Hikashu and Third Person - Bright Moments

Hikashu with Third Person
April 1, 2013
@ Star Pine's Cafe
Kichijoji, Tokyo

As expectedly, the joint gig of Hikashu and Third Person turned out splendid. We'd say, "you'd been there."

The first set was Third Person plus one of the Hikashu members. Each turn was about 10 minutes, and it proved again that all the members are seasoned improvisers. For example, drummer Sato Masaharu appeared with a small, metal percussion in his hand (which is ordinally used for Salsa music), and subsequently he made a series of incredible sound with just that metal object, plus his voice.

The second set was mainly for Hikashu, and Third Person joined the performance on and off. Not only for sound but performance-wise the two groups were blended amazingly and quite entertaining. Both Umezu and Bennett were often dancing, throwing humorous remarks, and the crowd cheered.

The last number of the set was "The Gospel of Gone" written by Tom Cora, the original member of Third Person who passed away in 1998. Samm Bennett recently wrote a lyrics for the song and he sang it for himself at the gig. It was the first time performance of the new version, but they had already rehearsed it, and the result was flawless. Samm's singing and Hikashu's sound, augmented with Umezu's saxophone, were strong and emotional, especially Shimizu's piano which had a plenty of gospel feeling was impressive. It was a grand finale indeed, and utterly suitable for closing the gig.

It was a delightful and memorable evening. We'd say they shared the same spirit, they were really in the same wavelength, and that's not so common thing. This must not be a one-time thing, and they should be together again anytime soon hopefully.