June Yamagishi

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June Yamagishi
June Yamagishi at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 2004
June Yamagishi at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 2004
Background information
Birth name Junshi Yamagishi
Born June 6, 1953
Origin Ise City, Mie Prefecture, Japan
Genre(s) R&B, Blues, Jazz
Occupation(s) musician
Instrument(s) guitar
Years active 1970-present
Associated acts The West Road Blues Band
So Bad Revue
Chickenshack
Band of Pleasure
The Wild Magnolias
Papa Grows Funk
Johnny Vidacovich Trio

June Yamagishi (山岸 潤史, born Junshi Yamagishi, June 6, 1953, in Ise City, Mie Prefecture, Japan[1][2]) is a guitarist based in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the guitarist for bands Papa Grows Funk and the Wild Magnolias.

Contents

[edit] History

He has been active in the Japanese blues and jazz scene since the early 1970s. In 1972, he formed the West Road Blues Band in Kyoto along with vocalist Takashi "Hotoke" Nagai, guitarist Shinji Shiotsugu, bassist Tadashi Kobori, and drummer Teruo Matsumoto. The band soon became one of the main acts in then thriving blues scene in the Kansai region.

In 1975, Yamagishi went on to join a soul band named So Bad Revue, and in 1979, he released the first album under his name titled Really?!.[1]

During the 1980s, he played with bands Myx and Chickenshack (a Japanese band different from the British one) and in the 1990s, he formed the Band of Pleasure with guitarist David T. Walker and drummer James Gadson and released three albums before they disbanded.

In 1995, Yamagishi left his well-established career behind in Japan to live in New Orleans where he still lives today. Since he found his home in the Crescent City, he has played with musicians including Earl King, Henry Butler, Davell Crawford, Marva Wright, George Porter, Jr. among many others aside from the two groups he has been a member of.

In 2007, he reunited with West Road Blues Band guitarist Shinji Shiotsugu to record Together Again - Blues in New Orleans. It is an all blues album recorded in New Orleans with support from the local musicians including John Gros and Marva Wright.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Solo

  • 1979 Really?! (Flying Dog)
  • 1981 All the Same (Invitation)
  • 1988 Give This Love (Try M)
  • 1993 Jack of the Blues (BMG Victor)
  • 1994 Smokin' Hole (BMG Victor)
  • 2007 Together Again - Blues in New Orleans (Victor Entertainment), with Shinji Shiotsugu

[edit] West Road Blues Band

  • 1973 Live In Magazine No.1/2 (Chu Chu Record)
  • 1975 Blues Power (Bourbon)
  • 1975 Live in Kyoto (Bourbon)
  • 1984 Junction (Invitation)
  • 1995 Live in New York (Zain)

[3]

[edit] Chickenshack

  • 1986 Chickenshack I (Meldac)
  • 1986 Chickenshack II (Meldac)
  • 1986 Urban Square (original soundtrack) (Meldac)
  • 1987 Loving Power (Meldac)
  • 1987 Chickenshack III (Meldac)
  • 1988 Chickenshack IV (Meldac)
  • 1989 Chickenshack V (Meldac)
  • 1990 Loving Power II (Meldac)
  • 1990 Chickenshack VI (Meldac)

[4]

[edit] Band of Pleasure

  • 1992 Live at Kirin Plaza
  • 1994 Band of Pleasure
  • 1995 A Tiny Step

[5]

[edit] The Wild Magnolias

  • 1996 1313 Hoodoo Street (AIM)
  • 1999 Life Is a Carnival (Metro Blue)
  • 2002 30 Years & Still Wild (AIM)

[6]

[edit] Papa Grows Funk

[7]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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