Indigo Jam Unit are a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 band formed in the city of Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 in 2005.

Members

• Yoshichika Tarue , born July 9, 1974 - piano
• Katsuhiko Sasai , born December 6, 1976　- double bass
• Isao Wasano , born September 25, 1979 - percussion, drums
• Takehiro Shimizu , born March 27, 1983 - drums

History

Indigo Jam Unit, a quartet, originated out of a trio consisting of Yoshichika Tarue (piano), Katsuhiko Sasai (double bass), and Isao Wasano (percussion and drums). In 2005, the trio had been playing live and working with different member setups when they started working with independent record label producer Kenichi Tateiwa of Basis Records, who suggested they add Takehiro Shimizu on drums to the line up. Shimizu joined the band in the months leading up to the recording of their first album, DEMONSTRATION, in August 2005. Shimizu currently (November, 2011) divides his time between Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, and New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, NY

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

Indigo Jam Unit is often grouped together with other bands from the Japanese jazz

Japanese jazz

Japanese jazz refers to jazz music that is played by Japanese musicians, or to jazz music that is in some way connected to Japan or Japanese culture. In a broader sense, the concept is often used to refer to the history of jazz in Japan. Japan has, according to some estimates, the largest...

 and nu jazz scene, such as Quasimode

Quasimode (band)

Quasimode is a 4 piece Jazz band based in Tokyo, Japan and was formed in 2002. Their sound is based on jazz rhythms from the 60s and 70s and has been linked with Soil & "Pimp" Sessions and Sleep Walker.-Studio albums:* 2006: oneself-LIKENESS ...

, Soil & "Pimp" Sessions, and Sleepwalker among others. Indigo Jam Unit have distinguished themselves with a twin drum line up where Shimizu contributes the jazzier rhythms and drum solos while Wasano adds a heavier straight beat and percussion.

Indigo Jam Unit always record their material live in the studio little post processing and as few effects as possible. No edits or overdubs are made to their recordings. The only exception is their 2009 release re:common on Rambling Records, featuring American hip-hop artist Common and hip-hoop/soul artist Mary J. Blige's

Mary J. Blige

Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...

 original voice tracks with indigo jam unit's instrumental tracks added separately.

Indigo Jam Unit have recorded and performed together with Japanese jazz vocalist Karen Aoki (SUMMERTIME feat. Indigo Jam Unit, 2008), label mates Flexlife (Vintage Black, 2009), and Trinidadian vocalist Alicia Saldenha (ROSE, 2011).

In September–October 2009 Indigo Jam Unit were featured in Tower Record's

Tower Records

Tower Records was a retail music chain that was based in Sacramento, California. It currently exists as an international franchise and an online music store....

No Music, No Life poster series in Japan. The poster was shared with DJ Tatsuo Sunaga.

Studio Albums (original material)

• 2006: DEMONSTRATION
• 2006: 2x2
• 2007: REALism
• 2008: Pirates
• 2009: Collectivity
• 2010: Roots
• 2011: DEMONSTRATION - Remastered (Re-issue of DEMONSTRATION with two additional tracks).
• 2011: INDEPENDENT

Studio Albums (cover songs/remixes)

• 2009: Vintage Black (Cover album with Flexlife)
• 2009: re:common (Cover/re-mix album) (2009)
• 2011: ROSE (Cover album featuring Alicia Saldenha) (2011)