SixNorth
Prayer

Trust is a rather controversial concept. We spend our lives erecting increasingly thick and impenetrable barriers around us to protect ourselves from others, from envy, from aggression, from hatred... Sometimes we barricade ourselves so well that, in front of those we truly love, we can't be as sincere and open as we would like, to trust without being afraid of betrayal. The countless sealed doors within each of us can thus become insurmountable even for their builders, who, despite jealously guarding the only existing copy of the keys, sometimes forget where they designed the locks, becoming prisoners of their own prison.

Fortunately, every individual has their own ace up their sleeve; something that, magically harmonizing with the most intimate side of the soul, manages to sweep away, as if it were nothing, any sort of austere inner bastion. In my case, we could talk about sound, or rather "sound", that of Canterbury, which, for some arcane reason, exercises an almost transcendental fascination on me, mixed with a profound sense of belonging, acting as a friendly messenger, returned from who knows what reality, to tell me stories of ancient and familiar times, which I cannot remember with my mind, but will never forget with my heart.

Just as I won't be able to forget, neither will Japanese bassist Hideyuki Shima, nor the other seven musicians who accompanied him on this exciting excursion through the green Canterbury lands, which took place in 2003, three years after the first "I'm Here in my Heart", and remembered under the evocative name of "Prayer", as if to consecrate a hypothetical prayer to the legendary fathers of the genre, considered as an inexhaustible source of inspiration by these SixNorth, who do not merely follow obsolete lessons but use the basic elements to build something new, a powerful jazz-fusion with strong progressive tones, characterized by a unique and decidedly personal touch.

After an impalpable vocal introduction, during which we happily meet singer Chizuko Ura, a laugh, like a bolt from the blue, breaks the atmosphere, allowing the whirlwind entrance of guitars and keyboards, immediately engaged in disrupting the rhythms and sounds of the composition, brought back to order by the extraordinary bass of Hideyuki ("Magnetic Factor"), who, to make amends, takes guitarists Shinju Odajima and Takumi Seino by the arm and lets them unleash on a terrain plagued by improbable tempos, dictated by the inexhaustible drumming skill of Hiroshi Matsuda ("The Fourth Way"), intent on venting his touch, energetic yet accurate, in a dense jungle of guitar and keyboard solos ("From Sri Lanka to Titan", dedicated to writer Arthur Charles Clarke), whose acrobatic evolutions wink at compatriots Machine and the Synergetic Nuts.

Sweetness is expressed through Chizuko's graceful voice, accompanied on the occasion by the elegant violin of guest Akihisa Tsuboy, at least before the romantic entry of the saxophone ("Everything Becomes Circle"), impressive both in its solo exchanges with the keyboards of Eisuke Kato and Kunihiro Kameda ("The Enneagram"), and in duets, characterized by sensitivity and harmony, with the vocalist ("The Age of Horus"), who, surprisingly, after an incorporeal and velvety intro of delicately touched keys and lightly plucked strings ("Introduction to Richard"), launches into a magnificent and exciting song, masterfully enhanced by the organ effects of guest David Sinclair (yes, him!), expressive and warm as the tear inevitably destined to trail down the reddened cheek of the listener, lost in a sort of ecstatic rapture in front of the spectacular remake of "Fitter Stoke Has a Bath" ("Richard"), yet another declaration of love to a genre, as well as to the unforgettable bassist of Caravan and Hatfield and the North, destined to remain forever in my, their, and the hearts of many other nostalgic enthusiasts, enchanted by the sight of old Richard Sinclair, silhouetted against the horizon and determined to continue a journey, begun four decades ago, towards a fabulous and mysterious destination, accompanied by his faithful caravan of dreams.