Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Isao Tomita and Mr Jack Horkheimer

Ever since I was a little kid, I always enjoyed watching Jack "the star gazer" Horkheimer. In my youth, he was known as the Star Hustler, but like most of us moving on with life, he gave up the hustling for gazing. On Sunday night at a seemingly different time every week on PBS, Jack will zip around universe and give the forecast for "this weeks skies," compelling the audience to "Keep looking up!" before being whisked away on the rings of Saturn or sucked and spun into tiny oblivion by a black hole. It is a slight theory of mine that his name change was the last thing to have changed. I won't dive into the conspiracy now, but he and the production quality of his show has yet to age. Is it possible that Jack the Star Gazer is dead and filmed the forecast of the skies to come in several episodes at once? YES! Is it possible that maybe a large part of him died when he could no longer hustle? Absolutely.
One thing has always stuck with me since my childhood viewing of Jack Star Hustler, and it's the theme song. The theme songs is Arabesque no. 1 by Claude Debussy arranged by Tomita and his amazing instrument, the Moog. Just look at him up there in that huge control room, all those synthetic pianos, all that circuitry, cool as can be in his sunglasses. Tomita quickly realized that there was a problem with Debussy's masterpiece, in it's full scope of worldly instruments it failed to "tickle the senses." So Tomita, with his giant instrument that was a huge room, changed the song as well as my life forever.

I was 19 and living in Green Bay, WI years ago, I loved to explore the incredible thrift stores in the area, particularly St. Vincent De Paul. I had no idea who the theme song was written by, I had no idea who Tomita was. It was an accident stumbling upon this record, not searching for it, but it finding me - telling my sight with the incredible artwork on the cover that "Kyle, purchace me and I will only continue to tickle every single one of your senses until your mind is blown." Now, I have had a mind blowing experience from many songs, many times- but never has music made me squirm around the floor laughing, crying, understanding for a brief moment the secrets of the universe like Tomita brings me. Hearing this song became an instant love affair. I felt the nostalgia of my youth jumping with heels clicked like I stayed up too late on a Sunday night and got away with it. I felt the heightened awareness of each note, the song like a series of bubbles rising to the stars and bursting with a single note. It sounded like some notes were laughing at the fun. I felt grown up, listening to records. I felt that this amazing coincidence of finding this silly song on this silly record was no coincidence. I needed this song and it found me.

After that, my roommate and I have complied an incredible Tomita record collection mainly found at St. Vinny's. I often see a Tomita record at a thrift store, and when I find it, I put it at the front of the stack so everyone shopping can see. I've even given one as a wedding gift to a friend, along with a gift card.
If you take the time to look through the records at your next thrifting, keep a third eye out for Tomita and your senses will thank you. (once they stop giggling)