10/07/11 Jamming with Shun:
When I was in Taiwan a few months ago I got the chance to play with Shun Kikuta a few times. Shun was Koko Taylor's guitar player for 9 years as well as having played with a who's who of blues artists including BB King. Check out his facebook page for more about Shun.
That was a real treat for me to play with someone who has played with so many great artists. You can tell from his first note you are in for a treat. So many players go for flash and speed but Shun just seems to play the 'right' thing and with so much feeling and emotion.
While talking to him I found out one the things he does is give lessons so I thought what the heck and went over to his place for a one on one. I wasn't really looking to learn any licks, to me it was just cool to get a chance to Jam with him. I learned some cool things by keeping my ears open and listening to how he approached things. After that he invited me to play with his band at Capones in Taipei.
The highlight for me though was when we were both sitting in with BoPoMoP. It was two years to the day after Koko had passed away and Shun did a tribute to her "The Sky is Cyring". It was really moving and emotional being on stage with him while he did that song. He really plays from the heart and probably none more than during that song. And besides being a great guitar player, he's a really nice man.
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