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Freddy Anzures
フレディー・アンズアース。サンフランシスコ在住。AppleとWax Poeticsのデザイナーを掛け持ち、propsRadioでDJも行う。趣味はグラフィック・デザインと音楽。最近の仕事:http://www.p-r-o-p-s.com 好きな言葉:ブライン・イーノが言った言葉「私が本当にやりたいこと。もし私にある程度の権限があって私の夢のグループを作れるとしたらの話だが、それは、パーラメントとクラフトワークをくっつけて、『さあ1曲作ってみろ』と言ってみたい。パーラメントのへんてこで感覚的なフィーリングに、へんてこだがきっちりしていてお堅い感じをプラスする……。私は2つの究極をくっつけるとどうなるか、そしてどうすれば2つがうまく融合するのかを見てみたい」インタヴュアーはグレン・アブライアン。アンディ・ウォーホルの「Interview」マガジン1978年6月掲載。
TITLE: propsRadio • HERBIE HANCOCK Japan Only Special
September 18, 2009

Herbie Hancock is just like Japan. What they share is a reverence for history and tradition combined with an incessant drive to envision the future; two seemingly opposing forces that are harmoniously fused…just listen to Herbie’s music or peep Japanese culture.
I have never been to Japan; I really need to make my way there soon. Herbie’s been there many times, as evidenced by the handful of Japan Only releases he put out in the 70s and 80s. It’s no surprise to me that someone like Herbie would be big in Japan. He is that elder statesman of jazz who got his chops putting out his own records on the legendary Blue Note label and getting up with Miles Davis in his “second great quintet” throughout the 60s, eventually ridin’ with him as he went electric and stirred the Bitches Brew. In the early seventies, Herbie was quick to trade in his Steinway for a Fender Rhodes, plugging in and tuning out, experimenting with electronic sounds and textures. It wasn’t the cold European ambience that Morton Subotnick was pioneering that Herbie was going for; it sounded like Blade Runner set in Africa…a musical mutant combining African rhythms with synthesizers and electronic effects. The three albums Herbie did that exemplify this sound (Mwandishi, Crossings and Sextant) continue to be a guide for my own creative efforts. And if you want to talk about the funk, Herbie’s got that on lock too, singlehandedly creating jazz-funk with his band The Headhunters, giving even Sly Stone a run for his drug money.
Herbie’s penchant for electronic keyboards and synthesizers enabled him to graduate from the old school and apply to the new, puttin’ Grand Mixer DXT on the wheels of steel to scratch and launch “Rockit” into b-boy space, rollin’ out to Japan on the regular to perform live and record with the artists out there. So it’s no surprise Wax Poetics Japan inaugurated Herbie to be on the cover of its first issue. Now into its fifth issue, the JP version of your favorite music magazine keeps it movin,’ bringing that flavor the US edition has been rockin’ for close to 8 years now overseas.
propsRadio compiles a selection of tracks from Herbie from releases only put out in Japan, ranging from live jazz numbers to electronic funk workouts. Special thanks to Masashi Funatsu and Ken Hidaka of Wax Poetics Japan for including me in the blog…this show is a thank you! And extra special thanks to Neil for the translations and Chika for the voices…this would be unimaginable without your help!
propsRadio • HERBIE HANCOCK Japan Only Special
V.S.O.P. The Quintet “Skagly” Five Stars (CBS/Sony)
The Herbie Hancock Trio “Watch It” The Herbie Hancock Trio (CBS/Sony)
Herbie Hancock “Sonrisa” The Piano (CBS/Sony)
Herbie Hancock “Butterfly” Flood:Live in Japan (CBS/Sony)
Paul Jackson “Black Octopus (Pt.1:Many Directions/Pt.2 Eight Ways of Love)” Black Octopus (Toshiba/EMI)
Kimiko Kasai with Herbie Hancock “Sunlight” Butterfly (CBS/Sony)
Herbie Hancock “I Thought It Was You” Directstep (CBS/Sony)
Herbie Hancock “Cantaloupe Island” Dedication (CBS/Sony)







