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SAIICHI SUGIYAMA

printable biog page 1

Diana Luke of GLR aptly described Sugiyama as a “blues singer / songwriter”. Originated in Tokyo, Japan Sugiyama has lived in England for the last quarter of century.

His songs are bluesy but melodic. They have an echo of British rock music of the late 60’s/early 70’s nurtured with his Japanese sensitivity. They are seldom in the 12 bar genre and encompass many musical styles while retaining a distinctive identity that is his.

Sugiyama’s album “So Am I”, released in Japan in july 2004 to critical acclaim by the Japanese and UK rock press. was co-written and co-produced by Sugiyama and Pete Brown, the Cream lyricist.

His guitar playing is rooted in the blues from the same era — the Beano album. His bends cut and vibrato stabs like a sharp Samurai sword while his phrasing retains the old-school British elegance and the rich Gibson tone. The combination makes his a distinctive voice. John O’Leary, the founder member of Savoy Brown, once commented that playing with him was “just like being back in the ‘60’s”.

His singing voice has a style and texture of its own that cross between gentle sensitivity and soulful hard edge, compared by some to that of the late John Lennon, a British musician who instinctively connected to the Japanese traditions.

It is this unique fusion of the East and the West, the gentle and the fierce, the spiritual and the physical, that makes the mild-mannered and steel-willed Sugiyama’s music an oasis in today’s barren music landscape.

Sugiyama’s band in studio and on stage included the British R & B legend and ex-Animals Zoot Money, the former Humble Pie guitarist Clem Clempson, the Band Company bassist Boz Burrell and the award-winning drummer Sam Kelly. His current touring band features David Hadley-Ray on bass, Paddy Milner on keyboards and Helder Pack on drums.