(Translated from my original Italian text by ChatGPT and Piero Scaruffi)

The Japanese multi-instrumentalist Osamu Kitajima (born in 1949), fresh from a band (Launchers) that enjoyed moderate success in the 1960s (thanks to the charismatic personality of his cousin Yuzo Kayama), began his solo career at the end of the decade, attempting to fuse traditional Japanese instruments (such as the koto zither and biwa lute) with the instruments and production techniques of Western popular music.

Based in the United States from 1974 onward, he caused a sensation with his virtuosity, even though he put it at the service of somewhat banal pop-jazz. Osamu and Benzaiten nevertheless remain classics of the genre.

On Behind The Light, playing an enormous variety of instruments, from flute to synthesizer, the Japanese musician concocts cauldrons of stereotypes such as the lengthy Wings of Knowledge and parades of unusual timbres such as Mystic Whisk (in which he juxtaposes Brazilian percussion with flute, the dense tinkling of the koto with birdsong).

The sprawling suites of Source, Heavensent (twenty-five minutes), Through Cosmic Doors, and Eye To I perhaps represent his formal peak.

Beyond The Circle (Higher Octave, 1996) refines the style to an almost baroque splendor, ranging from the hypnotic Afro-funk of Beyond the Circle (a more melodic and less neurotic version of Talking Heads) to the ghostly Far-eastern and Enigma-style chanting of Blue Fire. While several pieces sound repetitive, the production is often spectacular: the cryptic atmosphere of Darkness Desired is sculpted by lazy syncopated beats, mono-syllabic vocals, fourth-world flute, nostalgic piano notes, psychedelic funk-jazz jamming; Goldfish Lingo layers up Afro-funk polyrhythm,several different vocal loops, tinkling keyboards, gentle flute. Distant Episode