Choro Club

Members:
• Shigeharu Sasago
• Oh Akioka
• Jyoji Sawada.

The bandolim performer Oh Akioka has his roots in Brazilian music, although he is active in a wide variety of genres and is not bound by any one specific style. Shigeharu Sasago is a unique guitarist who has created his own highly distinctive style through the absorption of Brazilian groove. The double bassist Jyoji Sawada is also a well-known composer of contemporary music. He sensitively supports the sound of Choro Club from below. The acoustic string trio Choro Club was formed in 1989 by three musicians, each with his own distinctive character and musical aspirations. They recorded their first album in 1990. The group’s name is taken from the choro, a style of instrumental music with its origins in Rio de Janeiro. While generating the mood of the choro, they create a musical world sometimes intense and sometimes sentimental, through the exercise of their highly original collective sensibility. Almost all the numbers on their previous 18 albums were composed by the members of the trio themselves. It isn’t possible to assign the music of Choro Club to any standard category. That’s because the sound created by these three musicians is truly unique.

Over the past decade Choro Club have performed not only in standard concert halls and clubs but also in a wide variety of venues including classical concert halls, art museums, galleries, aquariums, botanical gardens, Shinto shrines, beer breweries and various other open-air locations, and at jazz festivals. The music of Choro Club has been highly praised for its creativity even in Brazil, the country of origin of the choro. They recorded their third album in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, and a solo open-air concert they gave on that occasion, organized by the Department of Tourism of the City of Rio de Janeiro, was attended by as many as 3,000 people and was given prominent coverage, along with the scene of recording, by local newspapers and TV and radio broadcasts. In 1995, Choro Club was sponsored by the Japan Foundation on a concert tour of six Latin American countries including Brazil. Subsequently, in 2003, they collaborated with Tomi Taira, a well-known actress from Okinawa, on an original musical play "NIRAIKANAI", at Sao Paulo, Brazil. Choro Club has released 3 albums in 2005 - "PREVENDO" from King records, then the soundtrack for "ARIA", the popular Japanese TV animation, released by Victor Entertainment, and their greatest hits album "REVENDO" from BMG, which includes a selection of their works from 1990 to 1994. And in 2006 and 2008, released 2 more soundtracks for "ARIA"series. In 2009, just released their latest album " Trilogia" from VideoArts Music Inc. Choro Club have established their own unprecedented and unique sound for 20 years they have been working together. The members of Choro Club strive to achieve not only a high degree of musical sophistication but also a truly adult sense of relaxation and pleasure. Their music continues to offer universal potential.

Source: http://www.players.ne.jp/~choro/prof-e.html