CAIRO - They travelled long distances from their Asian countries to meet Egyptian people and entertain them with their music. It was the first visit of Unit Asia, the jazz group that has been specially formed on the theme of "A New Direction in Asian Jazz" by five individual musicians active in Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. Their tunes enthralled the Egyptian audience who filled the Nile Hall of el-Sawy Cultural Centre in the upmarket area of Zamalek, where the group gave two concerts last week. Unit Asia is a new group, formed in 2008 by three enterprising Japanese musicians, who are active in various musical genres including jazz, fusion and pop. Isao Miyoshi (guitar), Hiroyuki Noritake (drums), and Shigeki Ippon (bass) were joined by the preeminent Thai sax player Koh Mr Saxman, and the talented young pianist Tay Cher Siang from Malaysia. They were invited by the Japan Foundation, Cairo Office last week, to perform in two concerts, not on their own though, but with the Egyptian jazz band Eftekasat, whose original compositions can be classified as oriental jazz/fusion/jazz rock and sometimes as world music. "This is our first visit to Egypt. Before we came here, we heard about its popular songs and oriental dance," bandleader Isao Miyoshi told The Egyptian Gazette in an interview. "I enjoyed playing with Eftekasat. Their special style of jazz really impressed us." Since its birth in the United States in the early 20th century, jazz has undergone many permutations (Dixieland, Swing, Be Bop, Modern, Fusion etc) and has spread throughout the world. With musicians from many different countries performing jazz rooted in their own ethnic and cultural backgrounds, jazz has gained many fans around the world and is now consolidating its position as a worldwide musical phenomenon. Throughout the history of jazz, innovative musicians in each generation have avidly adopted and developed its various musical elements, such as rhythm, chord progression, composition and so forth. What makes it so special is the way the musicians improvise, using their own free expression and sensitivity over set base rhythms and chord progressions. That's why Isao and his band didn't feel any difficulties in playing with an oriental Jazz group. "I feel we are the same. Jazz is our common language. But I am impressed by the oriental spirit in their music." Isao, one of the leading jazz guitarists on the Japanese jazz scene, believes that music brings all nations closer together. He gave his band as an example, as it consists of Japanese, Malaysian and Thai musicians, who in this case performed with Egyptians. "We hope for more co-operation with Egyptian bands and would love to continue a cultural exchange with Egypt. It would be great for Japanese people to hear Egyptian songs to deepen the cultural relations between us." The Egyptian musicians, whose group was created in 2002 and who joined Unit Asia, were Amro Salah on the keyboard, Hany Bedair on the tabla and percussion and Layth Soliman on the nay. "It's a wonderful experience to play with Unit Asia," Amro Salah, the Eftekasat bandleader, told this newspaper. "We rehearsed three days for this concert and also had meals together. We became friends. I feel that we have been playing together for years." When they play on stage, you feel the mutual trust, warm personalities and exceptional abilities. Their soft performance and range of warm emotions and impressions touched the hearts of the audience, including the Ambassadors of Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. "This is the first time I attended a Jazz concert. They made me love Jazz. But when I learned that they are from four different countries, I was very surprised, because I felt they were one group," Azza, one of the attendees, said enthusiastically. "I hope they will perform together again."
