Osamu Kitajima – Benzaiten(1976 Japan Rock, Funk / Soul, Folk, World, & Country)Full Album

Born in 1949 in Chigasaki, Japan, Osamu Kitajima began his career in rock bands that emulated the Ventures, the Beatles, and the Bee Gees. After a stint as lead guitarist for the Japanese pop star Yuzo Kayama and a whimsical 1971 psych-pop LP cut under the alias Justin Heathcliff, Osamu wearied of the Anglo-American musical influences that had marked his career and decided to fuse traditional Japanese musical elements with prog- and psych-rock moves. These impulses blossomed on his second album, Benzaiten, the multi-instrumentalist’s peak and his boldest artistic statement. (The 1977 follow-up, Osamu, is also a mellow beauty—a Far East Asian take on New Age and folkadelia.) “Benzaiten – God Of Music And Water” begins Benzaiten with martial-arts yelps, Dennis Belfield and John Harris’ tight funk bass lines, Brian Whitcomb’s strutting clavinet, and George Marinelli’s delicate guitar filigree, all of which harmonize with wispy flute and chimes. It’s a weird track, like early Commodores collaborating with Taj-Mahal Travellers. A leisurely pastoral stroll bearing Tatsuya Sano’s gorgeous shakuhachi melody, “Taiyo – The Sun” sounds like a direct influence on early Ghost, complete with throaty, grave vocals, as Osamu gets off a lovely guitar solo that curls like incense smoke. The song’s at once utterly blissful and slightly ominous, like walking through a lush forest on your way to a hanging. Featuring future Yellow Magic Orchestra member Haruomi Hosono on bass, “Tengu – A Long-Nosed Goblin” is a Japanese analogue to the Stooges’ “Dirt”; a methodical, serpentine slab of sensuous funk, with Osamu’s electric guitar frayed and wah’d to a crispy grooviness. Like all the best extended jams, this gets more psychedelic as it goes. The epic, mind-altering reprise of the title track offers more of Osamu’s guttural vocal emissions amid wonderful sonic feng shui: minimalist acoustic guitar, hypnotic biwa (wooden lute) riffs, piercingly pretty Hayashi-bue (flute) with African, Mexican, and Japanese hand drums percolating beneath it all. Beginning with a mournful shakuhachi solo, “Whoma – Immortality” goes on an marathon journey of sparse beauty, at points anticipating the questing, East-meets-West ensemble Codona. It solidifies Benzaiten as one of the musical head trips from Asia. A1 Benzaiten (God Of Music And Water) 00:00 A2 Taiyo (The Sun) 03:51 A3 Tengu (A Long-Nosed Goblin) 11:40 B1 Benzaiten (Repris) 17:19 B2 Whoma (Immortality) 28:37 Acoustic Guitar, Synthesizer, Percussion, Electric Guitar, Koto, Biwa, Drums [African, Mexican], Electronic Drums [Rhythm Machine] – Osamu Kitajima Bass – Dennis Belfield (tracks: 1), John Harris (2) (tracks: 1) Biwa – Masako Hirayama (tracks: 5) Drums [African] – Kinji Yoshino Drums [Tsuzumi], Percussion [Narimono] – Kisaku Katada Electric Bass – Haruomi Hosono (tracks: 3) Electric Guitar – George Marinelli (tracks: 1) Flute [Hayashi-bue] – Haruyoshi Hosei Keyboards – Brian Whitcomb (tracks: 1)