|
||||
|
 New CD by Shinobu Ito, guitarist-composer, who lives and resume activities in New York City and has spent one year to complete this project finally came out here. This music is a tribute to a guitarist who was born in Brazil and one of the most respected guitarists in South America, Baden Powell, and a composer Antonio Lauro who was born in Venezuela who also left us so many compositions for guitar. Baden Powell was a genius who has left many compositions for us with Vinicious de Moraes who is a lyricist of Brazil and created his own unique guitar style called Afro-Samba. Having distinctive style from so called bossa nova guitar, his energies, primitive and improvisational factors, also his spell binding guitar style brought him a fame in the field of jazz scene at first, therefore, it's hard to find any person who don't appreciate his accomplishment in this world these days. In my opinion, I recognize him to be a virtuoso who should be described as one of the Best five guitarists at all the time" along with jazz's Charlie Christian, Django Reinhalt, classic's Andres Segovia, rock's Jimi Hendricks among with all genre's historical guitarists. Although he has past away at his age 63 unfortunately, it's still a fresh memory for us who he visited to Japan 3 years prier to his death and he recorded Afro-fantasia suite (Paddle Wheel) with his two sons, guitarist Lewis Marcel Powell, pianist Philippe Powell. We feel strong relationship with him because of his last recording has been done here in Japan. Bone in Venezuela in 1917, Antonio Lauro was a modern classical guitar composer and especially his four Vales Venezolanos and many other south American flavored compositions has been introduced by many guitarists especially by his best mentor Alirio Diaz and has become very important repertories for the programs at classical guitar concerts. In addition of compositions by Baden Powell and Antonio Lauro which Shinobu Ito has been loving to play for all the time, This CD include a song called Estrellita by Manuel Ponce who was born in Mexico also has left us many important compositions for classical guitar and Serenata Espanola which is the one of most famous composition by a modern Spanish composer Joaquin Malatz and arranged for guitar by Francisco Tarrega who was a pioneer of modern guitar, and a song called Por Causa De Voce which is the one of Baden Powell's best playing in his album called Solitude composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim who was a good friend of Baden Powel. We also have to remark here that Shinobu Ito included five original compositions in this CD as homage to Baden Powell and Antonio Lauro. In addition, though Prologue's solo has a flavor of Antonio Lauro, the other compositions sound so?called jazz fusion touch by using sequencer. It could be said that these compositions are very interesting to listen as a result of which are influenced by them from a jazz point of view. Shinobu Ito, who has completed this CD as a tribute to Baden Powell and Antonio Lauro as world premier, was born in Jan28, 1951 at Kanagawa, Japan. He took lessons from his father at age12 and he has been studying music since then to be a musician. He started to learn jazz guitar when he listened Wes Montgomery during his high school days, he also took lessens from a respected guitar teacher Ikuo Shiozaki, being a member of Tokai University Jazz Circle. America's cultures and atmosphere he sensed while he was staying in Los Angeles in 1975 made him decided to immigrate to the States. He once went back to Japan then and started work for a vocalist Yoshiko Kimura and resumed activities with the top class musicians like Seiichi Nakamura, Shigeharu Mukai, Hidefumi Toki and Takao Uematsu and some others. His CD "One Life To live" (JAZZBANK) released in 2001 playing with these long time fellow musicians became a topic then. He resumes activities in New York Area now. Tetsuya Yanagisawa Dec 2002  |
|||
Reprinted from Guitar Magazine /Jan 2003 issue
Reprinted from Swing Journal /Jan 2003 issue
Reprinted from Jazz Life / Feb 2003 Issue
|
||||
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||
