Born in Iwanai-cho, Hokkaido on November 2, 1983 Shibata-san started playing an electronic organ at three years old, and switched to piano at aged five. When he was in his final years of elementary school, he began participating in music sessions with his father and friends, where he first had a taste of jazz and blues.
He moved to Tokyo to attend a high school attached to the Tokyo University of Music, and started performing there while still at school. He was discovered early on by the drummer Murakami “Ponta” Shuichi when he was playing in his trio at the school. At the age of 20, Shibata-san joined NEW PONTA BOX. This was a newly formed group, who not long after formation released an album and went on tour.
Around the same time, on Ponta’s recommendation, he changed his performing name to “Toshiya Shibata” and embarked on his new solo career. Alongside this, he was also a member of various groups, including the band of TOKU (a jazz vocalist and flugelhorn player) and the band of a folk singer, Takio Itō.
Current Projects:
– “Band master” for the solo project of Yoichi Kitayama, a member of The Gospellers.
– In the club music scene, he has been a member of Calm since he was 20 years old. He has been involved in several albums and still participates in the release tour every year.
– Every summer, Hironobu Saito, a guitarist living in New York, holds a nationwide tour for musicians from New York who are visiting Japan. For the 2010 tour, he played a vital role in the performance of Maki Oguro, who was on stage for the last time before taking a break due to illness.
-In December 2010, he became band master for jazz singer Akiko’s ‘The Best Release Tour’
– Active in various genres and bands such as J-POP recording and support for live concerts.
From 2011, he decided to change his artist name back to his real name, Toshitaka Shibata and has continued as such to this day.
Kakuei (percussionist)
While studying at university, he sought to pursue the world of rhythm and thus engaged himself with learning about an African percussion instrument called asarato or kesu kesu. Since 1996, he has been involved in the planning, production and development of percussion instrument “Patica” in Japan. Said to be more durable than the asarato or kesu kesu, and as it incorporates advanced technologies, the player can more easily maintain a stable rhythm. Outside of Japan, he actively travels to Europe and the United States – among other countries – both to promote the Patica and to support a variety of musicians as a percussionist. Further, he often plays at elementary schools and kindergartens to promote the importance of music communication for children.
Musical Instruments Used: congas, djembe, Cajón, steelpan, Patica, etc
Major Past Performances:
– Overground Acoustic Underground member and participated in many festivals such as Fuji Rock Festival, Rock in Japan, and Big Mountain Music Festival 6 (Thailand).
-Appearance at Disney Resort, dedicated to Ise Jingu Shrine
-TV appearances (Ponkickies, DAIBABA, etc) and radio appearances (FM Yokohama)
-Overseas activities include the Sakura Festival (San Francisco, US) and the European Juggling Convention (EU).
Started playing koto and piano at the age of four; started performing with koto and electronics while studying at the University of London.
In the personal project “SOUND QUEST”, she explores a modern take on music from Samurai times, which has lead to a variety of opportunities to collaborate in Japan and abroad. Dancers, artists, film makers, companies, temples and shrines in Japan and abroad, and educational institutions, to name a few.
Draws from a unique worldview that does not fit into the framework of traditional genres like jazz or classical.
Appeared at music festivals such as Sonar Sound Tokyo, Camp Off-Tone and Paris Collection, and has been attracting attention for a varied and flexible musical sense, while rooted in tradition.
Participated in the koto and theremin groups “Tanzaku”, “Shō Sōgoe” (2018 JAZZ AUDITORIA competition division winner); votive performances at Ise Jingu Shrine and temples; performances at school groups of Japanese musical instrument groups, as well as performing in a wide range of live music activities – planned and improv.
In recent years, she has been developing original works as well as commissioned works for contemporary music composers.
In 2017, she performed “Garden’s Dream” in four French cities (including two national theatres) to much praise, and was widely featured in local newspapers and other media (Japan Foundation Grant Program).
In the same year, she released her first studio recorded album “The Rain of Secret Colour” (also with Saburo Tanooka and Hiromu Takahashi), as part of the music project “musilogue”, a side project of Jazztronik’s Ryota Nozaki.
In September 2018, she performed at the Jazz Art Sengawa among other domestic jazz festivals, as part of a trio with Takashi Ishikawa and New York trumpet player Peter Evans.
Listening to Imanishi-san on the koto reminds you of times of yesteryear, regardless of where you come from.
