Compostela

by Joslyn Layne
Reedist and drummer Nakao Kanji, tuba player Sekijima Takero and leader and alto saxophonist Shinoda Masami were the Japanese band Compostela. Active during the early '90s, this talented and clever group of musicians brought a new element to the Japanese jazz and rock worlds: chindon music. A cultural tradition, chindon is a way of advertising new businesses utilizing musicians dressed as samurai and geishas who publicly perform uplifting, brass/woodwinds-based music that's a hybrid all sorts of influences, including Eastern European folk music. Compostela took this street music and folded it into the avant jazz scene of Japan. Shinoda Masami died suddenly at the end of 1992, ending this inspired project. The only domestically available release of their music is Wadachi, available on the Tzadik label, a mix of live recordings spanning 1991 and 1992.