Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Orchestra

Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Orchestra (ONJO) was a Japanese experimental/free jazz/electroacoustic improv ensemble led by composer, sound producer, turntablist and guitarist Otomo Yoshihide as an extension of his New Jazz Quintet and Ensemble. The New Jazz Orchestra was born in January 2005, giving its debut live concerts at Shinjuku's Pit Inn and recording the first two albums "back-to-back," just two days apart, at GOK Sound studio in Tokyo. The 537029 CD featured Yoshihide's favorite "standards," such as Jim O'Rourke's "Eureka" and a few compositions by Ornette Coleman and Charles Mingus, as well as his original music, including three songs by Kahimi Karie and Mariko Hamada. The Out To Lunch CD entirely covered Eric Dolphy's eponymous '64 masterpiece, with Akira Sasaki's design even replicating the iconic Blue Note sleeve by Reid Miles. Both albums came out in Japan the same year, released by Doubtmusic. ONJO toured extensively in 2006, from January to March and later in Fall, with concerts in Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France and Croatia. Otomo invited various guests to perform at some shows, including a large string section. The tour was documented on two 2xCD sets, Live Vol. 1 Series Circuit and Vol. 2 Parallel Circuit, released by Doubtmusic in the summer of 2007. In September 2022, Belgian label Aguirre Records re-issued ONJO's 23992787 on 2xLP, marking the Orchestra's first and only release on vinyl. Original members (2004–2005) Otomo Yoshihide — guitar, turntable, conductor Axel Dörner — trumpet, slide trumpet Taisei Aoki — trombone, bamboo flute Kenta Tsugami — alto & soprano saxophones Masahiko Okura — alto saxophone, tubes Alfred Harth — tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, trumpet Mats Gustafsson — baritone saxophone Ko Ishikawa — sho Sachiko M — sinewaves, contact mic Toshimaru Nakamura܍ — no-input mixing board Taku Unami — computer Kumiko Takara — vibraphone Cor Fuhler — piano, inside piano Hiroaki Mizutani — contrabass Yasuhiro Yoshigaki — drums, percussion, trumpet ܍ appears only on Out to Lunch ONJO 2006 Live tour Otomo Yoshihide — guitar, conductor Kahimi Karie — vocals Taisei Aoki — trombone Kenta Tsugami — alto & soprano saxophones Masahiko Okura — alto saxophone, bass clarinet, tubes Alfred Harth — tenor saxophone, bass clarinet Ko Ishikawa — sho Sachiko M — sinewaves Taku Unami — computer with objects Kumiko Takara — vibraphone Hiroaki Mizutani — bass Yasuhiro Yoshigaki — drums, trumpet Yoshiaki Kondo — live sound engineering Guest/live members Margareth Kammerer, Kayoko Ishu — vocals Jo Foster, Hong Chulki, Choi Joonyong, Jin Sangtae, Ryu Hankil — electronics Taku Hannoda, Teruyuki Oshima, Sato Yukie — guitar Yoshimitsu Ichiraku, Keijun Kodama — percussion Tomohiro Higashikinjo, Yosuke Toyoda, Miho Watanabe — alto saxophone Yoichi Yoshida — tenor saxophone Junichi Ishizuka, Hayato Kurosawa — trombone Yoshifusa Takahashi — bass trombone Chisato Ito — oboe Yohei Ota — bass clarinet Takumi Akaishi — hurdy gurdy Taku Sugimoto — six-string electric bass Dickson Dee — computer Atsuhiro Ito — optron Strings section conducted by Kenji Ito: Hiroki Chiba, Shuichi Hashimoto, Tekko Koryu, Kazuya Takeda, Yuto Tsukada, Fujitaka Ito, Yoko Ikeda, Léon Lo — violin Toshitaka Mukaiyama, Mikiko Narui — viola Tadanobu Kumon — cello