Yamashta, Stomu

Artist: Stomu Yamashta + Come to the Edge
P: 1972 / 2008
2008 reissue of this album from the master percussionist who studied Jazz drumming at Berklee School of Jazz. In the 1970's he recorded a string of innovative albums for Island records which utilized the talents of such leading musicians as Hugh Hopper, Maurice Pert, Steve Winwood, Michael Shrieve and Klaus Schulze, fusing his percussion talents with Jazz, Electronic and Classical music to create an ambient form of music all of his own. His music has been used by the Royal Ballet. His first Island album, Floating Music was recorded with the band Come to the Edge and gains it's first European CD release with this reissue. "Poker Dice" and "One Way" were used by Nicholas Roeg in the soundtrack of the David Bowie film The Man Who Fell to Earth.

Artist: Stomu Yamashta
P: 1973 / 2008
2008 reissue of this album from the master percussionist who studied Jazz drumming at Berklee School of Jazz. In the 1970's he recorded a string of innovative albums for Island records which utilized the talents of such leading musicians as Hugh Hopper, Maurice Pert, Steve Winwood, Michael Shrieve and Klaus Schulze, fusing his percussion talents with Jazz, Electronic and Classical music to create an ambient form of music all of his own. His music has been used by the Royal Ballet. This 1973 album features a fine band, including Soft Machine bass guitarist Hugh Hopper and guitarist Gary Boyle. It was a fine achievement which propelled Yamashta to a wider audience which would eventually lead to his acclaimed Go albums.

Artist: Stomu Yamashta,Steve Winwood,
Michael Schrieve, Klaus Schulze, Al Di Meola
P: 1976 / 2008
Stomu Yamashta is a master percussionist who studied jazz drumming at the Berklee School Of Jazz. In the 1970's he recorded a string of innovative albums for Island records which utilised the talents of such leading musicians as Hugh Hopper, Maurice Pert, Steve Winwood, Michael Shrieve and Klaus Schulze, fusing his percussion talents with jazz, electronic and classical music to creat an ambient form of music all of his own. His music has been used by the Royal Ballet.
Originally released in April 1976, "Go" is perhaps Yamashta's finest achievement and also featured collaborators Steve Winwood and Michael Shrieve along with artists such as Klaus Schulze and ex-Traffic and future Can bassist Rosko Gee.

Artist: Stomu Yamashta,Steve Winwood,
Michael Schrieve, Klaus Schulze, Al Di Meola
P: 1976 / 2007
The stage show was recorded at the Palais Des Sports in Paris, France on June 12, 1976 and the recital setting allows for considerably longer and more exploratory interaction amongst Stomu Yamashta (percussion/piano), Steve Winwood (vocals/keyboards) and Michael Shrieve (drums). They are joined by legendary jazz axeman Al DiMeola (guitar) as well as Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel veteran Klaus Schulze (synthesizer) -- all of whom had contributed to Go. Filling out the band are Jerome Rimson (bass), Pat Thrall (guitar), Brother James (congas) and Karen Friedman (vocals). Specifically, the licks traded between DiMeola and Shrieve are comparable to the workouts the pair shared as part of the Borboletta (1974) era Santana.
In terms of sheer intensity, it is hard to beat DiMeola's searing leads and Winwood's blue-eyed soul on the driving "Ghost Machine," easily topping its former incarnation.
"Surfspin" lands into the funky mid-tempo "Time Is Here" highlighted by Karen Friedman's expressive exchanges with Winwood, while Rimson punctuates the rhythm with some penetrating bass interjections.
This is followed by the sole Winwood composition "Winner/Loser," which further exemplifies how the spontaneity of the concert yields results that best their predecessors. In fact, on the whole the material on Go sounds like a blueprint for the exceptional and inspired outing found here. The second movement commences with fairly even renditions of the trifecta "Solitude," "Nature" and "Air Voice" -- which had previously been given the name "Air Over."
"Crossing the Line" is an additional zenith, spotlighted by Winwood's emotive vocals and the untamed and otherwise incendiary frenzy of fretwork courtesy of DiMeola.
Clocking in just shy of a quarter-hour, "Man of Leo" provides another opportunity for the players to loosen up and fuse their collective improvisations behind DiMeola's intense soloing and the similarly seminal instrumental offerings from Shrieve, Rimson -- who is at his most melodic -- and Freidman's haunting warbles.

Recorded at the Palais Des Sports in Paris, France on June 12, 1976
All songs composed by Stomu Yamashta lyrics by Michael Quartermain and Steve Winwood
Stomu Yamashta - percussion, piano
Klaus Schulze - synthesizers
Steve Winwood - vocals, keyboards
Michael Shrieve - drum kit
Al DiMeola - solo guitar
Pat Thrall - guitar
Karen Friedmann - vocals
Brother James - congos
Jerome Kimson - bass

Artist: Stomu Yamashta, Michael Schrieve,
Klaus Schulze, Al Di Meola
P: 1977 / 1993
Stomu's label switch from Island to Arista is a bit convoluted, but keeps many things intact. Such as Paul Buckmaster handling the orchestral arrangements, and the familiar cast including Al Dimeola on guitar, Klaus Schulze on synths and Michael Shrieve on drums. Gone is Steve Winwood on vocals, and added are other new players. Not as ethereal as the first, but it has it's moments. Best cuts are "Mysteries of Love", "Beauty" and "You and Me". Definitely recommended.
The album basically alternates between some cool funky numbers with smoking guitar solos by Al DiMeola over top-shelf fusion/funk grooves laid down by Michael Shrieve of early Santana fame and Paul Jackson, J. (Headhunters), and soulful slower pieces featuring vocals by British singers Jess Roden and session vocalist Linda Lewis as well as Doreen Chanter, all relatively unknown in their own right, but with powerful contributions on this album. Various synth interludes are provided by Klaus Schulze. Yamashta's percussion and keyboards are less prominent on this album.

Artist: Stomu Yamashta
P: 1975 / 2008
2008 reissue of this album from the master percussionist who studied Jazz drumming at Berklee School of Jazz. In the 1970's he recorded a string of innovative albums for Island records which utilized the talents of such leading musicians as Hugh Hopper, Maurice Pert, Steve Winwood, Michael Shrieve and Klaus Schulze, fusing his percussion talents with Jazz, Electronic and Classical music to create an ambient form of music all of his own. His music has been used by the Royal Ballet. 1975's Raindog was a fine achievement which propelled Yamashta to a wider audience which would eventually lead to his acclaimed Go albums.

Artist: Stomu Yamashta
P: 1971 / 1996
What a wizard! Yamashta's music on this disc is mind-boggling. Before the likes of Trilok Gurtu and Nana Vasconcelos, this Japanese superhero of percussion took the classical, then the world of progressive music by storm in London.
These two extended pieces from 1971 proved two things: that he was a superb musician and composer, and that he must have been born with eight arms!
Red Buddha swells with more and more fertility, in terms of rhythmic complexity and intrumental depths; As expanding as bends one's sense of time and seduces you into his world of supernatural powers.

Artist: Stomu Yamashta
P: 1985
Stomu Yamashta's music is a skillful integration of environmental sound effects such as cosmic wind, water drops, and bird chirps with a variety of instrumental tones. On Sea & Sky, his talents are showcased at their best. Composed entirely by Yamashta, Sea & Sky is performed primarily on synthesizers and percussion, creating a dramatic recording that makes one think of an expansive, beautiful world that is there to be discovered in all its exciting glory. On Sea & Sky, "electronic and real orchestra fade in and out, blur into one, separate, and work together to create an aural allegory about the birth of life and the growth of knowledge"

Artist: Stomu Yamashta
P: 1973 / 2008
"The Man from the East" was the soundtrack to a fascinating theatre-piece Yamashta presented in Paris and London in 1972. Several of these songs ('Poker Dice', 'One Way', 'Memory of Hiroshima') appeared on the film soundtrack of The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) and have since attained mythical status among fans.