"Make YOU Happy is a happy, upbeat album full of Brazilian music, samba grooves and a showcase for the wonderfully lyrical pianist Miho Nobuzane. In addition to her impressive technical skills at the piano, her rhythmic flexibility and inventive solos, Nobuzane is also the composer of ten of the thirteen tracks on this album. Her compositions incorporate a broad array of Brazilian rhythms."
”Make YOU Happy is an impressive release, in which Nobuzane deftly demonstrates well-honed skills as a pianist, composer, and arranger. No doubt she would be a powerful contributor “ as soloist and accompanist “ in almost any situation. With the wealth of well-crafted music on this album, and that it represents but her first release, the door has been opened … and we can look optimistically toward the abundance of music yet to come from Miho Nobuzane.”
-by Clive Griffin-Jazz Improv magazine
“Brazilian by heart, born in Japan, living in NY, a pianist, Miho Nobuzane. The CD is called “Make YOU Happy.” Definitely made me very very happy. Highly recommended.”
ーby Presenter & producer, Saúl Zavarce- “Fiesta Jazz” PBS FM 106.7 in Melbourne, Australia.
“ 'Happy Sound'-Nobuzane plays with tremendous verve and joy, making audio coffee, perfect to listen to on the ipod as pound through the streets of New York.”
ーby J.B.Spins, a jazz writer, NY
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All compositions by Miho Nobuzane except for "Cravo e Canela"(Milton Nascimento),"Palco"(Gilberto Gil),"Trilhos Urbanos"(Caetano Veloso)
All arrangements by Miho Nobuzane
Miho recorded for nine tunes with some of the finest Brazilian musicians in NY who have been performing with her in some Brazilian bands in NY.
Miho Nobuzane: piano on all tunes except 6,synthesizer on 1,6,7,vocals on 1,13,triangle on 4,window chime on 5,rain stick on 7
Adriano Santos: drums, Gustavo Amarante: el bass on 1-3,5-8,10,13
Nanny Assis(appears Blue Toucan Music): lead vocals on 6, 7, vocals & percussions on 1,7,13 Jorge Continentino: saxes on 1-3,8
She also recorded with great jazz musicians for 4 tunes.
Darryl Hall:bass, Charles Hopkins:drums, on 4,9,11,12 Abdou Mboup: percussions on 4,9,11,12 kora(african harp)on 9, talking drum on 11
Recorded&Mixed by Kiyoshi Greg Bufford on 1-3,5-8,10,13 at
KOBE recording studio,West Orange,NJ.
Recorded & Mixed by Peter Karl on 4,9,11,12 at Peter Karl recording studio, Brooklyn,NY
Mastered by Jeff Jones "The Jedi Master"at World Alert Music N.Y.C
Art Design : Philip Manning
Photography : Samuel W. Elijah www.swefoto.com
Make up : Jenny Bufford
Jewelry : Aya Mikuriya www.ayazakura.com
Piano technician : Jemes Karr
Miho Nobuzane plays Steinway&Sons Pianos,YAMAHA motif-rack ES.
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Miho is a versatile musician, but she decided to record her first album for Brazilian Jazz which she loves so much and feels she can express herself best.
She uses many different Brazilian rhythms on this album which are Samba,Bossa Nova,Baiao,Afoxe,Parti do Alto,Samba Cansao,Bahia funk,3/4 Samba,world beat 5/4,and African 6/8.
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-BIO-
Miho Nobuzane hails from Osaka, Japan, and was a classical piano major in college in Japan. It was after graduation that she became inspired by jazz, studied and started performing jazz, Brazilian music and more in clubs in Japan. She arrived in New York in 1996 — when she began playing in every imaginable stylistic situation.Now several years later you can find her in local venues and traveling the world.
On March.2007, Miho produced her debut album “Make YOU Happy”-Super grooving Brazilian Jazz for making everyone happy! Miho's music has been played some radio stations in Australia, Latin America, Europe, and USA(includes WBGO 88.3FM). “La gua gua” radiomix 89.1FM in Buenos Aires, Argentina had the Miho Nobuzane Brazilian jazz special and played Miho's music for 30min- 7 tunes
Her debut album “Make YOU Happy” has made it to best CDs of 2007 top 10 by “Fiesta Jazz” (PBS FM106.7 in Melbourne, Australia), and a jazz writer, J.B.Spins.
She has played and/or recorded with;
A legendary drummer Bernard “pretty” Purdie, Tony Award nominee on “Color Purple” and a Blue Note record lebel artist Elisabeth Withers, award winner Brazilian group Grupo Saveiro, Sergio Brandao, Paulo Braga, Ze Luis, Vanderlei Pereira, Helio Schiavo, Nilson Matta, Valtinho, Cafe, David Finck, Ricky Sebastian, Rodney Holmes, Bobby Thomas, Kenny Davis, Darryl Hall, John Lee, Stanley Banks, John Benitez, Octavio Kotan, Ernest Simpson, David Gilmore, Rhythm Nation band, Jerry Elcock , Burt Conrad all stars, Abdou Mboup & Waakaw, Paul Simon's bassist Bakithi Kumalo group, Dominic Kanza & African Rhythm Machine, Francis Mbappe-FM tribe, Jojo Kuo Afro beat collective, Jimmy Mgwandi & Ntomb'Khona Dlamini-Safro, African Blue Note, Buddy Hankerson, A.C Drummer,and many others.
Venues
Blue Note NY, Flushing Town Hall, Kitano, Cachaca, Joe's Pub, Sweet Rhythm, B.B.King, S.O.B's, Zinc Bar, Jazz Gellery, Makor, Satalla, Sugar Bar, Priory, Village Underground, Schomber Center, Tavern on the green, Brooklyn Mod, Nell's, Peppers, Via Brazil, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Museum for African Art, Radio City Hall, Times Squre outdoor stage, Jamaica arts&music Summer Festival, Wingate Field(Martin Luther King Jr.concert series), Jazz at Lincoln Center, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Mid Summer Night Swing, Celebrate Brooklyn!Prospect Park bandshell, Central Park-Herlem Meer Performance Festival, Cape Cod Melody Tent, and many others.
As a Transcriber,
Miho prepared the music sheets for Elisabeth Withers, Rhythm Nation band, Jerry Elcock, Abdou Mboup&Waakaw, Katende, Raquel Lima, and more.
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- Jazz Improv magazine CD review-
Miho Nobuzane Make YOU Happy
By Clive Griffin
Make YOU Happy is a happy, upbeat album full of Brazilian music, samba grooves and a showcase for the wonderfully lyrical pianist Miho Nobuzane. In addition to her impressive technical skills at the piano, her rhythmic flexibility and inventive solos, Nobuzane is also the composer of ten of the thirteen tracks on this album. Her compositions incorporate a broad array of Brazilian rhythms.
The album opens with a blast as the group tears through “Cravo E Canela” by Milton Nascimento. There are so many highlights on this album.
“212” is the telephone area code for New York. No doubt that it is also an apropos title reflective of Nobuzane’s experiences and observations about the city that never sleeps. This piece is reminiscent of Chick Corea’s “Spain” in the way that a stop-time like theme is stated by Nobuzane on piano and bassist Daryl Hall. This up-tempo samba is a showcase for both of them.
Nobuzane takes the tempo down a shade on “Brooklyn Bridge.” It’s a more relaxed groove here than on “212.” The feeling is still very much Brazilian. The tempo gives Nobuzane more breathing room and overall the placement of this track offers a refreshing pace change.
“Palco,” composed by Gilberto Gil is a showcase for vocalist Nanny Assis, and
Nobuzane on electronic keyboards. The upbeat piece is anchored by a rhyhmic assimilation of a funky backbeat groove and Brazilian flavors.
“Miho’s Samba” is another bright Brazilian inflected piece. After the statement of the melody, tenor saxophonist Jorge Continentino bursts out of the gate with the first solo. Nobuzane follows with another impressive outing on keyboard. Much more than a demonstration of impressive chops, her solo is a model of musicality, well-connected ideas, crisp articulation, and the assimilation of thematic material, including stop-time elements.
“Ray” is a straight ballad. It’s a sweet and simple melody. The tempo is slow. The feeling is soft and pensive.Adriano Santos brushwork offers the mellow, rhythmic support for Nobuzane to make this piece sing — and that is exactly what she does. If there is perhaps one thing from which this album would have benefited, it would have been to have another ballad or two sequenced into the programming. It’s a minor consideration though given everything else that the album is about.
Make YOU Happy is an impressive release, in which Nobuzane deftly demonstrates well-honed skills as a pianist, composer, and arranger.
No doubt she would be a powerful contributor — as soloist and accompanist — in almost any situation. With the wealth of well-crafted music on this album, and that it represents but her first release, the door has been opened … and we can look optimistically toward the abundance of music yet to come
from Miho Nobuzane.
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