Jin Jin / Firefly
Ever since the early '80s, when Ry Cooder ferreted out the music ofShoukichi Kinaof Okinawa, there has been a small underground of fans who had to be satisfied with occasional compilations and expensive Japanese imports to sate their appetite for this island's easygoing folk music.Bob Brozman, long an aficionado of Pacific island sounds, is the next logical collaborator, and this music with Takashi Hirayasu takes "back porch" to new levels. They hunkered down in a small shack on the small island of Taketomi, Brozman with his steels, slides, and other guitars, Hirayasu with hissanshin, a small fretless lute, and his casual vocal style, and played some funky, mixed-up variations on Okinawan folk music. It's rife with blues, jazz, and Hawaiian touches, as each musician finds common ground and then shakes it around. Some may find the coarse recording sound a bit of a deterrent; it sounds like the back porch because it is, warts and all. That's its charm though, as two musicians with different backgrounds just sit together and jam into the night, offering lively folk-pop tunes and slow, beautiful love songs.--Louis Gibson