According to Sakurai at his solo performance concert on May 8, 2013, this album is going to be on sale in Thailand.
But first of all... I cannot write Thai at all, and this weblog might not display Thai characters.
So let me place in English.
I suppose there is no need to explain about Casiopea:
Their record debut came in 1979.
They grew up in popularity in no time, and became worldwide famous during 1980s.
Sakurai was one of the original members, but in 1989, he left the group with Akira Jinbo, the drummer.
Unfortunately, it was when I was a child who didn't have gained ear for music yet.
So a few of his fans I met at concert places wonder how I knew about him while I didn't experience the first Casiopea boom in real-time.
As for me, I found his name for the first time in 2003 as a Japanese who has performed with my favorite Brazilian singer.
From 1990s, Sakurai has been working on various bands and projects, recording his solo works.
This trio is one of them; with a guitarist Greg Howe and a drummer Dennis Chambers whom Sakurai respects a lot.
This album "Vital World" was recorded in 2010 with the trio after nine years of absence.
He shared his essential latent idea about his music with Greg and Dennis so that they could express their appeals enough through his music.
His title is a jazz bassist, but this album will gain favor also with hard-rock fans.
Sakurai started to play the electric bass when he was thirteen, and "Are You Ready?" by Grand Funk Railroad is the first song he played with electric bass.
This album must be beyond border, with high energy and interaction of beat, melody and harmony.
Actually, he took part in jazz festivals in Indonesia twice.
And he's been invited to a jazz festival in Cairo, and "Vital World" is going to be on sale in Thailand and he will visit there to perform, too
-So he will be busy traveling Asia and other countries.
I wonder what kinds of live performance he is showing -he didn't mention the details.
He might perform with guitar trio or band -but prospectively, solo performance he has been working on from 2010.
Then, some people might wonder what a bassist's solo performance is like.
Well... seeing is believing, but if you cannot see his stage, how about listening to his latest album "Talking Bass"?
Electric bass is usually inconspicuous musical instrument performing vital role in music -but this notion might change.
Of course, great bassists support the music they perform firmly and perform fabulous solo.
In this album, electric bass is the main instrument.
Sakurai says that electric bass is partner in his life, alter self, and a buddy getting along in years together.
And he declares to continue his career for life -at least until seventy or eighty.
Back to "Vital World"; while he was recording this album, his father fell into critical condition due to illness.
So the closing number is "Father", the only ballad in this album -and his father departed to Heaven in summer 2011.
This is one of the backgrounds he has decided to make all the things he wants to do come true as a musician so that he wouldn't regret at the end of his life.
He plans to make a release of a new album tribute to Jaco Pastorius on Sep. 21 -and this is one of them.
This information is also from Sakurai's talk on May 8.
It's the first time I place two albums on "Favorite" at once
-I placed an album and a single at once before, though.
"Vital World": September 8, 2010 King Record, KICJ 598
"Talking Bass": August 8, 2012 King Record, KICJ 641
