Jazz a Great Collaboration

MUSIC is a universal language, and with that in mind, five musicians with different backgrounds from Japan, Thailand and Malaysia, have come together in a collaborative effort to jazz things up.

Calling themselves Unit Asia, the group consists of guitarist Isao Miyoshi, bassist Shigeki Ippon, drummer Hiroyuki Noritake, pianist Tay Cher Siang and saxophone player Koh.

During a mini showcase at No Black Tie in Kuala Lumpur, the quintet previewed four easy listening jazzy originals, composed by the individual members as a teaser to their upcoming concert at the Dewan Philharmonik Petronas in KL.

Miyoshi’s composition, Walking Around The K, was inspired by a town in Japan where struggling artists live. It was an interesting mix of styles with its odd stuttering intro, fast paced jazz refrains, playful midsection and heavy blues breakdown.

The aim of this project, organised by the Japan Foundation, is to build a bridge between Asia and Japan through music, to enhance networking among participating musicians and to create a new jazz sound from Asia.

Miyoshi, the eldest of the group at 48, started his own band, Sankichi Trio, in 1983 and has been releasing well received albums.

He also plays the guitar in Surprise, another jazz outfit he formed in 2000, and has toured extensively in Japan, as well as abroad, playing and collaborating with many other artistes.

Respected as a leading jazz guitarist in the Japan’s jazz scene, Miyoshi has prominent skills, rich music capacity and ability in diverse genres.

Bassist Ippon, who is proficient on both the contrabass and electric bass guitar, began his professional career after graduating from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 2000.

Ippon, from Yamanashi, is no stranger to working with different artistes in various genres, having played in many live concerts, as well as in studio sessions.

Osaka-born Noritake was already playing the drums in his early childhood and started his professional career in 1985 with popular Japanese jazz fusion outfit T-Square, while studying in Kobe University.

Since then he has performed with many other musicians and toured the world. One of his recent projects is the drum duo collaboration, Synchronised DNA, with world renowned drummer Akira Jimbo.

“I was worried and intimidated initially but once rehearsals started, I realised that I could gel with them and, at the same time, they were very accepting,” says Tay during a short interview with the quintet.

“We have mutual respect for each other and so far we’re having so much fun working together.”

Although he considers himself a newbie in the scene, Tay graduated with a Masters Degree in Jazz Pedagogy from West Virginia University and had been performing in the US.

Now an active pianist in the KL jazz scene, Tay has also performed in Singapore’s Mosaic Music Fest, the Malacca Straits Jazz Festival and the Penang Jazz Festival.

Sharing Tay’s initial dread is saxophone player Koh, whose real name is Sekpol Unsamran.

“I’m more of a pop singer and pop saxophonist back in Bangkok, so I had to sort of go through a learning process.

“For me, this experience makes my life in music more coloured and interesting,” says Koh, who started with the Thai flute Khlui, before he developed a passion for the sax.

Already a professional musician at 15, Koh was invited to join contemporary Thai band, Boy Thai, while studying at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Education.

The group’s success led to many opportunities and gradually made him an in-demand studio and back-up musician. His debut solo album, Mr Saxman, was released in 2002.

Aside from Kuala Lumpur, Unit Asia is set to perform in Brunei, Chiang Mai, Manila and Singapore as part of the South East Asian tour.

“We are also scheduled for a Japan stop and hopefully after that we’ll be able to perform out of Asia,” says Miyoshi.

A post tour album release is in the works too. “During the tour, we hope to work together to develop original material with contributions from all on each song.

“The current songs are all individual compositions but, through the nature of jazz itself, they have actually become a collaborative group effort,” he says.

“As it has been said before, music is a universal language and in that sense we can communicate on the same level. At the same time, we got to know each others’ personalities and characteristics through the days of rehearsals,” says Miyoshi. “Also, we don’t know what may happen during the tour and that excites us.”

Catch Unit Asia on Nov 3 & 4 (8.30pm) at DFP, Level 2, Tower 2, Petronas Twin Towers, KLCC, KL. Admission is RM40-RM110. Call 03-20517007 or visit www.malaysianphilharmonic.com