Soil & "Pimp" Sessions (stylised as SOIL&"PIMP"SESSIONS) is a Japanese club jazz sextet who formed in Tokyo, Japan, in 2001.[1] They are known for their energetic live performances, having coined the term "death jazz" to describe their music.[2]
The band was born out of Tokyo's club scene, when Shacho and Tabu Zombie started including live jam sessions in DJ sets. Gradually the other members were invited, the band's line-up was finalised and the DJ sets dropped.
The band's live sets started to create a buzz on the Tokyo live scene, and in 2003 they became the first unsigned band to perform at Japan's Fuji Rock Festival. They were well received there and in the following months record companies were scrambling to offer contracts. JVC Victor won the battle, and summer 2004 saw the release of the mini-album Pimpin'.
The album was a critical and commercial success, and this together with constant touring paved the way for the release of their first full album, Pimp Master in early 2005. The album captures the power of their live performances as well as highlighting their individual musical talents. Two tracks in particular, "Waltz For Goddess" and their cover of "A Wheel Within a Wheel", caught the attention of DJs abroad, and they began to receive heavy air-play on Gilles Peterson's Worldwide radio program on BBC Radio 1 in the U.K.
Summer 2005 was a busy time for the band, with the release of their second mini-album, Summer Goddess, and their first live dates outside Japan. Gilles Peterson invited them to play at Cargo in London, and Jazzanova invited them to play in Berlin.
They spent the rest of the year touring in Japan and Europe, and they were also featured in the live broadcast of the Gilles Peterson Worldwide Awards in 2005, where they were awarded the John Peel Play More Jazz Award.
A second full album, Pimp of the Year, was released in spring 2006, showcasing innovations that showed a development of their sound, as well as one or two tracks that marked a new departure.
2006 also saw the official release of Pimp Master in Europe on Compost Records and the UK on Gilles Peterson's Brownswood Recordings label. They continued touring constantly throughout the year, taking in Britain, Italy, France, Serbia, Belgium, Germany, Slovakia and Croatia, as well as an appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival.
March 2007 saw the release of their third full album, Pimpoint, on the Victor Entertainment label, which features thirteen tracks.
Soil & "Pimp" Sessions' song "Paraiso" is the opening theme for the anime Michiko to Hatchin.
A side project, called "J.A.M.", was formed by members Josei (piano), Akita Goldman (double bass) and Midorin (drums) in 2007. The name of the band is derived from the first letters of each member's name. The project features a notable different sound, combining house, hip-hop and the "rocking jazz of now". The band has released four albums, with their first album, Just A Maestro, being released in 2008, followed by Just Another Mind in 2010, Jazz Acoustic Machine in 2012 and Silent Notes in 2017.[3]
"Agitator" Shacho announced during their performance at the Relentless Garage in London that their latest album 6 was due for release on 26 April 2010 in the United Kingdom. No other release locations were confirmed by him at the time.
On 8 December 2010, Soil and "Pimp" Sessions released their album, "SOIL&"PIMP"SESSIONS Presents STONED PIRATES RADIO", containing 20 tracks. All of the tracks (aside from the occasional skit tracks) are covers, arranged in various ways using their style. From reggae to calypso to their aggressive jazz sound, you can hear tracks like "Walkie-Talkie Man," "Beat It," and "Imagine."
Around September 2011, they announced that a new album will be released shortly, and that release was "MAGNETIC SOIL", containing all new material of 15 tracks (except track 2 is their rendition of the Brecker Brothers' piece "Some Skunk Funk"), including a new version of the track "Summer Goddess."
On August 7, 2013, they released their ninth album, Circles,[4] which featured collaborations with Japanese artists from various genres, including Miyavi, Rhymester and Ringo Sheena. The album also featured a track, titled "Summer Love", featuring American Jazz hip-hop vocalist José James.[5] Tim Conley aka MAST plays guitar on track 8 "記憶の旅 (Kioku no Tavi)".
At the end of 2016, Motoharu (Sax) left the band and they entered a "charging phase", meaning they were on hiatus. In 2017, the band returned without Motoharu with the release of their album "Music from and inspired by Hello Harinezumi". The band were joined by Takeshi Kurihara (Sax & Flute) on this and all future albums.
In June 2023, Midorin was arrested for possession of marijuana;[6] the band subsequently mutually agreed to part ways with Midorin.[7]
Members
President a.k.a. Shacho (久嶋識史), born January 18, 1978, in Takefu, Fukui Prefecture, agitator
Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE, better known as Gilles Peterson, is a French broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud, and started his current label Brownswood Recordings in 2006. He was awarded an honorary MBE in 2004, the AIM Award for Indie Champion and the Mixmag Award for Outstanding Contribution To Dance Music in 2013, the PRS for Music Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music Radio in 2014, and The A&R Award from the Music Producers Guild in 2019.
Japanese jazz is jazz played by Japanese musicians, jazz connected to Japan or Japanese culture, or both. The term often refers to the history of jazz in Japan, which has the largest proportion of jazz fans in the world, according to some estimates.
Sanmon Gossip, also known as Superficial Gossip, is the fourth studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Ringo Sheena, released on June 24, 2009 in Japan and Korea through EMI Music Japan and Virgin Music and released in Taiwan on June 26. The album debuted at number 1 with 120,446 units sold and is certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.
"Karisome Otome" is a song written by Japanese singer Ringo Sheena and has several versions.
Wakana Ootaki, who goes by the mononymous stage name Wakana, is a Japanese pop singer. She was one of the vocalists of the FictionJunction project started by Yuki Kajiura, and was a core member of the vocal group Kalafina. She is currently signed with Victor Entertainment with a solo career, having released two albums and an EP that have charted on Oricon.
Planet Pimp is the fifth studio album by pioneering jazz group Soil & "Pimp" Sessions, from Japan. It was released on May 21, 2008.
Pimpoint is the fourth studio album by Japanese jazz group Soil & "Pimp" Sessions. It was released on August 21, 2007.
Yume Miru Uchuu is the 18th studio album by Japanese rock band Buck-Tick, released on September 19, 2012. It is their first on their own record label Lingua Sounda, which was founded the previous year. The album reached the number 14 position on the Oricon chart and number 12 on Billboard Japan, selling 19,807 copies.
"Koroshiya Kiki Ippatsu", also known by its English title "The Assassin's Assassin," is a single by Japanese jazz band Soil & "Pimp" Sessions, featuring singer and songwriter Ringo Sheena. It was released on June 12, 2013, digitally and on June 26 as a single, two months after Soil & "Pimp" Sessions' single "Jazzy Conversation," and one month after Sheena's single "Irohanihoheto/Kodoku no Akatsuki."
"Shun" is a song by Japanese musician Ringo Sheena. It was the leading promotional song for her fourth album Sanmon Gossip. It was digitally released on June 1, 2009, a month before the release of the album and at the same time as Sheena's song "Futari Bocchi Jikan".
Hi Izuru Tokoro, also known as Sunny, is a fifth studio album by Japanese musician Ringo Sheena released on November 5, 2014 by Universal Music Japan sublabel Virgin Records. It is a compilation studio album compiling singles released since 2009 as well as new compositions.
Cover Songs: Complete Best 'Track 3' is an album by Japanese musical unit Superfly. Released September 1, 2010, the album was packaged as a 2-CD set with Superfly's single "Wildflower", and compiled Western classic rock songs found on Superfly's singles.
Pimp Master is the second studio album by pioneering jazz group Soil & "Pimp" Sessions, from Japan. It was released on June 23, 2005.
Pimp of the Year is the third studio album by pioneering jazz group Soil & "Pimp" Sessions, from Japan. It was released on March 8, 2006.
6 is the sixth studio album by pioneering jazz group Soil & "Pimp" Sessions, from Japan. It was released on September 16, 2009.
Magnetic Soil is the seventh studio album by pioneering jazz group Soil & "Pimp" Sessions, from Japan. It was released on October 5, 2011.
Brothers & Sisters is the ninth studio album by pioneering jazz group Soil & "Pimp" Sessions, from Japan. It was released on September 3, 2014. The album went back to the group's roots.
Black Track is the tenth studio album by pioneering jazz group Soil & "Pimp" Sessions, from Japan. It was released on April 6, 2016.
Masato Honda, is a Japanese saxophone player, composer, and multi-instrumentalist. Born in Nakamura City, Kochi Prefecture, he graduated from Kunitachi College of Music. He is most well known for being a member of the band T-Square and appearing on Cowboy Bebop's soundtrack with The Seatbelts.
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