Beginnings (Kenso, 1985)

I love this instrumental track by Kenso very much. It's the closing one from "Kenso III" album, a miracle of balance between prog rock, jazzy influences and melody. These Japanese musicians really are a surprising and uncompromising band, and their "Beginnings" proves what I'm saying by its various and liquid beauty.

Kenso released 10 studio albums from 1980 and 2014.

 

You'll find here a mix of basic sounds framed in a composite pattern, full of grace and colours, far from any useless display of virtuosity and aimed to an emotional impact instead. A palette of feelings draw an Eastern, inner skyline, a moving picture and an everchanging soul. So many instruments cooperate to trace a single path going down to each listener's secret garden. An almost spiritual trip I highly recommend.

Good Days, Bad Days (Kenso, 1989)

Taken from "Sparta", the Japanese band's fourth studio album, "Good Days, Bad Days" is a very varied track. The first 2 minutes and a half are a dreaming guitar piece, slow and pensive, not far from Steve Hackett's style. Then the tempo rises up and we enjoy a short intricated prog-rock passage. The third theme is a slightly Oriental one, with a good amount of jazz inside, something Kenso used to like, and followed by a series of almost improvised guitar solos. Here I also appreciate the piano, leading the rythm section.

The album title is in Ancient Greek. Cool.

 

The finale is mostly an accelerated reprise of the first theme and the dreaming guitar finally comes back. This is a beautifully arranged instrumental track, with lots of tempo changes and several different moods and even different genres. The musicians' performance is really good, showing a strong, solid fusion taste, but also a pleasant melody skill, so that even those not liking jazz so much - that's my case - can enjoy such a rich composition.