BIOGRAPHY

The band was formed in 2019 by six of Japan's leading musicians, led by composer/arranger/multi-keyboardist Jun Abe, who has worked extensively in the pop, jazz and fusion scenes.
 

“I had a lot of feelings about forming this band. I've had a strong desire to make use of Japanese instruments in my musical activities for a long time, and meeting Mana Yoshinaga (Koto) and Kenichi Tajima (Shakuhachi), who are flexible and emotional performers that transcend the limits of Japanese instruments, was the catalyst that confirmed my intention to form a band. In addition, I have been participating in festivals in Thailand for several years now, and have been in close contact with local artists. The band is led by Mr. Koh Saxman, a leading saxophonist in the Thai music industry. I was very impressed with the way they respected the was the catalyst of their native instruments and successfully blended them with modern jazz fusion and pop sounds. After all, one's native music and instruments are the ultimate originality. I felt that this was the only way to approach the world. I then asked Senri Kawaguchi, who is now a world-renowned drummer, Ami Nakazono, an up-and-coming saxophonist, and Shingo Tanaka, a bassist famous for supporting T-SQUARE and many other artists, to join me in forming the band.
The band's name, Zaon, comes from the meaning of "The Music, the music that turns people's hearts on. The name was conceived by calligrapher Hirotaka Sugita (https://kokisugita.com/).
I would like to aim for a wide range of activities with a global perspective.” Jun Abe

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Jun Abe

Piano, Keyboards, Programming

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Mana Yoshinaga

Koto

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Kenichi Tajima

Shakuhachi

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Senri Kawaguchi

Drums

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Ami Nakazono

Saxophone

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Shingo Tanaka

Bass