Jagatara was a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 band centered around Edo Akemi. They are renowned for their unique sound, which has been described as a mixture of rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

, especially punk

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

, funk

Funk

Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...

 and reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

.

The band formed in March, 1979, and released their first album 'Nanban Torai' 「南蛮渡来」in 1982. Their multi-musical approach resulted in collaborations with differing artists from around the world, such as Mute Beat

Mute Beat

Mute Beat was an influential dub reggae band from Japan. Their first release was a self-titled cassette on New York's Roir label. - Members :* Kazufumi "Echo" Kodama - trumpet* Akihotp Masui - trombone* Hiroyuki Asamoto - keyboards...

, John Zorn

John Zorn

John Zorn is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Zorn is a prolific artist: he has hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, or producer...

, and Mahotella Queens

Mahotella Queens

The Mahotella Queens are a South African singing group formed in 1964 comprising Hilda Tloubatla, Nobesuthu Mbadu and Mildred Mangxola...

. On January 27 1990, Edo died, and the band broke up shortly after. Since that time there has been an annual concert held by the Shinjuku loft venue in honour of the band, featuring numerous guest musicians performing Jagatara songs.

Band members

• Vocals - Edo Akemi (江戸アケミ aka; 江戸正孝)
• Guitar - Oto （村田尚紀）
• Guitar - Ebby （永井章）
• Bass - ナベ （渡邊正己）
• Saxophone - 篠ちゃん （篠田昌已）
• Drums - テイユウ （中村貞祐）
• Percussion - ヤヒロトモヒロ （八尋知洋）
• Trombone - 村田くん （村田陽一）
• Keyboards - エマーソン北村 （北村賢治）
• Chorus - 南流石 （南潤子）
• Chorus - Yukarie （塚越優香）

Singles

• 'Last Tango in Juku' EP/Record ('Ankokutairiku Jagatara'，1982/5)
• 'Kazoku Hyaku Kei/Pussy Doctor/Nippon Kabushikigaisha' EP/CD (1985/3)
• 'Uki Uki' Live 12" (1987/4)
• 'Ja Bom Be' Live 12" (1988/3)
• 'Tango' CD (1989/4)
• 'Ja・Bom・Be' Ja・Bom・Be+Uki Uki [Reissue](1990/3)

Album

• 'Nanban Torai' LP ('Ankokutairiku Jagatara'，1982/5)
• 'Kun to odoriakaso u hinode o miru made' LIVE LP (1985/10)
• 'Hadaka no Ousama' LP （1987/3）
• 'Robinson's Garden' [Movie Soundtrack] LP (1987/10)
• 'Nise Yogensha Domo' LP (1987/12)
• 'Sore Kara' CD (1989/4)
• 'Gokutsubushi' CD (1989/12)
• 'Sora Sore' CD (1990/5)
• 'Oasobi' CD (1990/6)
• 'Jagatara Naki Jagatara' Live CD (1993/2/7)

Video

• Tengoku Chuusha no Hiru - VHS
• Mi・N・Na - VHS
• Rei no Yatsu - VHS
• Hey Google - VHS
• Nan Nokocchai I - VHS/DVD
• Nan Nokocchai II - VHS/DVD
• Nan Nokocchai III - VHS/DVD
• Baby! Gokigen ni Yatterukai
• Kono!! (Mou Gamandekina) - DVD

External links

• Jagatara official website (Japanese language)