JANUARY 2016 : 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. Support live MUSIC! Come on out for some MUSIC! We're talking live MUSIC!
MON 1/18 : as special guest w/ TUMO (Yuma Takeshita + Yuji Ishihara)
This show is CANCELLED!!
at Bar Isshee, Sendagi, Tokyo, near Sendagi Station (Chiyoda line)
open 19:30 / start 20:00 (2 sets) - entry : 500 yen table charge + 1 drink, plus PASS THE HAT for music
open 19:30 / start 20:00 (2 sets) - entry : 500 yen table charge + 1 drink, plus PASS THE HAT for music
An evening of improvised music awaits you at Sendagi's hottest spot for avant-garde music, Bar Isshee. Offered up for your consideration is the TUMO band (Yuma Takeshita, bass + Yuji Ishihara, drums) with yours truly, Samm Bennett, as special guest. Come on over to historic Sendagi for an evening of surprise.
WED 1/20 : Mechanical Bear w/ special guest Ohkuma Wataru
at Hikari No Uma, Okubo, Tokyo - open 19:00 - start 20:00 (2 sets) - entry: 2000 yen + drink
Mechanical Bear is a trio featuring violinist Chris Koh and bassist Masahico Shimaji, and if you haven't yet heard us, check us out HERE. We love the warm, convivial atmosphere at Hikari No Uma, and you will too, so come on over to Okubo for some fresh, groove-oriented improvisation and spontaneous song!
And we're delighted to have clarinetist Ohkuma Wataru joining us as guest! Some of you may know him as the leader of the rollicking Cicala Mvta band, active for years on the world scene.
And we're delighted to have clarinetist Ohkuma Wataru joining us as guest! Some of you may know him as the leader of the rollicking Cicala Mvta band, active for years on the world scene.
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DIRECTIONS to HIKARI NO UMA:
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At-a-glance: Google map to Hikari No Uma. Need more detail? Go to Google Map to Hikari No Uma
FRI 1/22 : Special TRIO : Petite-Tsukamoto-Bennett
at Crawfish, Akasaka, Tokyo - open : 19:00 - start: 20:00 - ENTRY 1500 yen + drink
This is a special trio with two wonderful musicians who I did an impromptu session with last year: Isao Tsukamoto (guitar) and Kai Petite (bass/guitar).
The session went so well that we decided to book a gig. We'll be doing some covers and some originals. Loose, fun stuff, I think you'll enjoy.
The session went so well that we decided to book a gig. We'll be doing some covers and some originals. Loose, fun stuff, I think you'll enjoy.
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Below: at-a-glance Google map. Note: Crawfish
is located in between Akasaka (Chiyoda line) and Akasaka Mitsuke (Ginza & Marunouchi lines) stations.Need more detail? Go to Google map to Crawfish |
THU 1/28 : PERCUSSION EXPLOSION QUARTET
double bill with singer KANABOON
at Hikari No Uma, Okubo, Tokyo - open 19:00 - start 19:30 (2 sets) - entry: 2000 yen + drink
Percussion lovers, drum lovers, lovers of beat and pulse and poly-pulse and pattern of all kinds, I've asked some of my favorite Tokyo-area shakers and groovers to join me for a special evening of rhythm jams. Habu Hiroshi (my partner in S&H) and Marcos Fernandes (my partner in The Metaphors), and rounding out the quartet will be the always-effervescent and delightful Kobayashi Mutsumi (小林ムツミ), a lady with her finger on the pulse of the beat! Come help us shake 'em on down!
Here's "Moonshiner", an American traditional tune interpreted by KANABOON:
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Video directions to Hikari No Uma:
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DIRECTIONS to HIKARI NO UMA:
10 seconds from South Exit of Okubo Station (JR Sobu Line) Get out from South Exit (smaller exit - rear of train if coming from Shinjuku - front of train if coming from Nakano), go right out of the ticket gate and immediately turn right onto the first street there. Walk along raised railway about 10 seconds (tracks on your right). Hikari No Uma ( ひかりのうま ) will be on your left. OR... from Shin-Okubo Station (JR Yamanote Line) Go out the station exit and turn LEFT. Walk about 5 minute till you arrive at JR Okubo station. Turn left immediately after crossing under tracks. Walk along that street, tracks will be on your left. Hikari No Uma ( ひかりのうま ) will be on your right after about 2 minutes. Total walking time from JR Shin-Okubo station is about 7 to 8 minutes. |
At-a-glance: Google map to Hikari No Uma. Need more detail? Go to Google Map to Hikari No Uma
FRI 1/29 : SOLO and probably accompanying some of the poets at...
DRUNK POETS SEE GOD #36
at Bar Gari Gari, Ikenoue, Tokyo
(5.7 seconds from Ikenoue Station,
Keio Inokashira line)
open 19:00 - start 19:30 -
500 yen entry + drink
Gari Gari website
Google map to Bar Gari Gari
(5.7 seconds from Ikenoue Station,
Keio Inokashira line)
open 19:00 - start 19:30 -
500 yen entry + drink
Gari Gari website
Google map to Bar Gari Gari
Yes friends, it's time for the 36th installment of DRUNK POETS SEE GOD, where some of Tokyo's most engaging wordsmiths get on the mic and show their stuff. Hosted by yours truly Samm Bennett along with singer and poet Sorcha Chisolm, this is the place to be for those who want to get on the mic and take some of their original poetry and word work out for a test drive. And also for those, of course, who just want to listen. I'll be on hand to provide instantaneous musical backing to any poet who might happen to want it, and all are welcome to read, recite, intone, chant, grumble, shout or otherwise enunciate. Fun stuff, serious stuff, flights of fancy, hilarity, stream of consciousness, heaping helpings of free association and extended elocution. All for only a modest entry fee of 500 yen plus one drink. You'll probably want more than one, but one's all you gotta buy. Come early (opens at 7pm) to sign up for a slot!
And remember, if you want to present work that touches on this month's THEME, please do so! Remember, of course, that there is NO obligation to do so. Whatever you got for us, we're ready to hear. And the theme this month is: Point of No Return.
And remember, if you want to present work that touches on this month's THEME, please do so! Remember, of course, that there is NO obligation to do so. Whatever you got for us, we're ready to hear. And the theme this month is: Point of No Return.
SUN 1/31 : The METAPHORS special afternoon show
at Big River (Higashi Nakano, Tokyo) 東京都中野区東中野4-2-27 - 14:00 start - 3 sets!
The Metaphors is the trio of Shimizu Hiroshi (various percussion), Marcos Fernandes (frame drum, talking drum, other percussion) and Samm Bennett (diddley bow, electronic percussion, vocal). If you don't know the band, you certainly should, so check here!
This will be the Metaphors' 5000th appearance at Big River, a cozy little jazz bar just a stone's
throw from Higashi Nakano station on the JR Sobu line. Old school flavor, nice and intimate, located on a little bar street called Moon Road.
Big River website -- Google map to Big River -- Big River website map (with handy aerial view!)