Casiopea – Mint Jams (1982)

March 16, 2024

Mint Jams is a collection of cheeky, sprightly, impossibly complex jazz fusion played carelessly in front of a no-doubt enthralled audience as if it was the easiest and most natural thing in the world. The ease at which the group play in a live environment is truly impressive, although I would be a liar if I said the exact “music” hit the mark 100% of the time. This is an inherent problem I have with jazz fusion in general, that despite the absurd musical talent on display, the tunes come across like the backing tracks for a VHS porno meeting a lost Sonic The Hedgehog soundtrack. I suppose that in of itself could sound like an interesting proposition, but unsurprisingly only a select few weirdos (hi there!) are going to be down for such a thing.