The Seatbelts

were a Japanese blues/jazz band led by composer and instrumentalist Yoko Kanno. The name of the band, according to the fictional description given in the anime series "Cowboy Bebop", derives from how the performers wear seatbelts to be safe while they play hardcore jam sessions.

The band performed the whole soundtrack of the anime series "Cowboy Bebop" and produced a total of seven albums and one live DVD. Their style is very diverse and ranges from straightforward big band jazz, blues, acoustic ballads, hard rock, country, funk to electronic, hip-hop and experimental compositions/elements.

Since the band was focused mostly on instrumental work, The Seatbelts had no lead singer. However, Steve Conte (from The Contes and Crown Jewels) and Mai Yamane participated and sung on many of their songs. The lyrics of these songs were written mainly by Tim Jensen and Yoko Kanno herself. Singers Soichiro Otsuka and Gabriela Robin (rumored to be a pseudonym for Kanno) were responsible for the backing vocals on songs such as "Blue".

After a few years in hibernation, The Seatbelts regrouped in 2004 to perform the soundtrack for the , which is currently available in Japan. They all disbanded once they released the last album.

Many of the members of The Seatbelts have also worked with Kanno and with each other on other projects as well, and some have even gone on to compose their own work. For example, guitarist Tsuneo Imahori also played guitar on the soundtracks for "" and "Wolf's Rain" (both of which were composed by Kanno), as well as composing the soundtracks for "Trigun" and "Gungrave".

Musicians of The Seatbelts

Japanese musicians

*drums: Yasuo Sano, Akira Sotoyama
*bass : Hitoshi Watanabe, Maki Kitada, Suzuki Bakabon
*Guitar: Tsuneo Imahori, Masayoshi Furukawa
*Percussion: Mataro Misawa, Ikuo Kakehashi, Yoichi Okabe
*Trumpet: Koji Nishimura, Koshio Araki, Yusuke Hayashi, Akio Terashima
*Trombone: Yoichi Murata, Satoshi Kawano, Hideaki Nakaji, Yoshiaka Hashimoto, Masanori Hirohara, Junko Yamashiro
*Saxophone: Masato Honda, Shigeo Fuchino, Masakuni Takeno, Takuo Yamamoto, Osamu Koike, Naruyoshi Kikuchi
*Flute: Hideyo Takakuwa, Kazuhiro Iwasa, Mika Hayashi
*Tuba: Kiyoshi Sato
*Harmonica: Nubuo Yagi, Ryuichiro Senoo
*Strings: Masatsugu Shinozaki
*Synthesizer: Keishi Urata
*Producer/Composer/Arranger/Keyboards/Noises/Voices/Mood Setting: Yoko Kanno
*Recording & Mixing: Masashi Yabuhara

New York musicians

*drums: Al Foster, Bobby Previte, Bill Stewart
*Guitar: Bill Frisell
*Piano : Mark Soskin, George Colligan
*bass : Stanley Clarke, Peter Washington
*Percussion: Daniel Sandownick
*Trumpet: Nicholas Payton
*Trombone: Josh Roseman
*Soprano Saxophone: Steve Wilson
*Alto Saxophone: Gary Bartz
*Tenor Saxophone and Bass Clarinet: Chris Potter, Joshua Redman
*Baritone Saxophone: James Carter
*Djembe: Mike Wimberly, Jonh McDowell
*Harmonica: Bill Lynas
*Chorus: Paule McWilliams, Nicki Richards, Sharon Bryant-Gallwey, Lisa Fischer
*Recording & Mixing: Rudy Van Gelder

Paris musicians

*Guitar: Pierre Bensusan
*Percussion and Voices: Sydney Thiam, Michel Reman, David Mirandon, Philippe Drai, Phillipe Nalry, Thierry Boucou
*Recording & Mixing: Dupouy Christophe

Oslo musicians

*Tenor Saxophone: Jan Garbarek
*keyboards and synthesizers: Rainer Brüninghaus
*Guitar: Terje Rypdal
*bass : Arild Andersen
*drums and Percussion: Jon Christensen
*Woodwinds and Voices: Bjorn Svemten, Karin Krog, Peder Friis, Mari Boine
*Recording & Mixing: Manfred Eicher

Guest vocalists

Carla Vallet, Tim Jensen, Mai Yamane, Steve Conte, Masaaki Endoh, Gabriela Robin, Masayoshi Furukawa, Tulivu-Donna Cumberbatch, SYDNEY with Sister R, Emily Bindiger, Jerzy Knetig, Aoi Tada, M, Raj Ramayya, Hassan Bohmide, Scott Matthew, Reynada Hill

Discography

tudio recordings

# "Cowboy Bebop" (1998)
# "Cowboy Bebop Vitaminless" (1998)
# "Cowboy Bebop No Disc" (1998)
# "Cowboy Bebop Blue" (1999)
# "Ask DNA" (2001)
# "Future Blues" (2001)
# "Cowboy Bebop Tank! THE! BEST!" (2004)

Live recordings

# "Future Blues DVD"

Miscellaneous

# "" (1999)
# "Cowgirl Ed" (2001)
# "Cowboy Bebop Boxed Set" (2002)

External links

* [http://www.jazzmess.com The Jazz Messengers] , site with many "Cowboy Bebop" resources.
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