Yoshi Senzaki Blues Band

Today I was fully vaccinated for COVID-19 at last. The past year has been difficult for everybody. I keep my hope that the day to go back to our normalcy will come soon. 

今日、遂にコロナ・ワクチンをフルに接種した。この1年は誰にとっても厳しいものだった。やがては正常な生活に戻ることを願っている。 

During the lock down, it became…

I left my day job in a corporate environment 7 years ago. I have been playing music full time since. Although it was financially a risky move, it turned out to be one of the happiest decisions I made in…

Earlier this year, I made a decision to move back from Chicago to the Bay Area in California. After nearly 3 years of my residency in Chicago, I reached the point that I accomplished most of what I could achieve…

Another major influence in my younger days was Magic Sam. His masterpiece albums 

 “West Side Soul” and “Black Magic”, recorded in the 1960s are still among the top of my favorites. 

僕が若い頃に影響を受けたもう一人は、マジック・サムだ。彼の2大傑作アルバム、“ウェストサイド・ソウル” と “ブラック・マジック” は今も最も好きなアルバムの中に入る。 

His distinguished guitar tone in…

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When I moved to Chicago in 2017, I attended all the blues jams happening in town for my networking with the local musicians. 

2017年にシカゴに引っ越したとき、最初は街のクラブで催されているブルース・ジャムセッションに毎晩のように参加して、当地のミュージシャンと顔なじみになった。 

After continuing blues jam attendance for 3 months, I shifted my exposure to…

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In fact, in my humble opinion, playing chords on a lefty is more difficult than playing solos because I need to decode each chord and figure out the fingering in reverse orders. 

私見ながら、実はこの弦逆張り奏法はソロを弾くより、コードを弾く方が難しい。それは、標準のコードをいったん分解してどのフレットを指で押さえられるのか、いちいち逆順に考え直さねばならないからだ。 

While I was living in…

While I am right handed, my obsession to play a left handed guitar in the Otis Rush / Albert King style goes back a few decades. 

僕は右利きだが、オーティス・ラッシュやアルバート・キングのように、逆利きのギターを逆さにして弾きたいという思いにかられたのは、かれこれ数十年も前になる。 

I grew up in Japan admiring Otis Rush music most, along with the…

The other day I had an opportunity to take a COVID-19 test as a part of preventive measures for my regular check-ups. Fortunately the results came in negative. 

先日、定期健康診断の前段階として新型ウィルスのテストを受ける機会が有った。幸い、結果はネガティブ（陰性）だった。 

This pandemic has damaged the livelihood of many musicians, in particular,…

A few months ago when I returned to California from Chicago, coincidentally it was shortly after the pandemic started engulfing the country. My time in Chicago was simply up after living there for almost 3 years. 

数か月前にシカゴからカリフォルニア州に戻ったのは、ちょうど新型ウィルスがアメリカ全土に蔓延し始めた後だった。３年近くシカゴに住んだが、元来た場所に帰る時が来てしまった。 

While I was…

Last week I drove 2400 miles from Chicago and moved back to SF Bay Area, California. I made it home safely before the nationwide protests erupted in chaos. 

先週、３年近く住み慣れたシカゴから2400マイル (約3800km) を運転して、カリフォルニア州はサンフランシスコ・ベイエリアに戻った。全米の多くの都市部でプロテストの混乱が起こる前に、無事に家に着いて良かった。 

I drove Hwy 55 to St Louis, Hwy 44…

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Chicago is undoubtedly the capital city of the blues boasting of so many great musicians incomparable to anywhere else. However, the unique traditional Chicago Blues sound that got me into the blues in my younger days still exists…

My residency in Chicago is coming to an end soon. I had a good run playing about 200 gigs around the city over the last few years. However, with the city lockdown continuing, it is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain…