Hiroshima - Odori (1980) + Instrumentals

Next up, we'll take a quick look at an album from the band Hiroshima. If I recall, members of Caldera eventually joined this band in some capacity - which is what lead me to them. The album we'll look at today is really the only album of theirs that I've listened to thoroughly. It has some vocals throughout and I've included a mostly clean instrumental version, in addition to the main album. Although, I must say, the original album with vocals is a solid listen in and of itself.

Odori is the 2nd album from the group, and from what I've read, one of their funkier albums - which is probably why I like it so much. The band was formed in California by saxophonist/flautist Dan Kuramoto and his eventual wife, June Kuramoto, who is a renowned koto player. The pair has been joined by a long list of musicians over the years and this album in particular has quite the supporting cast. Here we have guitarist Peter Hata, keyboardist Richard Mathews, bassist Dane Matsumura and the group's long-time drummer Danny Yamamoto. There is also quite the list of backing vocalists and percussionists which can be found on the album's discog's page, linked above. 

I particularly enjoy the first half of this album as it jumps right out of the gate with a funky tune "Cruisin' J-Town." The following, title track has a nice reggae vibe to it and we return to another great funky tune in "Echoes." Track 4 won them a Grammy I do believe in "Winds Of Change." The album slows down a bit after "Warriors" which where I began to lose interest. Although the closing tune "Fortune Teller" is pretty solid, as well. Elements of soul, jazz, r&b, reggae and traditional Japanese sounds make up this release - and I think if you dug the Ryojiro Furusawa - Once In A While album, you'll dig this one too. Enjoy!