Peter Barakan¡¯s Live Magic!, an annual two-day music festival featuring roots music from Japan and around the world, is back for its 10th edition on Oct. 21 and 22 at Ebisu Garden Place.
As the name implies, the festival is spearheaded by Japan-based DJ and broadcaster Peter Barakan, who was able to invite artists from around the world to play for the first time since 2019.
The lineup includes Jon Cleary, who Barakan describes as ¡°the definitive New Orleans piano player.¡± Cleary is playing both Saturday and Sunday, and, aside from original material, will play a tribute to some late New Orleans greats.
Also appearing both days is Oreka TX, a duo from the Basque Country who play the txalaparta, a percussion instrument played by hitting boards tuned to different frequencies with wooden sticks held upright.
¡°They get these incredibly intricate rhythms going,¡± Barakan says. ¡°Watching it, it¡¯s like, ¡®Wow, how do you do ³Ù³ó²¹³Ù?¡¯¡±
Other groups from outside Japan include Brainstory, a largely instrumental trio from California who blend ¡°rock, soul, Latin and bits of jazz,¡± and Senegalese singer-songwriter Zale Seck, who will play with backing from Japanese group Japon Daagou.
Meanwhile, performing on Saturday is Minyo Crusaders, which Barakan describes as ¡°one of my favorite bands in Japan right now.¡± The group, who are regulars on the European festival circuit and at Japan¡¯s Fuji Rock Festival, blend Japanese folk songs (³¾¾±²Ô²â¨) with Latin and African music.
¡°They were back in Europe for a whole month this year, playing festivals almost every day, so I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll really have their chops honed by now,¡± says Barakan.
Saturday will also feature Chitose Hajime, who sings in the traditional style of her home island of Amami Oshima, Kagoshima Prefecture; Miuni, a four-piece that mixes shamisen with saxophone and keyboards for a unique take on ³¾¾±²Ô²â¨; and Yuji Hamaguchi, who plays ¡°really superb acoustic guitar in a number of different styles,¡± says Barakan, who has hosted Hamaguchi at Live Magic! every year since the festival started.
Sunday features veteran saxophonist Yasuaki Shimizu; Dos Orientales, a duo featuring legendary Uruguayan pianist Hugo Fattoruso; and Romantic Babalu, an Afro-Cuban group making its Live Magic! debut.
Aside from assembling a diverse lineup of musicians from Japan and abroad, Barakan ¡°will very often ask artists to do something slightly different, just to make it a unique experience for the festival,¡± so even fans familiar with these groups will undoubtedly have something new to enjoy.
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