Pe'z
| PE'Z | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Japan |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Labels | Sony Music Japan |
| Members |
|
PE'Z (ペズ? Pezu) is a Japanese jazz instrumental band consisting of five men, dubbed "The Samurai Jazz Band." They have been signed onto Sony Music Japan since 2008.
PE'Z began their music careers playing live on the streets of Shibuya in the center of Tokyo during the summer of 2000. Word of mouth spread quickly and they began pulling in large crowds which sometimes totaled up to 600.
In just three years, the band played in ten outdoor music festivals throughout Japan, including Newport Jazz Festival '02 in Madaro, Mt. Fuji Jazz Festival 2002 in Shizuoka, and Rising Sun Rock Festival in Hokkaido. In September 2002 their first full album, Kugatsu no Sola (September Sky) was released, reaching No.10 on the billboard. In March 2003 they received an award for "New Artist Of The Year" at the 17th annual Japan Gold Disc Awards.
In August 2003 they participated in the re-mix of Japanese duo called Chemistry's 8th single "Ashita E Kaeru/Us" ("Return to Tomorrow").
That same year, Masayuki Hiizumi joined Shiina Ringo's backing band as a keyboard player for her nationwide tour. In 2004, he joined Shiina's new band Tokyo Jihen, but eventually left the group to focus his attention back to PE'Z in the next year. He has since released a Solo Album entitled 5+2=11 under the moniker H Zett M.
In October 2005 PE'Z performed at UK's In The City along with fellow Japanese artists DMBQ and The Rodeo Carburettor. The quintet followed that with numerous performances in Europe (including a live show on the street in Amsterdam). The following year, 2006, was a busy year for the band as they participated in both Canadian Music Week (CMW) and South by Southwest (SXSW), as well as giving a live performance in South Korea in between. Their gig at SXSW was subsequently followed with their first-ever US tour, performing in New York City, Cambridge, Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
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