Did Jimi and SRV Have a Love Child?
I missed seeing Hendrix live. I was privileged to see Stevie Ray Vaughan live. Twice. The second time was just months before he died in that stupid helicopter crash. Both of them were transcendent game-changers, as I don’t need to remind most people reading this.
Do you think it’s a coincidence that three of the greatest electric guitarists ever made their mark leading trios? I’m thinking, of course, of Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Eric Clapton. Maybe it’s a coincidence. But a trio indeed poses special challenges, and only the most capable musicians can meet them.
There is the challenge of filling musical space with only three instrumental voices. There is the fact that you have no place to hide if you make a mistake. There is sheer endurance — every member of the band carries the band. A three-legged table doesn’t work if one of the legs is wobbly. The trio format filters out the merely good, leaving only the best standing.
The trio is a common format in classical music and jazz, where the bar to be taken seriously as a musician is extremely high to start with. It is not a common format in rock because basic competence is enough to get you in the game in rock, but that isn’t enough to make it in a trio. Historically most rock bands haven’t written music that demands much more.
But a new power trio is on the block, and they have the talent to become the best ever. Before I delve into their details, I think the best introduction is to see and hear them do their thing. Here is their first professionally shot music video.
Note: they were only 18, 16, and 15 when this was recorded.
Asterism are an instrumental power trio from Fukuoka, Japan. They consist of:
Haruka Noma, guitars
Miyu Yoshinaka, bass
Mio Yoshinaka, drums
I featured them in my 2022 Instrumentals of the Year picks, one of three bands that made the cut. Here is that article (you’ll also love the other two bands featured).
In 2014, Mio and Miyu were participating in a youth music festival in their hometown near Fukuoka, Japan. They were only 14 and 12 years old at the time, but they caught the attention of the scouts. One of those scouts had also noticed Haruka Noma — then only 11 — and suggested that they play together and see what happened. They promptly reached what can only be described as critical mass.
The brothers bring a lot of jazz and funk ideas into their playing. Miyu plays 4,5, and 7-string basses. In his hands, any of them is a lead instrument. Both Miyu and Mio are adept at filling musical space, giving them a much richer sound than one would expect from a three-piece. This is what you need to stand out from the pack.
As good as they all are, the big draw has been Noma. Not only is she a wizard on the guitar, but as you just saw, she was born to be a rock star. Just watch any of their videos, and you’ll see buckets of attitude, and she can back it all up. You’ll hear echoes of Hendrix and SRV in her playing and see their influence in her stagecraft. She also channels flashes of Joe Satriani, Nuno Bettencourt, John McLaughlin, Larry Coryell, and Akira Takasaki, among others.
If you are a guitar nerd, listening to her is like hitting the freakin’ jackpot.
Asterism write most of their own music, covering many styles but leaning toward dense, technical, jazz-inflected progressive rock.
“Then and Now” (2021, from their second album, “Guernica”)
I hear homages to Rush, Mahavishnu Orchestra, King Crimson, Larry Coryell, and Return to Forever, all seamlessly flowing one into the other. Again, they have a rich sound that is rare for a three-piece band. Two of them are still teenagers here. It’s just a bit scary.
Let me know what you think. I will be posting more fromsdx Asterism.