Power and imagination have been Kazumi Watanabe's mainstays for over 30 years. As a prodigy on electric guitar, his first release was in 1971 at the age of 18 and his ever-evolving guitar technique has served as the central pillar of near-annual releases. In the 1980s, his progressive and very muscular style of jazz fusion, captured most notably on the recording "Tochika," earned him international recognition. In Japan, he is a household name.
A move to acoustic guitar in the '90s failed to jostle him out of his regular position as best jazzman in Japan's Swing Journal Poll, an honor he has received 24 times. In the past several years, he has recorded works that extend his vision from acoustic technique and fusion energy into extended compositional forms and intense jazz interactions with remarkable collaborators. His latest two CDs, "Mo' Bop" and "Mo' Bop II," are brilliant collaborations with two of the best musicians from Africa and Cuba -- drummer Horacio Hernandez and bassist Richard Bona.
Watanabe took time to talk about developments in his own music as well as his vision of music in general in the offices of East West Entertainment Records.