Prism
Prism (プリズム) | |
|---|---|
 Prism performing at Shiba Postal Savings Hall, July 20, 1979 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Tokyo, Japan |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1975-2018 |
| Labels |
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| Past members | Akira Wada Ken Watanabe Daisaku Kume Yoichi Haneda Masaru Fukuda Hideki Nakamura Yusuke Ono Toru (Rika) Suzuki Katsutoshi Morizono Koki (Corky) Ito Yasuhisa (Papa) Shirao Yasukazu Sato Masahiro Sayama Jun Aoyama Satoshi Nakamura Mansaku Kimura Jun Fukamachi Yoshikazu Matsuura Jiro Okada Cheru Watanabe |
| Website | prismjapan |
Overview
Prism (プリズム, Purizumu) was a Japanese Jazz Fusion band lead by guitarist Akira Wada. They are largely considered to have been the country's first fusion band, having formed in 1975. Their debut record was released in 1977 under Polydor records, titled PRISM. Since then, they have released a total of 35 records, including both studio and live albums.
Live Performances
History
Formation
In early 1975, guitarist Akira Wada, who had until then participated in local hard rock bands such as Snow Blind and Roadrunner inspired by pillars of the British rock scene Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, decided to form his own instrumental jazz-fusion band after becoming deeply inspired by Jeff Beck's transformative album Blow By Blow.
Listening to records from artists of the same jazz-fusion movement including Chick Corea's Return to Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra and Santana, Wada decided that a key component of the sound he was trying to achieve was the Fender Rhodes Piano. Seeking the band's first member, a friend had told Wada that there was a young keyboardist named Daisaku Kume who owned a Rhodes, who upon invitation agreed to participate despite having never been in a band before. Around the same time, Ken Watanabe, a bassist that had also participated in the same circle of local hard rock bands, most notably Tanigawa Shiro's Ballerina, was also invited to join the band. At this point in time, the band had yet to have an official name, and would go by names such as "Akira Band", "Wada Akira Session" and "Wolf Boy Ken". During this period, members would also constantly change in a session-like format, but the trio of Wada, Watanabe and Kume would remain consistent.
1975-1977: Pre-Debut Years
In late 1975, the band officially adopted the name Prism, and by the beginning of 1976 they would establish their first known full lineup of members. Akira Wada on Guitar, Ken Watanabe on Bass, Daisaku Kume on Electric Piano, Yoichi Haneda on Organ & Synthesizer, and Masaru Fukuda on drums. Taking advantage of being the forerunners of the budding "Crossover" live music scene, Prism quickly became one of the hottest acts across Tokyo's live houses. Wada's virtuosic guitar technique and Watanabe's high-speed bass became a major selling point for the band. Around this time, Kazuyuki Nishikdao's music management agency Heavy Flight added Prism to their roster of artists.
Around May of 1976, drummer Masaru Fukuda parted ways with the band, and was succeeded by Hideki Namura. Under the management of Heavy Flight, Prism found themselves with many golden opportunities for growth, such as a live studio performance spot on NHK Radio's "Wakai Kodama (Young Spirits)" nation-wide broadcast, as well as several large hall performances alongside other bands associated with Heavy Flight. At the end of June in 1976, the drummers would once again change, with Hideki Nakamura leaving the band and being replaced by Yusuke Ono. On September 5th of the same year, Prism would once again perform at a Heavy Flight event at the Ichikawa City Civic Hall, opening for John Yamazaki & The School Band, featuring Katsutoshi Morizono. This is likely where Prism were introduced to Morizono, whose popularity later played a key role in the bands rising success.
Between late September and November of 1976, keyboardist Yoichi Haneda would part ways with the band. Now acting as a four-piece, December saw another very successful month for Prism, with their first ever Television appearance taking place on December 4, 1976 for Chiba TV's Rock Inn live music program. On December 24, 1976, Prism held their first solo headline concert at the Masion Franco-Japonaise in Ochanomizu, with Katsutoshi Morizono appearing as a guest for the first documented time.
In January of 1977, drummer Yusuke Ono would leave the band, with his replacement being Toru "Rika" Suzuki, who prior to joining Prism had been a member of Casiopea. In the following month, guitarist Katsutoshi Morizono would begin to regularly perform live with the band, and following a concert at the Korakuen Stadium on February 19, 1977 titled Three Big Name Guitarists featuring Morizono, Kazuo Takeda & Creation and Char where Prism had performed as Morizono's band, he would officially join them as the fifth member. Between February and March of 1977, keyboardist Koki "Corky" Ito joined the band as Organist and Synthesizer player, establishing the band's classic, most well-known lineup.
1977-1979: The Polydor Years
Following the addition of Morizono and Ito, Prism were signed to Polydor records for a multi-record contract. The band's highly anticipated debut album PRISM was recorded between April and June of 1977 at Polydor Recording Studios in Tokyo, and was released on the September 1, 1977 to immense acclaim. The album featured guest musicians Pecker on percussion and Yasuhisa "Papa" Shirao on Saxophone, the latter of whom would regularly perform live with the band between 1977 and 1979, becoming a defacto member. According to Wada, the album had completely sold out of all 8,000 copies within the first hour of release.
Following the album's success, a commemorative 'Debut' concert was held at the Meguro Sugino Auditorium (Sugino Kodo) on September 24, 1977. It is reported that fans had lined up up for over 500 meters outside the doors of the venue, stretching several blocks. Lines were apparently so long at one point that authorities were called to assess the situation. At the request of the band, this legendary concert was recorded in full on multi-track tape, but wasn't released in any capacity at the time. 26 years later in 2003, the reels were discovered by chance in Polydor's archive during a re-release project for Prism's first 4 studio and live albums. In 2004, the recording was finally released as a 2-CD live album titled 1977 Live at Sugino Kodo.
For Eric Clapton's 1977 Tour of Japan, Polydor Records, who were in charge of promotion for the tour, had chosen Prism as the opening act following their dramatic rise in popularity. The tour began in Osaka on September 26, 1977, two days after the concert at Sugino Kodo. Prism's opening act was apparently so good that Clapton's tour management made them cut songs from their set, turn down the volume, and take simpler solos. After continuing their live activities and recording demos throughout October, Prism began recording their second album in November of 1977. On March 1, 1978, Prism released their second studio album titled Second Thoughts / Second Mind. Once again the album featured notable guests, including Shuichi "Ponta" Murakami on drums, and horn & strings arrangements by Hiromasa "Colgen" Suzuki. A release commemoration concert was held on March 11, 1978 at the Tokyo Postal Savings Hall, featuring a twin drum performance between Rika and Ponta, which would become a staple at Prism live shows throughout their time as Polydor artists.
The exact timeline is unclear, but at some point between August and September of 1978, Katsutoshi Morizono decided to leave the band to pursue his solo career before the recording of the third album. During this time, keyboardist Daisaku Kume had also planned his departure from the band and would continue his activities in Morizono's group, but he would stay as a guest for the recording of the following album and several live performances. Prism's third album began recording in October 1978, featuring percussionist Yazukazu "YAS-KAZ" Sato, who had been performing live with the band as a guest, finishing in November of the same year. In February of 1979, Prism released their third studio album. titled Prism III.
Shortly following the third album's release, keyboardist Koki Ito had also left the band, forcing Prism to rebuild both their lineup and sound following the departure of three key members. Jazz keyboardist Masahiro Sayama was recruited to join the band, whom Wada had become acquainted with during his time performing alongside him in saxophonist Toshiyuki Honda's group "Burning Wave". After operating for a short period as a four-piece band once more, Prism had organised a handful of "goodbye concerts", to signal the end of an era for the band. Concerts held at the Tokyo Postal Savings Hall on July 20th, and Aichi Cultural Hall in Nagoya on August 31st 1979 featured all members from the band's history as Polydor recording artists, with Akira Wada and Katsutoshi Morizono on Guitar, Daisuku Kume, Koki Ito and Masahiro Sayama on Keyboards, Ken Watanabe on Bass, Toru Suzuki and Shuichi "Ponta" Murakami on Drums, Yasuhisa Shirao on Saxophone, and Yasukazu "YAS-KAZ" Sato on Percussion. These two legendary concerts were professionally recorded and released as the double LP live album PRISM LIVE in November of 1979.
1980-1982: Warner Pioneer Years
Members
The band's final line-up was composed of Jiro Okada (bass), Satoshi "Mansaku" Kimura (drums), Akira Wada (guitar) and Tatsuya "Cheru" Watanabe (keyboards, vocals) as of their suspension of activities in 2018. On March 28, 2021, Wada died at the age of 64.
Discography
Prism have released a total of 25 studio albums and 10 live albums since 1977. The band was signed to Universal Music Group in 2003, which re-released the band's first four albums, and remained their record publisher.
- Prism (1977)
- Second Thoughts/Second Move (1978)
- Prism III (1979)
- Prism Live (1979)
- Surprise (1980)
- Community Illusion (1981)
- Live Alive (Absolutely) (1981)
- Visions (1982)
- ∞（永久機関） (1983)
- Nothin' Unusual (1985)
- Dreamin (1986)
- Live Alive Vol. 2 (1987)
- The Silence of the Motion (1987)
- Mother Earth (1990)
- Rejuvenation (1991)
- A Personal Change (1992)
- Prism Jam (1995)
- Uncovered (1995)
- Prismania (1997)
- Whiter (1997)
- In the Last Resort (2001)
- Present I (2003)
- Present II (2003)
- 【Mju:】 (2003)
- 1977 Live at Sugino Kodo (2004)
- Homecoming 2004 (2004)
- 三位一体 (2005)
- Blue... (2007)
- Prism 30th Anniversary Live! [Homecoming] (2007)
- Prism Homecoming Vol. 3 (2008)
- Invite (2009)
- Palace in the Sky (2011)
- Mode:Odd (2013)
- Celebrate (2017)
- What You See (2017)
