Musicians from Japan, Malaysia and Thailand create a unique blend of Asian jazz
Jazz, Asian style, is being served up in its purest form tonight by one of most exciting quintets this side of the Pacific. The outfit is known as Unit Asia and it features Japanese guitarist Isao "Sankichi" Miyoshi, drummer Hiroyuki Noritake and bassist Shigeki Ippon also from Japan, along with Malaysian pianist Tay Cher Siang and our very own Koh Mr Saxman.
"We'll be making the audience real happy with songs off our debut live CD," says Miyoshi.
The live CD "Debut!" was recorded during the quintet's 2008 Southeast Asian Tour, during gigs at Singapore Conference Hall on October 22 and 23 and Dewan Filharmonik Petronas in Kuala Lumpur on November 3 and 4. The album has nine songs, six composed by the Japanese guitarist.
"Song of Unit Asia" is the opening track and it introduces the band's new jazzy sound to the world.
"It is a simple melody that incorporates minyo [Japanese folk song] and Asian jazz," says Miyoshi.
Miyoshi wrote "Paradise of Fishes" after watching a documentary about the fish in the Amazon and says the "K" in "Walking Around the "K" stands for Koenji, an area west of Shinjuku.
"Koenji was the birthplace of punk in Tokyo and the centre for many restaurants and what we call 'live' houses. It also has a lot of drunks. I open the song with a jazzy feel before segueing into rock beats, which kind of depicts the drunks," he explains.
"Adventure of the Sanchiki", which blends jazz, rock and ragtime, is not a play on the Miyoshi's nickname but is adapted from one of his favourite childhood books, "Adventure of Konchiki". "When I was a kid, I was always wandering around, determined to have my own adventures too," recalls the 50-year-old guitarist, who names his inspirations as The Beatles, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and Johnny Winter, Led Zeppelin and Wes Montgomery.
The story of Unit Asia started in 2007 when Hommura Ryonosuke, a manager of the Pit Inn, the nerve centre of Japan's jazz, decided the time had come to launch a new Asian jazz sound. He selected Miyoshi as the mainstay of the jazz outfit and the two set out to identify regional collaborators.
Next to join were Noritake, former drummer with Japanese fusion group T-Square and bassist Shigeki Ippon. Live auditions for the two other members were out of the question, so Miyoshi spent a long time listening to the CDs of 13 potential bandmates. He chose Koh Mr Saxman and Malaysia's Tay.
"Koh's music is interesting and well suited as it Tay's. Their contributions bring warmth to our sound.
"Unit Asia is all about the Asian feeling. Music is language. All Asian musicians have their different languages and cultures. So, it's a melting pot of Asian ingredients."
After tonight's concert, Unit Asia returns to the studio to record a new album, which is slated for release in June. The band is scheduled to India and the Middle East in October.
UNIFYING
- Unit Asia plays at the Thailand Cultural Centre tonight at 8.
- Tickets cost Bt500 to Bt1,200 at www.ThaiTicket
Major.com.
