http://www.bsmfrecords.com/http://cdbaby.com/cd/hiromasasuzukihttp://www.towerrecords.co.jp/sitemap/CSfCardMain.jsp?GOODS_NO=1821654&GOODS_SORT_CD=104 http://www.amazon.co.jp/Where-Hiromasa-Suzuki-%E3%83%92%E3%83%AD%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B5-%E3%82%BA%E3%82%BA%E3%82%AD/dp/B0018DEXL0/ref=sr_1_83?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1210910837&sr=1-83 Hiromasa Suzuki - From Where I Am
This is simply badass.
Hiromasa Suzuki is a rhythm-and-blues-groove-soul-guitarist
par excellence. He takes the instrument places it has rarely gone,
advancing the blues form and making the sky cry.
The original ballad "Negai" is pure emotion,
from heart to strings. Suzuki's playing sails along on a wave of sincerity,
Dan Hickey's drums rising and crashing.
"Mojo Workin'" comes from the opposite side of the tracks,
jumpin' and rumblin', while Suzuki makes energetic love to his guitar.
"Money's Getting Cheaper" shuffles along with ease,
with Suzuki's bandmate from the Gas House Gorillas, Rick Fink,
delivering a typically charming vocal.
The jam "Kiokuno Rojiura," another original, is a head bobbin' grinner,
not to mention an excellent showcase
for Suzuki's superior improvisational skills.
The train-train sound of "Doushitemo Aitakute" finds Suzuki
taking his songwriting in a more downhome direction.
Elvis Presley or Eddie Cochran would love this one.
The swingin' rockabilly blues sound is incredible and irresistible.
And, of course, Suzuki's lengthy solo is electrifying.
The foot-stompin' classic "Crossroads"
gets a traditional and untraditional treatment,
in an arrangement that illustrates the history
and development of the blues.
This track also serves to illustrate the wide ranging brilliance of Hiro Suzuki,
as producer, as arranger, as guitarist, and as artist.
Hiro Suzuki is what the blues are all about.
(Michael Macomber from "Retro Music Review",
http://retromusicreview.com/2008/04/01/hiromasa-suzuki-from-where-i-am-review/)
Hiromasa Suzuki, Rooster February 23
It's a very good thing that bluesman Bill Sims told Hiromasa Suzuki
to sing a couple numbers when Suzuki was backing him years ago.
It got Suzuki over his nervousness at singing in English
in front of American audiences,
and turned him into the all-around bluesman he's become.
His blues singing, guitar playing, song writing and performing
were all on display at blues club Rooster in Ogikubo in February.
It was the last evening in what has become an annual tour
for Suzuki through the blues circuit of his native Japan
playing with local pals and old band mates.
Hearing him sing tunes from John Hiatt,
Derek and the Dominoes and the Allman Brothers,
you wouldn't think English was his second language,
but Suzuki has spent years in the States
playing with some of the best blues musicians touring around.
The real treat comes, though, when he goes back to Japanese,
and belts out his original blues.
Blues language is a special one, with lots of rough,
direct meanings and short, punchy phrases.
It hardly seems to match the long, flowing sentences of Japanese,
but that's what makes Suzuki's lyrics so intriguing.
These Japanese-language tunes,
especially "Naze" and "Negai," sound natural and powerful,
as if Japanese just might become the second language of the blues.
He's no less amazing on guitar, playing with a gutsy,
seems-easy style that fits tightly with the band of old friends.
His solos never force themselves but have a wallop to them.
Yoshi Shimada on drums, taking an evening off from his own band,
has honed his rhythms backing Bo Diddley,
and kept everyone right in the great grooves.
Guitarist Tsutomu Mitsue and bassist Kaoru Yamauchi
were veteran-tight without being too slick to party.
The evening showcased both slow blues and rollicking, full-blast numbers.
You can hear his experience on the road with blues masters
like Son Seals, Little Milton, Magic Slim and Elvin Bishop.
Playing with these masters, he knows just how to crank up the amps,
drop down on the right beats and bring the blues in loud and clear.
His voice really aches, knowing well
what each and every word in the songs means,
always with the fluid, easy grace
that only full-time blues players ever have.
That way of approaching each song as if it's special,
and having the sense and skill to make them all special,
comes from years on the road.
Whether playing a country-picking style, a wide-open slide,
or a muscular blues-rock beat,
he pours deep, deep feeling into every tune.
Those who missed his couple weeks of shows
should be ready next time he comes to Japan, hopefully soon.
Until then, though, his latest CD, "From Where I Am,"
recorded last year in New York, captures his unique Japanese lyrics
and great standards with musician friends from the States.
When you hear his passionate blues in Japanese,
you know the blues, like the human heart that is its vital organ,
really has no boundaries.
(Michael Pronko from "Jazz in Japan",
http://www.jazzinjapan.com/lr_suzukihiromasa.html)
From the Liner-note
When I first heard Hiro Suzuki at BB King's club in New York
I was impressed by his technique and feeling.
Since then I've seen him play with Deborah Coleman's dynamite blues group,
and been lucky enough to have him sit in with my band several times.
I love the way this guy plays!
His new album has the real deal blues feel- I was especially knocked out
by the super-funky "Naze".
(March 28th 2008, Elvin Bishop)Hiro Suzuki proves that you can be
a soulful blues player no matter where you come from.
(May 2nd, 2008, Shemekia Copeland)Hiro Susuki is a damn good guitar player!
(April 26th 2008, Arthur Neilson, Shemekia Copeland Band)
ヒロ・鈴木のギターには永年ニュー・ヨークに住み、動き、
やりとおして来た凄みとともに誠実な人間性を感じとれる。
一緒に演奏してても多いに楽しさを共有できる、存在感あるプレイヤーだ。
（２００８年３月２７日、塩次伸二 ）
The Gas House Gorillas
Five Gorillas Walk Into A Bar...
Self Release
www.gashousegorillas.org
www.myspace.com/thegashousegorillas
How is album cover art related to the music contained in the CD? No simple answer to that one is there? When the cover is a cartoon of a rowdy bar scene with patrons ranging from passed-out-on-the-bar to gorgeous hunk with admiring babes to a jumping lunatic in a straight-jacket, well.... you just know this has got to be a fun album. Fun – especially with a name like The Gas House Gorillas.
Based in Brooklyn, New York City, GHG is Rick Fink (vocals), Dan Hickey (drums), Hiro Suzuki (big Gretsch guitar), Crusher Carmean (aluminum chrome upright bass), Tim Veeder (Sax). With a killer voice, Rick Fink (after successfully fronting rock bands for years) found his true calling when he formed the Gas House Gorillas. His song writing skills and boundless high energy blur the lines that separate Jump Blues, Rock, and Swing, creating a mixture of American music.
Their main website reveals the origin of their name, "As Bugs Bunny fans may recall, the Gas House Gorillas were the team of Brooklyn mugs the 'wascally wabbit' was up against in the 1946 classic 'Baseball Bugs.'"
Both of their websites emphasize their live shows, "At a Gas House Gorillas' show the crowd plays just as important a role as the musicians on stage. Whether singing along, cutting a rug, or adding their two cents to the between song banter, this kind of interaction is what makes a Gorillas' show great." Many songs on this, their second album try to capture some of that performed-live-donnybrook.
The CD kicks off with Wynonie Harris's "All She Wants To do Is Rock," and it is sung just as suggestively as the hucklebucking original. Saxophone leading the way, balls out vocals, background vocal accents, mid song solos by sax and smoking guitar, bass popping, drums kicking – simply put it is Rock and Roll heaven.
The second number is a complete change. Original tune "Queen of the Night" is a jazz inflected stunner. While the guitar and bass flow, the real showcase is Tim Veeder's creative sax floating over, under, around and through the vocals.
"Where Did Harlem Go?" is a 1:33 minute upbeat rip replete with scat, whistle, some vocals through a harp mic, and a bass/drum rhythm show. The fun is pumping now.
"Kidney Stew" is a great smooth-groove cover of Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson blues. "Memories Of You" slows the pace for dancers looking for a tight embrace. Blending pop with a gentle swing, the song is reminiscent of classic songs of early rock and roll. Hiro Suzuki gets an amazing organ-like sound from his guitar.
For 80 seconds, you may think you have blown your speaker woofers as
"Everyone Says I Love You" plays. Sounding like a wavering-speed 78 rpm record, Fink sings a 1920s-esque, Betty Boop sounding humorous love parody ala Groucho Marx. It immediately gives way to wild bass string popping on "Nine Lives." Hold on because this Rockabilly snapper is completely over the top in the vein of the best Stray Cats energy explosion of vocals, guitar, and, in this case, saxophone.
The closing number, "Burglar in the House of Love," leaves us rocking with more of the instantly likeable singing of clever lyrics, great guitar, sax and rhythm that make this album a fun trip to retro-ville 50s – 60s Rock and Roll where most baby-boomer blues fans began. Only one thing left to do, see these guys live!
James "Skyy Dobro" Walker from Illinois Blues
http://www.illinoisblues.com/bluesartists/gasgorrillas.htm