IN: Douglas Clare Fischer (October 22, 1928 - January 26, 2012) was an American keyboardist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. After graduating from Michigan State University (from which, five decades later, he would receive an honorary doctorate), he became the pianist and arranger for the vocal group the Hi-Lo's in the late 1950s. Fischer went on to work with Donald Byrd and Dizzy Gillespie, and became known for his Latin and bossa nova recordings in the 1960s. He composed the Latin jazz standard "Morning", and the jazz standard "Pensativa".

In 1975, after ten years of studiowork and artistically successful yet obscure solo records, Fischer found a new direction. Just like Hancock and Chick Corea he was a pioneer on the electric keyboard, and in that capacity he joined vibraphonist Cal Tjader's group. The reunion with Tjader gave a new impulse to Fischer's love of Latin-American music. He started his own group with Latino musicians, "Salsa Picante", which showed great eclecticism in musical styles. Later he expanded to include four vocalists billed separately as "2 + 2".  The album 2+2 won a Grammy in 1981. After that he recorded And Sometimes Voices and Free Fall with the vocal group. Free Fall was nominated in three categories for the Grammy Awards and won under the category of "Best Jazz Album By A Vocal Duo Or Group". Crazy Bird was with the instrumental group and Alone Together, a solo piano album recorded on a Hamburg Steinway. It was recorded for Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer and the German company MPS Records.  In the seventies, Fischer began doing orchestral sweeteners for R&B groups. His nephew, Andre Fischer, was the drummer of the band Rufus, featuring Chaka Khan. "Apparently the arrangements I made for their early records were appreciated, for in the following years I was hired almost exclusively by black artists." Among the artists Fischer worked for are The Jacksons, Earl Klugh, Switch, Debarge, Shotgun (a late 70s offshoot of 24-Carat Black) and Atlantic Starr. His walls are now covered with gold and platinum records from these recordings, Grammy Award Nominations, and several NARAS MVP Awards, culminating in an MVP-emeritus in 1985.  Once his fame as an arranger was established, Fischer also worked with pop musicians like Paul McCartney, Prince, Celine Dion and Robert Palmer. "I am surprised that my arrangements are now considered one of the prerequisites for a hit album. People feel that they make a song sound almost classical."  Classical concert artist Richard Stoltzman commissioned him in 1983 to write a symphonic work using Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn themes. The result, "The Duke, Swee'pea and Me", an eleven and a half minute orchestral work, was performed with a symphony orchestra and Stoltzman on clarinet all around the world.
QUESTION: What happen with the Salsa Picante years?
IN: Arashi (Lan , lit. Storm) is a Japanese boy band consisting of five members formed under the Johnny & Associates talent agency. The members are Ohno Satoshi, Sakurai Sho, Aiba Masaki, Ninomiya Kazunari, and Matsumoto Jun. Arashi officially formed on September 15, 1999, in Honolulu, Hawaii, and made their debut CD on November 3, 1999. The group was initially signed to Pony Canyon and released one studio album and six singles--beginning with their 1999 eponymous debut single before moving to the Johnny's subsidiary label J Storm in 2001, which was initially set up for their succeeding releases.

Arashi began 2002 by releasing their first single under J Storm. "A Day in Our Life" was used as the theme song for Sakurai's comedy drama Kisarazu Cat's Eye and debuted atop of the Oricon weekly singles chart selling 226,480 copies. Their subsequent releases of the year, "Nice na Kokoroiki" and "Pikanchi", were used as the theme songs for the anime Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Koen-mae Hashutsujo and Arashi's movie Pikanchi Life is Hard Dakedo Happy (pikanchi Life is HarddakedoHappy, Pikanchi Life is Hard But Happy) respectively.  Starting in 2003, the group would only release two singles every year until 2007. Both singles released in 2003, "Tomadoi Nagara" and "Hadashi no Mirai/Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono", debuted at number two on the charts. The song "Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono" marked the first time a member contributed to the penning of a single, as many of the group's songs are produced by other lyricists, composers, or musicians. Sakurai, who is the designated rapper of Arashi, has since written all the incorporated rap lyrics of the group's releases.  2004 was Arashi's fifth anniversary since debut. They began the year by releasing their twelfth single, "Pikanchi Double", in February as the theme song for their second movie Pikanchi Life is Hard Dakara Happy (pikanchi Life is HarddakaraHappy, Pikanchi Life is Hard Thus Happy). Selling 89,106 copies in the first week, it is Arashi's lowest-selling single to date. In celebration of their anniversary, the group released a greatest hits album 5x5 The Best Selection of 2002-2004, which included their second 2004 single "Hitomi no Naka no Galaxy/Hero".  In 2005, on New Year's Day, Arashi released their first concert DVD since How's It Going? in 2003 titled 2004 Arashi! Iza, Now Tour!!. From July 26 to August 24, they embarked on a summer tour titled One to support their album of the same name. One of the highlights of the tour included the live performance their first single of the year, "Sakura Sake", on top of "Johnny's Moving Stage" (ziyanizumubingusutezi, Janizu Mubingu Suteji), a transparent stage that travels over the top of the audience. Invented by Matsumoto, "Johnny's Moving Stage" has since been used in a majority of Arashi's concerts to allow them to move closer to the audience seated at a distance from the main stage. In November, Arashi released a theme song for the manga-based drama Hana Yori Dango, which starred Matsumoto as one of the lead actors. "Wish" went on to sell an estimated 178,000 copies in its first week and over 300,000 copies by the end of its chart run, making it their first single to sell over 300,000 copies in total in nearly three years since "A Day in Our Life" in 2002.
QUESTION:
Where did they tour with this stage?