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Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Quintet

[b]Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Quintet[/b] ([b]ONJQ[/b]) is a Japanese free jazz/experimental ensemble led by a composer, sound producer, turntablist and guitarist [a=Otomo Yoshihide]. Primarily active between 1999 and 2005, ONJQ subsequently evolved into other band formations under Yoshihide's direction, including [url=https://discogs.com/artist/145225]ONJE[/url] septet, [url=https://discogs.com/artist/5844303]ONJT[/url] trio, and [url=https://discogs.com/artist/376530]New Jazz Orchestra[/url] with 10+ members. The New Jazz Quintet produced eight full-length albums, most recently — [i][r=15773475][/i] CD, recorded in November 2018 and released in June 2020 by Kyoto-based label [l25213]. The ensemble came together in 1999 when Otomo Yoshihide invited two prominent jazz saxophonists, [a=Naruyoshi Kikuchi] and [a=Tsugami Kenta], backed by [a=Hiroaki Mizutani]/[a=Yasuhiro Yoshigaki]'s rhythm section, to record three compositions for his [i][url=https://discogs.com/release/175466]Music of Takeo Yamashita[/url][/i] album. In July of the same year, the New Jazz Quintet debuted on-stage at Shinjuku's [l=Pit Inn] and recorded four bonus tracks for [a=Aryan Kaganof]'s [i][url=https://discogs.com/release/1779662]Shabondama Elegy[/url][/i] soundtrack at [l289931] in Tokyo. ONJQ toured across Europe, with stops in Italy, Netherlands, and Switzerland, and participated in [l343129] in Wels, Austria, in November '99 (performance documented on [i][url=https://discogs.com/release/353890]Mottomo Otomo[/url][/i] CD compilation). In 2001, Quintet released its debut album, [i][r=221780][/i], featuring special guests [a=Sachiko M] (sinewaves) and Japanoise veteran [a=Masami Akita] (EMS synth) at [a=John Zorn]'s New York-based [l=Tzadik] label. The following two domestic Japanese CD releases, [i][url=https://discogs.com/release/417990]Live[/url][/i] on [l=DIW] and [i][r=537024][/i] studio collaboration with [a=Tatsuya Oe] on [l=P-Vine Records], solidified Otomo's reputation as a band leader, prompting some critics to invent the new term "onkyō-jazz" for his Quintet. ONJQ continued touring Japan, Belgium, and Austria and traveled to the USA in October 2002, performing with Sachiko M at the [l179760]. In February 2004, Kikuchi left the ensemble, with [a=Alfred Harth] (reeds) standing in for him at subsequent shows in Japan, Poland and France. In August, the Quintet gave the final performance in a "classic" line-up (with [a=Mats Gustafsson] on sax) at the [l426573] festival, published two years later as [i][m=884645][/i] CD by Portuguese label [l=Clean Feed]. For the next few years, Otomo primarily focused on the expanded [b][url=https://discogs.com/artist/145225]New Jazz Ensemble[/url][/b] and only played with the Quintet's "core" twice at Shinjuku's Pit Inn in Tokyo: as [i]New Jazz Quartet[/i] in December 2006 and with [a=Axel Dörner] (trumpet) in August 2007. Three years later, while recording with his newly-formed [b][url=https://discogs.com/artist/5844303]New Jazz Trio[/url][/b], Otomo brought together a one-off Quintet configuration with [a=Sachiko M] (sinewaves) and [a=Jim O'Rourke] on EMS synth; these sessions appeared on [l=Doubtmusic]'s 'twin' [url=https://discogs.com/release/2685881]dmf-138[/url]/[url=https://discogs.com/release/3625996]dmf-139[/url] CD albums. [b]Original ONJQ line-up[/b] (1999–2004) [a=Otomo Yoshihide] — electric & acoustic guitars [a=Hiroaki Mizutani] — bass [a=Yasuhiro Yoshigaki] — drums, trumpet [a=Tsugami Kenta] — saxophone [a=Naruyoshi Kikuchi] — saxophone [b]Most recent formation[/b] (2018) Otomo Yoshihide — guitars Hiroaki Mizutani — bass Yasuhiro Yoshigaki — drums [a=Osamu Imagome] — trombone [a=Shinpei Ruike] — trumpet [b]Intermittent members & guests[/b] [a=Yoshinori Okuno] — alto saxophone [a=Tatsuki Masuko] — electronics [a=Kumiko Takara] — vibraphone [a=Ko Ishikawa] — sho [a=Taisei Aoki] — trombone [a=Masahiko Okura] — prepared sax, bass clarinet [a=Taku Unami] — laptop, guitar [a=Axel Dörner] — trumpet [a=Cor Fuhler] — piano, synthesizers [a=Kahimi Karie], [a=Phew], [a=Jun Togawa], [a=Mariko Hamada] — vocals