Kazumi Watanabe feat. Jeff Berlin Bill Bruford: Lim Poo. ( The Spice Of Life Japan Tour, 1987)

I was in Japan a lot in the 80s and 90s sometimes twice a year until the Japanese economy fell off a cliff in the mid90s. It was a wonderful country to work in, and its people gracious and deferential to a fault. But the Japanese music scene had little to no critical thinking as we would recognise it in the west, so album and concert reviews and interviews never let you know what anyone thought of the music. This clip was captured on a Japan tour with guitarist, composer and producer Kazumi Watanabe and bassist Jeff Berlin in 1987. Musicians typically work as a leader, with a leader, for a leader, or without a leader. With Kazumi, Jeff and I were employees required to provide, to the best of our ability, what the leader thought would make him sound good. Nothing wrong with that at all it s what most drummers do most of the time, and its a very clear power structure. Working for someone is at its best when youre all but working with him: suggestions are requested and