I have been very honoured to play with this great musician and arranger. Shu's music really captures the essence of 90's Acid Jazz such as Incognito or Brand New Heavies, and I love that! Songs like Tokyo Blue Note and Far Beyond from his original repertoire, are sophisticated, funky and tight! In addition, we played a lot of very cool Jazz, not standards, not Bossa Nova, but tunes that push the boundaries a bit more, such as tunes and arrangements by Tyasha Perigoj and Terence Blanchard among other modern, contemporary Jazz artists.
The quartet sometimes expands into a quintet and includes Yoshiaki Kayano on Trumpet / Flugel, Akira Kudo on Drum,Motoshi Gotoh on Keys, and guitarist Yuuta Kaji. To sum up; the band's sound is funky, sophisticated and cool, with modern takes on classic tunes, some urban groove originals, sophisticated Jazz, be-bop, Latin and more! Definitely an act worth checking out....Unfortunately though, perhaps due to communication issues, differing taste, or a combination of both, whatever it may be, I may not be taking part in this band any longer. Despite this I still hope to have Shu's playing in my own recordings again.
Shu also plays guitar, and bass and lays down a mean beat-box! He has many skills and great musicianship. I recently did a little duo gig with him as an experiment....it was cool, and I hope to expand on that too time permitting. Check out Shu's official page here!