WYSIWYG - WHAT YOU SING IS WHAT YOU GET - 1997

YEAR: 1997
STYLE: Jazz Rock/ Fusion
FORMAT: FLAC (Tracks + Log + Cue + Scans + 5% Recovery)
SIZE: 414 Mb
COUNTRY: Japan
THE BAND: Ken'ichiro Shinzawa - percussion, keyboards; Koichi Yabori - guitar; Jiro Okada - bass; Ittoku Shimamura - drums

quote]WYSIWYG (What you sing is what you Get), is an all-star fusion ensemble that features Fragile's talented guitarist Koichi Yabori, and also Prism bassist Jiro Okada. On keyboards is a well recorded and sensational player Ken'ichiro Shinzawa, and drumming is Ittoku Shimamura. Anyone following Japanese fusion, knows all to well that the scene there is featuring some of the worlds best musicians, yet many remain unknown, due to poor distribution and press. It doesn't help either that most of these bands websites are in Japanese only, having an English option would be very helpful in getting more recognition.

The music featured on this cd perfectly merges the moodier fusion images of Prism's music, and pairs it with the more technical fusion of Yabori's band Fragile. If you are aware of these bands, WYSIWYG fit perfectly between the two. There are moments of meandering solos, and fairly generic jam centric fusion, but there are also some highly intricate sections, and through the course of the cd, the performances by all are superb.

Yabori and Shinzawa get to share the main stage as the bands soloists, Yabori has a heavily jazz based technique, but he will get his tone dirty enough to give the guitar the needed edge to lift the music in and out of the many moods that they play in. Shinzawa, has a full compliment of sounds that he plays in, whether it is the organic jazz piano, or some saturated synth patches, his playing is catchy and flawless, both Okada and Shimamura are dedicated jazz musicians, and perform fluid, seamless backdrops of intricate rhythms to set the stage for the keys and guitars.

Overall I'd have to say that I wished the music was more aggressive, as it stands it is a mixed bag, though the performances are first rate, the majority of the songs have a relaxed atmosphere, which surprised me, having heard Yabori in Fragile, he can be as intense a fusion player as there are anywhere, yet here he maintains a fairly tame style through out the length of this cd. A good cd, yet fusion fans would be much more impressed with Fragile or Prisms band recordings.