Japans Kultorchester mit 40 Musikern, Tänzern, Akrobaten, DJ`s und VJ`s, Poeten, Pin Up Girls bietet eine Tour de Force durch die Spektren zeitgenössischen Kunstschaffens in einer Dichte, die Shibusa Shirazu und FUWA Daisuke, dem Leader dieses unglaublichen Spektakels, zu Weltruf verhalf. Das Orchester präsentiert auf seiner Europatour die Weltpremiere eines brandneuen Programms. Nach dem OffsideOpen-Festival in Geldern geht die Tour der 1989 gegründeten Jazz-Performance-Truppe weiter nach Frankreich, Italien und Moskau. Kurzfristig konnten noch zwei Auftritte im Köln-Ehrenfelder LOFT eingeplant werden.

Fans sollte diese Gelegenheit keinesfalls verpassen.

EINTRITT 10.- €uro

“You are not a the Japanese orchstra nor the jazz band. You must be the primtive tribe!“
(cited in Studio Voice, Japan, 3/2004)

SHIBUSASHIRAZU is a new style jazz band from Japan, which is at the forefront of contemporary jazz. Especially young people are euphoric about this extraordinary band. As the name implys (Engl. “Never know borders“) SHIBUSASHIRAZU is definitely more
than only a jazz band: a multimedia jazz performing group, extraordinary, intangible and unique. This band really lives up to its name with active and exciting sounds and performances.
Their music – improvised, a mix of rock, Japanese enka, Japanese pop, latin, folk music, and of course jazz…
Their performance – a real show with singing, dancing, butoh-dancing, acting, screaming, drawing and fire-breathing…
SHIBUSASHIRAZU was formed in 1998 by the free jazz bassist Daisuke Fuwa. Initially they were employed as musicians in a theater in Tokyo, before they decided to “put something togeher“ and start performing in Jazz clubs and on festivals. The festivals became bigger, they became more famous and in 1996 they finally start touring through Europe.
Until now SHIBUSASHIRAZU released eight albums and one single from it’s own label CHITEI RECORDS. Beside that the members of SHIBUSASHIRAZU have got their own leader bands as well as solo works. In 2006 there has been a new release on the internationally known German label MOERS MUSIC.

“Like Baseball, Fuwa sets a few guidelines to keep the ball in play, certain choruses and refrains that players use for arrivals and departures. With a hand signal, he calls players to bat, and nearly everyone gets some solo time in the spotlight. Another wave from Fuwa and everyone goes into the next refrain without batting an eye.“
(The Japan Times 03/10/2001) Timeout “The Rebirth of Cool“)

SHIBUSASHIRAZU has got live performences nearly every day, whereas the group size varies every time they perform, averaging from 20-40 players per performance, of a variaty of age and type, from the big band SHIBUSASHIRAZU ORCHSTRA to the mini jam session group MINI-SHIBU.
As already said the stage performance of SHIBUSASHIRAZU does not only consist of music. Of course there are musicians, among them many well known Japanese performers, but the group also includes modern und underground style dancers, poets, showgrils, actors, special stage performing artists and even more. In SHIBUSASHIRAZU many kinds of contmporary expressionists are gathered together to form an exceptional, outstanding performing group.

“The orchstra’s CDs capture their sound well but not the entirety of their carnivalesque impact. They are best heard live, and besides you can’t see the naked butoh dancers on audio CDs…“
(The Japan Times, 14/04/2002, “Bigger, fresher, louder“)

Since 1994 there is the special selfbuild event called TENT SHIBUSA. Like the other live peformences this is a great happening with an incredible show and unexpected acts – anything but ordinary. But the real speciality of that project is the fact that it is planned by SHIBUSASHIRAZU, i.e. they plan the trip, set up the stage, strip the tent – everything by themselves. As much effort just for one live event, but it’s worth…
So far SHIBUSASHIRAZU was on four European tours, being invited to major European festivals, e.g. the INTERNATIONAL NEW JAZZ FESTIVAL MOERS, where they played every time, the DOCUMENTA in Kassel, NATTJAZZ in Norway and DRUBA GODBA in Slovenia.

A real highlight was their performance at the GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL, which is the biggest rock festival in the world. SHIBUSASHIRAZU was the 1st Japenese band playing there.

“SHIBUSASHIRAZU is officially translated as Never be cool, although it’s closer to Not knowing coolness. Whatever the interpretation: When seen live, they aren’t cool, they are scorching.“
(The Japan Times 03/10/2001 “The Rebirth of Cool“)

Saying that in every location the band has been met with great applause is truly understated. For the audience the show of SHIBUSASHIRAZU is an unique experience. People are thrilled, they probably never saw something similiar before. Large moving obejcts, e.g. a twenty-meter-long dragon dancing n the air over the audience, make the visitors even more enthusiastic. It is really unbelievable how the band manages to affect the emotion of the audience so intensely. Even scientists are dealing with the questions how this is possible, music having such a strong influence on feelings.
Furthermore the group brings together various aspects of contemporary Japanese culture. Some performances show the course of Japanese music from the Middle Ages to the present, as the band includes traditional Japanese instruments.

EUROPEAN TOURS
1998 Germany (a.o. Moers Festival), Italy, Slovenia, Czech, Austria, Swiss, Holland
2000 Germany (a.o. Moers Festival), Czech, Norway, Austria, Korea
2002 Germany (a.o. Moers Festival), Swiss, Austria, Holland, U.K. (a.o. Glastonbury
Festival)
2005 Russia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech, Germany, Austria, Swiss, Italy, Slovenia, France, Holland, Belgium, Spain

In August 2007 their next European tour starts. They are playing in Italy, Germany, Russia, Holland,  Belgium, Austria and France.