Daisuke Abe has become a highly sought after guitarist since his arrival to New York City in 2002. “An accomplished player with a penchant for penning appealing melodies,” (JazzTimes, February 2006), Mr. Abe also handles his instrument “...with a deep sense of tradition, and more importantly, consistent expression,” (DownBeat, April 2013). During his time in New York, Daisuke Abe has been very active as a performer and recording artist. His debut album, “On My Way Back Home” (Nagel-Hayer), was released in 2005. This album features nine of his original compositions and a heavy-weight lineup including: Aaron Parks (piano), Walter Smith III (saxophone), Gretchen Parlato (voice), Matt Brewer (bass), and Rodney Green (drums & producer). In 2008 Daisuke Abe launched a new band, which he co-leads and produces, UoU, a quintet made up of members originally from Japan. UoU’s debut, “Home” (Tippin’ Records), was released in 2010. “This debut exudes a polished distinctiveness, clear abilities and original compositions," (AllAboutJazz.com, September 2010). “Home” also notably climbed to #1 for two consecutive weeks on the JazzWeek World national radio charts. Daisuke Abe followed UoU’s debut with its second release in 2013, “Take the 7 Train” (Tippin’). "One of the most adventurous young bands that is auspiciously exploring jazz with its national heritage in mind is UoU,” stated Dan Ouellette, DownBeat journalist. Mr. Abe has led his band at many of the famous venues in New York City including: Blue Note, Dizzy’s Club Coca- Cola, Smalls Jazz Club and Cleopatras’ Needle. He has performed with Mark Turner, Jon Cowherd, Anthony Wonsey, Walter Blanding, Marcus Printup, Pete Zimmer, John Ellis, and Jaleel Shaw. Daisuke Abe’s musical journey began far from New York City. He started playing guitar at the age of fifteen in his hometown of Tokyo, Japan. His first jazz studies came when he attended Senzoku Gakuen College in Yokohama, Japan, where he graduated at the top of his class in 1999. He then relocated to the USA attending the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts upon receiving their World Scholarship. Mr. Abe graduated in 2002. During his time at Berklee he studied and performed with master musicians including: Hal Crook, Tiger Okoshi, and George Garzone. In 2001, Berklee presented Mr. Abe with the highly prestigious Louis Bellson Award.
Saxophonist Kenny Shanker is an award-winning composer hailing originally from California, now residing in New York. His debut album Steppin' Up (Positone, 2011) was followed by Action City (Positone, 2014), which helped garner him the ASCAP award for composition. In 2017, Shanker released his third recording, The Witching Hour (Wise Cat, 2017), on his own imprint. In 2021, Shanker released Beautiful Things (Wise Cat, 2021). Only to be followed by Shanker's 2022 release, Vortex (Wise Cat, 2022), a collection of ...
The problem with so much of the present-day post bop mainstream is that its very qualities seem lessened by the amount of times it's caught on record, especially when the work of so many of its practitioners seem to amount to little more than the sum total of their influences.
This release is a different matter, however. It has about it the same indefinable qualities as some of the later dates that Jesse Davis made for Concord, and the band ...
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“An accomplished player with a penchant for penning appealing melodies “ -
John Kelman, Jazz Times
“It’s too soon to know the fate of Tokyo-born, New York-resident guitarist
Daisuke Abe, but his debut record, On My Way Back Home, demonstrates
qualities that may well see him emerge in time as a guitarist of note.”
-John Kelman, All About Jazz
“... Equally telling as composers, each member contributes material that
accentuates the group as well as their own abilities. A fine guitarist, Daisuke
Abe's "Hanauta" has a modern Americana aura”
-Mark F. Turner, All About Jazz
“..
“An accomplished player with a penchant for penning appealing melodies “ -
John Kelman, Jazz Times
“It’s too soon to know the fate of Tokyo-born, New York-resident guitarist
Daisuke Abe, but his debut record, On My Way Back Home, demonstrates
qualities that may well see him emerge in time as a guitarist of note.”
-John Kelman, All About Jazz
“... Equally telling as composers, each member contributes material that
accentuates the group as well as their own abilities. A fine guitarist, Daisuke
Abe's "Hanauta" has a modern Americana aura”
-Mark F. Turner, All About Jazz
“... Each musician, from alto saxophonist Takuji Yamada to guitarist Daisuke Abe
and drummer Yoshifumi Nihonmatsu, handle their respective instruments with a
deep sense of tradition, and more importantly, consistent expression.”- Ken
Micallef, DownBeat Magazine
“UoU’s debut album Home is comprised of ten impressive original compositions
that fuse elements of Japanese inspired melodies, along with American jazz
rhythms and harmonies. This creates something truly special, honest and
powerful.”- DownBeat Magazine
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