Tomorrow, 6pm, Taikoo Place; Sunday, 3pm, the Cavern Kazuo Takeda was one of Japan's first guitar heroes. The guiding force behind the band Blues Creation, which he formed in 1969, Takeda and a shifting cast of musicians were Japan's answer to Cream and the bands that sprang up in the wake of that British trio fronted by Eric Clapton. The most successful of those post-Cream outfits, arguably, was Mountain, featuring Cream producer Felix Pappalardi on bass. Blues Creation supported Mountain on a tour of Japan and a friendship developed between Takeda and Pappalardi that led to the musical partnership, Felix Pappalardi & Creation, released in 1976. Recognition in the US allowed Takeda to move to Los Angeles, where he now lives and works as a session guitarist and blues-based jazzman. However, he has continued to work in Asia and first performed in Hong Kong in 1981. 'I was there with Creation and at the time I met local singer Danny Summer. I developed friendships with local Hong Kong musicians through him, including Tommy Chung, Eugene Pao, Jun Kun, Donald Ashley, Roel Garcia, Alfred Wong and so on,' he says. He has since appeared in concert with Summer, and produced a CD for Chung, a fellow blues-lover and guitar virtuoso. Although the blues remain the bedrock of everything he plays, Takeda's musical palette broadened while working with Pappalardi - who was capable of playing complex bebop tunes as well as the thunderous proto-metal that Mountain were famed for. Takeda is reluctant to put a label on the music he plays now, and says he feels obliged to roam across different styles to keep fans in different locations and from different generations happy. 'The reason I play jazz is I can feel blues in jazz, bebop especially, so my jazz is blues,' Takeda says, ahead of his two Hong Kong shows. Takeda has certainly been busy lately, with a CD out titled Mocha, recorded in LA with local musicians, and the live One and Only, which he has been touring throughout Japan. He's looking forward to renewing his connection with local audiences. 'This will be more a relaxing- at-home type of jam with local players. I'll just follow my heart. It's always been like that since I started playing,' he says. Taikoo Place, Tong Chong St, Quarry Bay, free; with Speed King at the Cavern, LG/F Lan Kwai Fong Tower, 55 D'Aguilar St, Central, HK$140. Inquiries: 2844 5095, 9356 9481
