Masterless Samurai is probably the best effort by Osamu Kitajima, a japanese multi instrumentalist better known in the West for his later New Age albums. In Masterless Samurai, Kitajima combines traditional Instruments of Japan (Koto, Sakuhashi, Sho) with a western jazz-rock ensemble thus obtaining excellent results. The album is immersed in the serenity and poetics of the Samurai, but it also expresses a brilliant and explosive vitality, in rythms, epic moments like the sonic background of multicolored swordsmen spinning and fighting around their destiny. Masterless Samurai can also be seen as a concept album inspired by the traditional story of the Ronin,(17 samurais that had lost their master in the hands of a traitor and whose only purpose was to recover their dignity to be able to die with honor). I have never tired of listening to this album. I recommend it to those who like prog and fusion with exotic touches. An excellent and very much forgotten work...
Osamu Kitajima: acoustic guitar, composer, producer, arrangements, koto, biwa, synthesizer, mini moog, shamisen, suzu gong Geoffrey Hales: drums, percussion, co-producer Abraham Laboriel: bass Victor Feldman: fender rhodes, synthesizer, piano Russell Kunkel: drums David Mansfield: violin Stix Hooper: drums Dennis Belfield: bass Brian Whitcomb: organ, whistle Bobby Hutcherson: vibraphone, marimba Tsun L.: erh-hu Alex Acuña: drums Masayuki Suzuki: whistle John Klemmer: saxophone Clare Fischer: string arrangements
