members

Yukijurushi

Yukijurushi is a Bossa Nova Band whose primary focus is modern Brazilian folk forms (subtly hypnotic rhythms and haunting melodies). It is an instrumental and vocal trio that performs standard Bossa Nova, jazz standards and original songs. Yukijurushi was formed in 2001 and the band's first album, self-titled "Yukijurushi" was released in the summer of 2003. The second album, "Mott Haven" was released in summer of 2005, followed by a tour of Japan. In January 2006 they played two sold out sets at the Blue Note in New York. In the same year, they toured US twice and Japan. The band is now preparing material to be recorded for their third CD, which is slated for release in the spring of 2007. Individually, the band's members have performed at international jazz festivals and on tours throughout the world.

The musical backgrounds of the band members are as diverse as their cultural backgrounds. The unique cultural universe of Yukijurushi is comprised of two Japanese plus one native Californian. Guitarist Eiji Obata is well known in the New York jazz scene, frequently performing in the city's jazz clubs, restaurants and underground (as part of the MTA's Music Under New York - aka MUNY - program). Bassist Todd Nicholson is omnipresent in the Vision hardjazz scene. Percussionist/Vocalist Tatsuya Nakatani, is most notable for his drumhead manipulations, improvisations and avant garde music. These creative elements come together and become the Yukijurushi sound world.

　
Eiji Obata, guitar

　

　

　

　

Born and raised in Kyoto, Japan, Eiji started playing guitar at the age of 14, and later performed professionally in Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe. He won an Asian Scholarship at Berklee College of Music and moved to Boston in 1996. He studied with Jon Damian, Hal Crook and many other well-known musicians at Berklee. Since graduating in 1999, he has been living in New York and performing throughout the United States and Japan, actively pursuing his professional career as a performer, composer and teacher. As an educator he is especially active in the translation of jazz method books from English into Japanese, which have been published in Japan by ATN Inc. These include "Talk Jazz Guitar" by Roni Ben-Hur, "Modern Jazz Guitar Styles" by Andre Bush and "Hearin' the Changes" by Jerry Coker, Bob Knapp & Larry Vincent. He currently performs with Yaz Band, New Generation, Rose Marie Guiraud, Clay Herndon & the Harlem Stompers, and Yukijurushi. His appearances include the TV show The Frankie Waters Music & Variety Hour with Mike Camoia, The 45th Annual Grammy Awards After Party, and the Denis Charles Memorial Concert. In addition, Eiji has recently become a father. His son, now 13 months old, plays the drums and is learning the rudimentary elements of the Japanese and English languages. His favorite word so far is a Japanese one: ichigo ("strawberry"). He is slated to begin performing with Yukijurushi as auxiliary percussionist in the year 2019.

Todd Nicholson, bass

Bassist and composer Todd Nicholson is a mainstay of the downtown New York hardjazz scene. He has performed with Billy Bang, Roy Campbell, Eddie Gale, Frank Lowe, William Parker, James Spaulding, and Steve Swell, among others. His work with the legendary violinist, Mr. Bang, is especially notable for its longevity: Nicholson has been a core member of Bang's ensembles for the past six years. He has appeared in a variety of settings throughout the U.S., Europe and Japan, including the Vision Festival (NYC), the Rochester Jazz Festival, the Other Minds Festival (San Francisco), Tampere Jazz Happening (Tampere, Finland), Sons d'Hiver (Paris), the Ottawa Jazz Festival and the Full Moon Festival (Mangetsu sai) in Miyajima, Japan (the island off the coast of Hiroshima). He has collaborated with numerous dancers, most recently Carmen deLavallade and Gus Solomons jr. at Symphony Space. He also leads his own group, the Otic Band/Ensemble. The Otic Ensemble recently premiered a new work by Nicholson, an extended piece for jazz quintet entitled "Angel Island" (commissioned by the Jerome Foundation). Angel Island was performed at Location One as part of Roulette's Spring 2006 season. Recent recorded appearances include "Long Hidden: The Olmec Series" by William Parker (AUM Fidelity), "First, Keep Quiet" by the Gauci Trio (CIMP Records), "A Prayer For Peace" by the Billy Bang Quintet (TUM Records, to be released this fall), a live recording by the Billy Bang Quintet (Justin Time), and the upcoming release by Yukijurushi, slated for release in fall of 2006. He is also Associate Director of Arts for Art, the non-profit arts presenter which organizes the Vision Festival and all other Vision-related activities.

　

Tatsuya Nakatani,
drums/percussion

　

　

　

　

"Yukijurushi" Drummer / Vocalist Tatsuya Nakatani is originally from Osaka Japan. Having resided in the South Bronx (Mott Haven) for five years, he recently relocated to Easton, PA. While primarily a drummer, Nakatani learned to sing some of the Brazilian classics which the band performs in an effort to augment the timbral range of the guitar trio format. His concept in singing Portuguese songs is that the voice acts as an additional instrument which blends with the band. Tatsuya is internationally renowned as a Contemporary improvised music percussionist who has toured extensively throughout the world, having performed in approximately 80 cities and 10 countries. He has recently appeared at International Festival Musique Actuelle in Victoriaville (Quebec, Canada), the Bronx Museum, the New York Butoh Festival, the Vision Festival, the Musique Action Festival in Vandoeuvre-les Nancy (France) and the AFUK Festival in Copenhagen, Denmark. He has performed many major figures in the jazz and improvised music scenes, including Peter Kowald, Peter Brotzmann, Steve Swell, Roy Campbell, Sabir Mateen, Ken Vandermark, the Billy Bang Quintet featuring Frank Lowe, Assif Tsahar, Le Quan Ninh, Mat Maneri, and William Parker. In addition to live solo and ensemble performances, he has provided sound design for films and television projects. The latest of these was the performance of an improvised score for ﾒThe Water Magicianﾓ (1933, directed by Kenji Mizoguchi), which was curated by photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. He is the recent recipient of Bronx Arts Council Individual Artist grant. In addition to his work as a percussionist, Nakatani heads H&H Production, an independent record label and recording studio based in Easton, Pennsylvania.

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