Imaginably
Imaginably is the 2nd album of Utopia, NY based duo project formed by Japanese musicians Yuto Mitomi (sax) and Yuto Kanazawa (guitar) who share the same first name.
The first track Karatachi no Hana is written by Japanese composer Kosaku Yamada in 1925, Mitomi originally arranged this piece for his octet and later he started to play together with Kanazawa. Title track Imaginably is the original composition by Yuto Mitomi, other tracks are a collection of jazz standards and pop covers.
First two tracks are played in a similar aesthetic, free improvisation based on the melody and form. It is a similar approach to their influence, the music of Paul Motian trio with Bill Frisell and Joe Lovano. Mitomi and Kanazawa focused on listening to the momentum of each other’s performance and improvised freely along with the flow of the melody.
In contrast to the first two tracks, I Want You Back, Black Bird, Dralice and Isn’t She Lovely have steady rhythms with the styles of Funk, Latin, Country and Brazilian Music. Mitomi and Kanazawa express their respect and love for jazz with Thelonious Monk’s Ugly Beauty and Cliff Burwell’s jazz standard Sweet Lorraine that was written in 1928.
Their unique repertoire was formed while performing gigs in NYC and touring in Japan where they play music for audiences who love all genres of music. Utopia’s intention on this album was to introduce jazz and improvisation to a broader audience with the familiar melodies and cultural music. Mitomi plays tenor and soprano sax and Kanazawa plays Brazilian 7string guitar on this album.
Album Release Date:
3/5/21on Bandcamp. https://yutomitomi.bandcamp.com/album/imaginably
3/12/21 on major streaming websites. https://ditto.fm/imaginably
Biography
Yuto Mitomi is a Saxophonist, Flutist, Clarinetist, Jazz Composer, Arranger, and Educator based in New York City. He grew up in Yokohama, Japan. He began playing piano when at three years old and started studying saxophone in junior high school. He moved to Tokyo after graduating high school and was a widely known young jazz saxophonist in the Tokyo area. He was very active in the Jazz community and performed at the Yokohama Jazz Promenade, Fuchu Jazz Festival, and other Jazz festivals held in various cities. He also graduated from the University of Electro-Communications with a major in mechanical engineering and then worked at Toyota as a mechanical engineer. His career took a major turning point in 2011 when he moved to New York and began taking courses in the Jazz major program at City College in New York City. He studied with world-renowned musicians such as Steve Wilson, John Ellis, Mike Holober, and many others. He graduated from City College in May 2015. He is now working as a freelance musician in NYC and is touring abroad.
Yuto Kanazawa is a versatile Japanese guitarist in demand for jazz, funk, fusion, gospel, and Latin music in NY. As a bandleader and guitarist, he has recorded seven full albums and six EPs, including his debut album Earthwards on Interrobang Records. He has worked with many renowned musicians such as Grammy winning jazz singer Kurt Elling, Ed Cherry, Don Pate, Randy Jackson, Gregg Errico, Jerry Martini, Kuni Mikami, Lonnie Plaxico, Lafayette Harris and others. As a composer, Yuto won First Place in the Jazz category of International Songwriting Competition in 2013, also he was nominated as a finalist in The John Lennon Songwriting Competition in 2015. Yuto has performed at renowned music venues and festivals such as Scullers Jazz Club in Boston, Blue Note NYC, B.B. King Blues Club, Bar Next Door, FatCat, The Montauk Music Festival, Guatemala Jazz Festival, Teatro Ocampo in Mexico, CJ Azit in Korea, JZ Brat in Japan and many more.
