Indigo Jam Unit (stylised as indigo jam unit) was a Japanese
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
band formed in Osaka, Japan in 2005.
Members
* Yoshichika Tarue , born July 9, 1974 - piano
* Katsuhiko Sasai , born December 6, 1976 - double bass
* Isao Wasano , born September 25, 1979 - percussion, drums
* Takehiro Shimizu , born March 27, 1983 - drums
History
Indigo Jam Unit, a quartet, originated out of a trio consisting of Yoshichika Tarue (piano), Katsuhiko Sasai (double bass), and Isao Wasano (percussion and drums).
In 2005, the trio had been playing live and working with different member setups when they started working with independent record label producer Kenichi Tateiwa of Basis Records, who suggested they add Takehiro Shimizu on drums to the line up. Shimizu joined the band in the months leading up to the recording of their first album, ''DEMONSTRATION'', in August 2005. Shimizu currently (November, 2011) divides his time between
Osaka
is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
, Japan, and New York City.
Indigo Jam Unit is often grouped together with other bands from the
Japanese jazz
Japanese jazz ( Japanese: 日本のジャズ, ''Nihon no jazu''), also called Japazz, is jazz played by Japanese musicians or jazz connected to Japan or Japanese culture. According to some estimates, Japan has the largest proportion of jazz fans i ...
and
nu jazz
Nu jazz (also spelt nü jazz or known as jazztronica, or future jazz) is a genre of jazz and electronic music. The music blends jazz elements with other musical styles, such as funk, electronic music, and free improvisation.
Nu jazz typically ve ...
scene, such as
Quasimode,
Soil & "Pimp" Sessions, and Sleepwalker among others. Indigo Jam Unit have distinguished themselves with a twin drum line up where Shimizu contributes the jazzier rhythms and drum solos while Wasano adds a heavier straight beat and percussion.
Indigo Jam Unit always record their material live in the studio with little post processing and as few effects as possible. No edits or overdubs are made to their recordings. The only exception is their 2009 release ''re:common'' on Rambling Records, featuring American hip-hop artist
Common
Common may refer to:
As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin.
Places
* Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
* Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts
* Cambridge Com ...
and hip-hop/soul artist
Mary J. Blige's original voice tracks with indigo jam unit's instrumental tracks added separately.
Indigo Jam Unit have recorded and performed together with Japanese jazz vocalist Karen Aoki ''(SUMMERTIME feat. Indigo Jam Unit, 2008)'', label mates Flexlife ''(Vintage Black, 2009)'', and Trinidadian vocalist Alicia Saldenha ''(ROSE, 2011)''.
In September–October 2009 Indigo Jam Unit were featured in
Tower Record's ''No Music, No Life'' poster series in Japan. The poster was shared with DJ Tatsuo Sunaga.
On November 1, 2015, indigo jam unit announced that they will disband in summer of 2016.
Discography
Studio albums (original material)
* 2006: ''DEMONSTRATION''
* 2006: ''2x2''
* 2007: ''REALism''
* 2008: ''Pirates''
* 2009: ''Collectivity''
* 2010: ''Roots''
* 2011: ''INDEPENDENT''
* 2012: ''REBEL''
* 2013: ''Milestone''
* 2014: ''indigo jam unit''
* 2015: ''Lights''
Studio albums (remastered material)
* 2011: ''DEMONSTRATION - Remaster'' - Re-issue with two additional tracks on
SHM-CD.
* 2014: ''REALism - Remaster'' - Re-issue in the Japanese SHM-CD format.
* 2015: ''2x2 - Remaster'' - Re-issue in the Japanese SHM-CD format.
Studio albums (cover songs/remixes)
* 2009: ''Vintage Black'' - Cover album with Flexlife
* 2009: ''re:common'' - Cover/re-mix album
* 2011: ''ROSE'' - Cover album featuring Alicia Saldenha
* 2013: ''impression'' - Cover album. Japan only release
Studio albums (live shows)
* 2016: ''DECADE '' - Performance at "BillboardLive" commemorating 10 years since ''DEMONSTRATIONs release
* 2016: ''ReWIND''
* 2016: ''Final Live Tour'' - Final Live performance, taking place at
ROOMS
* 2016: ''JUST MUSIC. final five days''
References
{{Authority control
Japanese jazz ensembles
Musical groups from Osaka