Dr. John has worn a lot of musical hats during his 45-year career. Born Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. in New Orleans in 1940, he was soon deep in the local music scene, playing guitar with many top R&B acts before switching to piano and forming his own group. Taking the music of the Crescent City as his base, funk, rock 'n' roll, R&B, psychedelic rock, blues and jazz have been added over the years to the Dr. John blender of music cocktails.

His 1972 album "Gumbo" was a landmark, featuring songs by Professor Longhair and the hit single "Iko Iko." This was followed by "In the Right Place," produced by Allen Toussaint and featuring the Meters, with two more hit singles, "Such a Night" and "Right Place, Wrong Time."

He wasn't to enjoy commercial success again until 1989, with the jazz-influenced "In a Sentimental Mood." The album's luscious sound won him some new fans, and a Grammy for its brassy duet with Rikki Lee Jones, "Makin' Whoopee." Still, it lacked the vitality of his classic gumbo funk and rock 'n' roll mixture, and so did others after that, like "Afterglow."

Dr. John's latest album, "Duke Elegant," a tribute to Duke Ellington, fortunately doesn't fall into too many soft-centered traps. He offers his own take on some of the Duke's most famous tunes, such as "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)," or "I'm Gonna Go Fishin," with his own distinctive vocal growl and piano style. His backing group, 9-11, apply a funk feel to the Duke's music, as does the Doctor's organ playing on tracks like "Caravan."

Back in the late '60s and early '70s, Dr. John was known for his outlandish shows. In greasepaint, feathers and bright colors, he brought the flavor of Mardi Gras to stages around the world. He's toned it down a little, but his music is as exciting as ever, and true to the tradition of New Orleans.

Dr. John will be here this month at the Blue Note in Tokyo and Osaka, and will probably be playing material from "Duke Elegant," mixed up with at least a few of those '70s hits.

Dr. John at Blue Note Tokyo, May 22-27 at 7 and 9:30 p.m., tickets 8,000 yen, phone (03) 5485-0088 for reservations; at Blue Note Osaka, May 29 at 7 and 9:30 p.m., tickets 8,500 yen, phone (06) 6347-5495 for reservations.

Japan doesn't often take a leading role in introducing artists from different countries to the rest of the world. One exception has been Brazilian musicians, some of whom have made their mark here first, the rest of the world not catching up until a few years later. Currently being heralded in Europe as the savior of Brazil's MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira) is Lenine, already well known to Japanese followers of Brazilian music.

From Recife in northeast Brazil, Lenine grew up listening to a strange brew of Brazilian music, rock 'n' roll and Russian folk songs, the latter because his father founded the Communist Party of Northeast Brazil and named his son after the Bolshevik leader, Lenin.

These days, Recife has become a hotbed of music, but during the '80s, it offered little opportunity for an aspiring musician, so Lenine moved to Rio de Janeiro. Gradually he learned to mix the music he had grown up with (although there aren't too many traces of Russian folk!) with the sounds he was absorbing in Rio; thus Brazilian northeastern music gradually merged with funk, African and other black music. His first album, with science fiction undertones, "O Dia em Faremos Contato (The Day in Which We Make Contact)," was critically lauded in Brazil and Japan.

Lenine joined Kazufumi Miyazawa's "Afrosick" project in 1997, and together with percussionist Marcos Suzano toured in Japan.

Three years later, his new album "Na Pressao (Under Pressure)" is the work of an artist who has fully meshed his songwriting and arranging skills with his eclectic tastes. The hit of the Berlin WOMEX festival in October last year, "Na Pressao" subsequently went to the top of the World Music Charts in Europe and Lenine has spent these last few months touring in Europe. He cuts a charismatic figure on stage, the sound emanating from his guitar almost like a percussion instrument, while his voice hovers and glides around the melody.

In Japan, he might well be joined by some of his Japanese musician friends, in addition to his accomplished band. In reference to his new album, Lenine says he likes working "under pressure," although his pulsating live show can also be strangely calming, despite his hyper-energetic performance.