With a growing frequency Japanese jazz makes its way to The Netherlands. This time we get acquainted with the Japanese dance floor club jazz of the Sleep Walker quartet. The band is led by DJ Shuya Okino, together with his brother the founder of the nu-jazz DJ platform Kyoto Jazz Massive. Sleep Walker is broadly embraced by the dance scene and speaks the language of cross-over. The band played with among others McCoy Tyner and Pharoah Sanders. Their debut CD came out in 2003 and recently their long-awaited CD Ai-No-Tabi (The Voyage) was released. It's soulful jazz with deep basses, energetic percussion, free piano improvisation and the spiritual jazz influenced saxophone playing by Masato Nakamura. The warm guest appearances are by Pharoah Sanders and singer Bembe Segue.
