Samurai

Japanese rock group 1967-1971.
Samurai was a prog/hard rock band active in the late 60s/early 70s. Not to be confused with the british band [a1554756] renamed from [a268760], this group was started by rockabilly singer/actor Miki Curtis along with fellow Japanese and European musicians, creating a mix of hard rock, psych, prog and Japanese folk. In their time of activity they made two albums. Samurai was led by vocalist/flautist Miki Curtis, who previously played rockabilly music. They went to Europe in late 1967, picking up some European members and thus becoming half-Japanese. In London they recorded in 1970 a single and their debut album, the double-LP Samurai a.k.a. Miki Curtis & Samurai, as well as a single only released in Italy (1969). Their 2nd album "Green Tea" (1971) was simply a single-LP repackaging of the debut only released in Japan, to where the band had returned. In 1971 the band released "Kappa". The band played a varied kind of psychedelic progressive rock, occasionally a bit hard-rocking, with jazzy and exotic Asian touches and with a 22-minute closing jam. They’ve been compared by Vernon Joyson to Andwella’s Dream and early Traffic. The bass player, Tetsu Yamauchi, was later in Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu & Rabbit, Free and The Faces, as well as pursuing a brief solo career. Drummer Yujin Harada was later in the last incarnation of Far East Family Band.

Original members:
ミッキー・カーチス　ボーカル
ヒロ・イズミ　ギター
山本五郎　ベース
冬梅邦光　サックス（元・寺内タケシとブルージーンズ、のち・リッキー＆９６０ポンド）
菊地牙　ピアノ
豊澄芳三郎　ドラムス
Later period
山内テツ（ベース、元ザ・マイクス、後にフリー、フェイセズ）
原田裕臣（ドラム、後にPYG、井上堯之バンド、ゴダイゴ）
John Redfern（キーボード）
Joe Dunnet（ギター）