Be There, Or Be Square ! *************************************************************************
「2nd Album リリース」&「World Music Grand Prixインストゥルメンタル部門優秀賞受賞」記念LIVE
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Bronze is back. Bronze Sambe and his big, bad-ass sound have returned for a second album, and this time he has some talented musicians to back him up. Joining Bronze is composer and keyboardist m.you-ta, bassist Toru Nishikawa, guitarist Takayuki Kubo and drummer Shigemasa Sakamoto. Together they complement Bronze's big saxophone sound with straight-ahead rhythms and some sophisticated solo work.
Sambe's second album is called Bronze Rush . All the songs on the album are written and produced by Sambe. Bronze and his new band rock. My personal favorite, "Alley Cats,"sounds like an ode to a bunch of drunken guys, but I could be mistaken. Those who listen to the song will start tapping their feet when they hear these latest cuts. On stage, the attractive and petit m.you-ta provides a kind of physical counterpoint to Bronze's massive frame.
Bronze's ambition knows no bounds. A cut from his first album Be called "Smuggler" was named Best Instrumental Song at the World Music Grand Prix. He has high hopes for Bronze Rush too. From the hypnotic rhythms of the opening cut, "Grasp," to the straight-ahead funk of other cuts, Bronze Rush is a special album from a rising star whose beautiful wife is very happy that jazz is cutting down his time at the track.
—Bruce Rutledge, Seattle, WA, USA, June, 2008
BRUCE RUTLEDGE is a journalist and author who lived in Japan for 15 years before moving to Seattle in 2002 to set up Chin Music Press.