Kubota’s Take on American Soul Only So-So

It was impossible to doubt the sincerity of Japanese-born R&B; singer Toshi Kubota when he explained his lifelong fascination with American soul icons at the Roxy on Tuesday. But although his music reflected the same ‘70s influences that inform many like-minded U.S. acts, he proved little more than a competent curiosity.

Backed by an enthusiastic eight-piece band, Kubota, who has released nine albums in Japan since 1985 and moved to New York in 1994, drew the 45-minute set largely from his second English-language collection, “Nothing but Your Love.” Though not as sprawling as live P-Funk or even Lucy Pearl, whose Raphael Saadiq contributed to the album, the show cultivated a loose, old-school vibe spiked with hip-hop flavor.

Kubota certainly looked the neo-soul crooner with his bushy hair, hip shades and vintage-style brown leather jacket. He was personable enough when talking to the mostly Asian American audience, but his vocals were only passable, and the songs’ messages of seduction and brotherly love were undistinguished.

It’s refreshing to see someone doing his part to spread George Clinton’s “one nation under a groove” philosophy. But the listeners who stuck around in vain for an encore might have been better served had Kubota taken another page from Clinton’s book and indulged their requests for more.