ST Fusion live

Yesterday, at 20:15, Timur and I were waiting for a bus to Auditorio. One bus, marked FS (Fuera de servicio, “out of service”) but still packed with mythical creatures, passed by. The no. 17, which we eventually boarded, was late and full of unicorns. I don't know where all of them were heading for none stayed till the last stop. As for us, we went to see ST Fusion. This Japanese-Canarian band had to compete with multiple carnival events in Las Palmas and, next door in the same Auditorio Alfredo Kraus, Pastora Soler. Never mind that: ST Fusion had the audience of true jazz lovers.

In his liner notes for Birds of Fire (not the original LP but a CD that I bought in 1994 and still have with me), Gene Santoro wrote:

Fusion is a dirty word, almost an unword. And this despite the fact that fusion is simpler and more accurately descriptive than some mealy-mouthed coinage like “worldbeat”. But it just goes to show once again (thanks, Mr. Orwell!) how a word can crystallize powerful misperceptions, then flatten and distort our understanding of history and culture. Fusion has become a dirty word because of the 1970s jazz-rock hybrid it got pasted onto, and is practically unusable in any other context.

That was written, I reckon, in the late 1980s. Since then, as Bob Dylan said, things have changed: I heard the word “fusion” applied, with sufficient justification, practically to every kind of modern music, including reggaeton.

So... what kind of fusion is ST Fusion’s fusion? I’d say it’s still firmly rooted in that original MO/RTF/WR jazz-rock fusion, and thank goodness for that! But wait, there’s more to it: classical music, hard rock, MPB, (Japanese) folk, even (Japanese) rap... And?

Ted Gioia said: “A style which includes everything ceases to be a style — it has become an encyclopedia of techniques.” I am happy to report that, apart from formidable technique(s), ST Fusion has got a style, man, and quite a unique one. I came to listen to instrumental music and did not expect to hear, let alone enjoy, Satomi Morimoto’s soprano singing. Guess what, I really did enjoy it, together with her piano playing and most of the stuff the band were doing. But especially these:

• A Japanese folk song (fishing song) with Tomás L-P Cruz swapping bass for shamisen*
• Diagonal — a dedication to Barcelona’s famous avenue and un temazo
• Halfway through the second song (its title escapes me now), Miguel Manescau broke a string and continued his solo as if nothing happened
• Frozen City: Satomi said that she wrote it thinking of Tokyo, “frozen” referring not to its climate but to the people who are far too busy running to and from their work and, for example, nobody stops to ask “¿Que tal, mi niña?” when you are waiting for the bus. I have a theory that not many people in Tokyo even can say that phrase.

ST Fusion Satomi Morimoto: piano, vocals Tomás López-Perea Cruz: bass, shamisen Miguel Manescau: guitar, bass guitar Akior Garcia: drums

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* If I were in charge, I would give the sound engineer a warning; for instance, I couldn’t hear very well Satomi’s singing in this one.