My next gig will be at the
Pit Inn in Shinjuku on Saturday, September 5 at 8pm. The Japanese title of the show translates as "String-driven!" but a more accurate description would be "Strings and Skins!"
This will be my second appearance with the Michiyo Yagi Trio featuring Tamaya Honda on drums and Todd Nicholson on bass. We had a great time at "Jazz Art Sengawa 2009" and will be playing some of the tunes we played there, including an arrangement of the theme song to eccentric film director Seijun Suzuki's 1967 classic "Koroshi no Rakuin" ("Branded to Kill").
For the majority of the evening's program we'll be joined on stage by two very specials guests, Hugues Vincent (cello/electronics) and Nori Tanaka (drums).
I had the pleasure of playing a duo with Hugues at the Ftarri Festival last year. I'd never heard of him or met him until the day of the gig, and was stunned by his virtuosity and musicianship. The Ftarri Festival mostly featured very quiet, sometimes nearly inaudible artists, but we were raucous! I'm very lucky my Pit Inn date coincided with Hugues' 2009 tour of Japan, and am most grateful that he agreed to play some of my compositions and arrangements.
Nori Tanaka may be a young drummer in terms of age but he's a very seasoned player, having spent ten years working in Chicago with Bobby Broom, Jason Ajemian, Jeff Parker and many other musicians of note. He's a sensitive, cerebral player who has been making a strong impression on the Tokyo jazz scene since moving here not long ago.
Three string players and two percussionists should make for some unusual sounds. One composition I'm hoping to play with this lineup is "Seraphic Light" by John Coltrane. With two drummers on hand, it will hopefully be a fitting tribute to Rashied Ali, who passed away several weeks ago.
I'm very excited about this gig and hope my friends in the Tokyo area will be joining us.
Love,
Michiyo