Blue Notes: Jeff Berlin and Kazumi Watanabe

The last time bassist Jeff Berlin played Hong Kong was at the City Hall, with a band including fellow Berklee College of Music alumnus Ted Lo on keyboards.

The gig was going well, with neither the musicians nor the audience showing any inclination to quit, when one of the building's janitors, who felt differently, walked out from the wings, tapped Lo on the shoulder, and told him he needed to lock the place up.

It was a surprising moment for all concerned except the janitor and one unlikely to be repeated this Friday at Youth Square Y-Theatre, when Berlin returns with a trio featuring Kazumi Watanabe on guitar and Virgil Donati on drums.

This is a truly international line-up. Berlin is a New Yorker, Donati is from Melbourne, and Watanabe was born in Tokyo. The Japanese guitarist is no stranger to Hong Kong audiences, and in 2006 collaborated with Eugene Pao and South Korean guitarist Jack Lee on the Asian Super Guitar Project album and tour.

Watanabe, who is mainly associated with fusion jazz, is probably the most internationally prominent Japanese jazz guitarist, and divides his time between projects with fellow Japanese and Western players. His debut album, Infinite, was released in 1971 when he was 17, but he made his breakthrough with the band Kylyn and their self-titled album in 1979.

The group also featured keyboardist - and later actor and soundtrack composer - Ryuichi Sakamoto, who was also a member of pioneering electronic band the Yellow Magic Orchestra, with whom Watanabe guested on an international tour.