The Seatbelts

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Seatbelts (シートベルツ, ShītoBerutsu^?, also known as SEATBELTS) is a Japanese blues/jazz band led by composer and instrumentalist Yoko Kanno. The name of the band, according to the fictional description given in the Japanese anime Cowboy Bebop, derives from how the performers wear seatbelts to be safe while they play hardcore jam sessions.

The band performed the whole soundtrack of the anime series Cowboy Bebop and produced a total of seven albums and one live DVD. Their style is very diverse and ranges from a straightforward big band jazz to rock 'n roll ballads.

Since the band is focused mostly on instrumental work, The Seatbelts have no lead singer. But Steve Conte (from The Contes and Crown Jewels) and Mai Yamane participate and sing in many of their songs. The lyrics of these songs are written mainly by Tim Jensen and Yoko Kanno herself. Singers Soichiro Otsuka and Gabriela Robin (rumored to be a pseudonym for Kanno) are responsible for the back vocals on songs such as "Blue".

After a few years in hibernation, The Seatbelts have regrouped in 2004 to perform the soundtrack of the second Cowboy Bebop video game, which is currently available in Japan.

Many of the members of The Seatbelts have also worked with Kanno and with each other on other projects, as well, and some have even gone on to compose their own work. For example, guitarist Tsuneo Imahori also played guitar on the soundtracks for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Wolf's Rain (both of which were composed by Kanno), as well as composing the soundtracks for Trigun and Gungrave.

1 Musicians of The Seatbelts
2 Discography
3 External links

[edit] Musicians of The Seatbelts

[edit] Japanese musicians

Drums - Yasuo Sano, Akira Sotoyama
Bass: Hitoshi Wantanabe, Maki Kitada, Suzuki Bakabon
Guitar: Tsuneo Imahori, Masayoshi Furukawa
Percussion: Mataro Misawa, Ikuo Kakehashi, Yoichi Okabe
Trumpet: Koshi Nishimura, Koshio Araki, Yusuke Hayashi, Akio Terashima
Trombone: Yoichi Murata, Satoshi Kawano, Hideaki Nakaji, Yoshiaka Hashimoto, Masanori Hirohara, Junko Yamashiro
Saxophone: Masato Honda, Shigeo Fuchino, Masakuni Takeno, Takuo Yamamoto, Osamu Koike, Naruyoshi Kikuchi
Flute: Hideyo Takakuwa, Kazuhiro Iwasa, Mika Hayashi
Tuba: Kiyoshi Sato
Harmonica: Nubuo Yagi, Ryuichiro Senoo
Strings: Masatsugu Shinozaki
Synthesizer: Keishi Urata
Producer/Composer/Arranger/Keyboards/Noises/Voices/Mood Setting: Yoko Kanno
Recording & Mixing : Masashi Yabuhara

[edit] New York musicians

Drums: Jim Mussen, Bobby Previte, Tony Reedus
Guitar: Stuw Cutler
PF : Mark Soskin
Bass: Booker King
Trumpet: Steven Berstien
Trombone: Josh Roseman
Soprano Saxophone: Steve Wilson
Alto Saxophone: Bob Debellis
Tenor Saxophone: Paul Shapiro
Baritone Saxophone: Jim Hartog
Djembe: Mike Wimberly, Jonh McDowell
Harmonica: Bill Lynas
Chorus: Paule McWilliams, Nicki Richards, Sharon Bryant-Gallwey, Lisa Fischer
Recording & Mixing: Rudy Van Gelder

[edit] Paris musicians

Guitar: Pierre Bensusan
Percussion and Voices: Sydney Thiam, Michel Reman, David Mirandon, Philippe Drai, Phillipe Nalry, Thierry Boucou
Recording & Mixing: Dupouy Christophe

[edit] Guest vocalists

Carla Vallet, Tim Jensen, Mai Yamane, Steve Conte, Masaaki Endo, Gabriela Robin, Masayoshi Furukawa, Tulivu-Donna Cumberbatch, SYDNEY with Sister R, Emily Bindiger, Jerzy Knetig, Aoi Tada, M, Raj Ramayya, Hassan Bohmide, Scott Matthew

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio recordings

[edit] Live recordings

Future Blues DVD

[edit] Miscellaneous

[edit] External links

The Jazz Messengers, site with many Cowboy Bebop resources.
The Real Folk Blues, site with the information of music played in Cowboy Bebop.
The Seatbelts at MusicBrainz