OCTOBER 2015 : Live shows by Samm Bennett and his various ensembles
Hello friends, Samm Bennett here, hoping to see you at one or more of these upcoming shows in Tokyo. Come on out!
FRI 10/2 : Swamp Root Jimmies with special guest Uchihashi Kazuhisa
at Hikari No Uma, Okubo, Tokyo - open 19:00 - start 20:0 - Entry: 2000 yen + drink
I am delighted to announce an upcoming evening of music featuring my band the Swamp Root Jimmies joined by very special guest Uchihashi Kazuhisa. Some of you may know SRJ from some of our shows over the past couple of years, but those shows haven't been all that frequent (my sidemen Naoya Numa and Keigo Iwami are busy players indeed!) so this is a rare chance to hear the group in a SPECIAL first-time-ever collaboration with improviser extraordinaire Kazuhisa Uchihashi, a musician with whom I have a 20-year history of collaborations. This is going to be a killer gig, y'all, I'll just come right out and say it. Sparks will fly, guaranteed.
By way of brief description, SRJ is a groove-based unit that moves between improvisation and song-form, propelled by the deep, muscular bass stylings of Keigo Iwami and the tight, crisp, turn-on-a-dime drum artistry of Naoya Numa. Our special guest Uchihashi Kazuhisa is a monster of a guitarist, fluid and grooving and always exciting. Not only that, though, he is one of the world's few masters of the Daxophone, an instrument that you just have to see and hear. I'll be spinning my songs and rhymes and adding percussion and who knows what else to the proceedings.
It's happening at a great little venue which has quickly become one of my favorites: Hikari No Uma in Okubo, mere seconds away from Okubo Station (Sobu line) or a 7-minute walk from Shin Okubo Station (Yamanote line). Please see my "How to get to Hikari No Uma" video linked below!
And here's a Google Map to Hikari No Uma
SUN 10/4 : KING CAKE BABY - New Orleans Sounds for Tokyo Town!
at What the Dickens, Ebisu, Tokyo - start 20:00 - FREE entry
Time once again to get the New Orleans Mardi Gras vibe going, y'all, courtesy of King Cake Baby. Music made famous by Professor Longhair, James Booker, Dr. John, the Meters and more. Check the video below, you'll get the idea...
What the Dickens website Google map to What the Dickens
SAT 10/10 : with Gianni Gebbia (saxophone) and Reiko Imanishi (koto)
at Lady Jane, Shimokitazawa, Tokyo - start 7:30pm - entry: 3200yen (2700 yen w/ reservation) + drink
世田谷区代沢5-31-14 TEL: 03-3412-3947
世田谷区代沢5-31-14 TEL: 03-3412-3947
Gianni Gebbia, of Palermo, Sicily, is one of the finest creative saxophonists on the world scene today. He is consistently fresh, interesting, focused and soulful. I've very much enjoyed playing with him, whenever we've had the opportunity, over the last, oh... 20 years or so. He is back in Japan this time for a number of shows in and around Tokyo, and this is one, where we'll be joined by koto player Imanishi Reiko is one you won't want to miss if you're into solidly satisfying improvised music. Oh, and if you're into single malt scotch, Lady Jane is definitely your place. And FYI, I'll be on percussion and electronic percussion that night.
Lady Jane website - Tokyo gig guide page for Lady Jane - Google map to Lady Jane
MON 10/12 : The Metaphors - special daytime national holiday show
at Big River, Higashi Nakano, Tokyo - 13:30 open / 14:00 start : 3 sets! - Entry by donation
Join Marcos Fernandes, Hiroshi Shimizu and I for an afternoon show of rhythmical adventure, off-the-cuff songery and good old fashioned fun. Ain't nothing else like The Metaphors in all of Tokyo, and I ain't lying.
Big River website -- Google map to Big River -- Big River website map
FRI 10/16 : Medicine Bone
at Hikari No Uma, Okubo, Tokyo - open 19:00 - start 20:00 - Entry: 2000 yen + drink
Folks, it's the big third gig from the new and improved, 3rd generation incarnation of Medicine Bone. Our last show at the friendly Hikari No Uma was a total gas, and we have a feeling this one's gonna be even better. Don't miss it, now!
Remember, Hikari No Uma in Okubo, is mere seconds away from Okubo Station (Sobu line) or a 7-minute walk from Shin Okubo Station (Yamanote line). Please see my "How to get to Hikari No Uma" video linked below!
SAT 10/24 : Bennett/Nambu Covers Project DUO + special guest!
at Green Amy Cafe, Edogawabashi, Tokyo - 19:00 open - 19:30 start - entry: 1500 yen (+ drink order)
Tokyo Metro Edogawabashi station (Yurakucho line)
Tokyo Metro Edogawabashi station (Yurakucho line)
This will be the 2nd outing for the new Bennett-Nambu Duo. We first met a few months ago at an event we were both performing at, and a spontaneous jam during soundcheck immediately convinced us we should work together. Nambu Yuki is a fine pianist who loves New Orleans music as much as I do, so we've worked up a number of tunes from the Dr. John and Professor Longhair songbooks (some of you will have heard me doing those with my full-on New Orleans band King Cake Baby). But we're keen on covering all sorts of music that we love, so we're throwing in tunes by The Band, Stevie Wonder, Hank Williams, Ray Charles, ye olde Beatles, Lefty Frizell and more. The idea with this duo is to just kick back and have some fun with beloved and familiar tunes. We aim to be your favorite bar band, basically.
And speaking of bars, the one we'll be doing our thing at is the Green Amy Cafe, a 2-minute walk from exit 4 of Edogawabashi Station on the Yurakucho subway line. They have a full bar, of course, but also a tasty food menu including various curries, fish and chips, etc. etc. Oh, and the spacious place has not one but TWO upright pianos, so if one goes outta tune, Nambu-san can just jump over to the other! Come on out for a night of song!
And speaking of bars, the one we'll be doing our thing at is the Green Amy Cafe, a 2-minute walk from exit 4 of Edogawabashi Station on the Yurakucho subway line. They have a full bar, of course, but also a tasty food menu including various curries, fish and chips, etc. etc. Oh, and the spacious place has not one but TWO upright pianos, so if one goes outta tune, Nambu-san can just jump over to the other! Come on out for a night of song!