This year saw a slimline bill, with Hayashi Eiichi and Sugadairo kicking things off in a quartet with Sotoyama Akira and Ando Noboru. Their first piece was one of Sugadairo’s and I felt that Hayashi didn’t really get engaged with it, but once they moved on to his own material it was a different story. Bliss out stuff.

We split for food at this point, meaning to get back in time for the second act, but in the end we decided to avoid Jazz indigestion and take our time getting back. I’m glad we did because the less said about the band the better: Prehistoric rock moves, including Chuck Berry and Hendrix impersonations. Idea for the organisers – let’s stick to Jazz next time, OK? Last year we had a rock drummer (Nakamura Tatsuya) playing a blinder with Hayashi Eiichi, but that was a musician with improv chops. This was just … how shall I put it … turgid?

Still, things could only get better after that, and they most certainly did, as Yamashita Yosuke’s trio with Takeuchi Nao and drummer Eto Yoshihito hit the ground running. Although he seems to have one foot firmly in the classical camp these days, Yamashita still has a yen for his Free Jazz youth and he showed it here by finishing off with a piece from one his early recordings – Eto-san doing a good job of filling the Moriyama Takeo role.

Japanese Literature symposium at Waseda

I was lucky enough to be invited to participate in a symposium on Japanese and World Literature at Waseda on Saturday and while on the plus side it was an extremely stimulating day, on the other hand it left me desperate to get more involved in a field I am shamefully ignorant of.

It’s been a busy year for me so far in terms of research, and I still have several projects to write up, so the mantra has to be must finish ongoing projects first … must finish ongoing projects first … must finish ongoing projects first!

Third One Box Record Fair

Here’s what I played at the Fair on Saturday. Luckily I didn’t have to follow Sie Vulture …

The Tchikys - Oide (Japan 45)
Herbie Hancock - Wiggle (US 45)
Peter Thomas Sound Orchestra - Opium (Germany 45)
Lalo Schiffrin - Ape Shuffle (US 45)
Herbie Hancock - Fat Mama (US 45)
The Ventures - Katana (Japan 45)
G. Ducros - Sigla R.P. (Italy LP)
Hornets - Seibu Keiji Daimon Keiji no Tema (Japan LP)

Olive

Olive is getting bigger and genkier. From the pitiful 450g kitten we found on the beach in Shikoku, she has now reached a whopping 750g and rising.

Still a long way to go until she reaches Flicker proportions, though. I’d post pics of them side by side, but the difference would be frightening.