Personnel for Unfailing Kindness CD (Capri Records 2007)
Greg Gisbert, Ron Miles, John Gunther, Peter Sommer, Alex Heitlinger, Gary Smulyan,
Mike Abbott, Jeff Jenkins, Mark Simon, Paul Romaine, Manavihare 'Mimy' Fiaindratovo,
Jeremy Ragsdale ..
Mitchell Feldman - Radio Promotion
Ann Braithwaite - Publicist
Tom Burns - Capri Records
Influences
My goal as a composer is to create music that brings happiness and joy to my listeners. My intention is to inspire moods and emotions within my audience that can range from tears of sadness to leaps of joy and laughter!
There are many bumps on the road through life. If my music can help my listeners to overcome their obstacles, give them strength, or even just make them a little happier and put a smile on their face, then there is no better way to make me smile and be happy! - Chie Imaizumi
Sounds Like
" Sharing the Freedom "
Commissioned by the USAF Academy Band's Falconaires,
Received its world premiere at the Monterey Jazz Festival, Night Club/Bill Berry Stage,
performed by the Falconaires, conducted by Chie Imaizumi on September 20th, 2008.
Featured soloists - Jason Crowe on Bass
& Ricky Sweum on Tenor Sax
Please think about it. We have history.
I believe the world is healing. Don't you think Music is so beautiful and powerful? : )
A native of Japan, Composer/Arranger/Conductor Chie Imaizumi (pronounce Chee-ay Ee-my-zoo-me) has been named "The Rocky Mountain Jazz Artist of the Year", her piece "Adversity" has won Second Place in the "Jazz" category in the 2008 International Songwriting Competition, and Down Beat Critics Poll recognized Chie Imaizumi as a " Rising Star Composer".
Chie's commission work has included pieces for the US Air Force Academy Band's “ Falconaires" (with whom she appeared at the 2008 Monterey Jazz Festival), Drummer Jeff Hamilton, the Consulate General of Japan at Denver, and the Denver School of the Arts.
Her latest CD release, "Unfailing Kindness"(Capri Records)” made 10 consecutive weeks on the CMJ Jazz Top-40 Chart, the Nationally Syndicated Radio Program “Listen Here!” named Chie as “ the Greatest Women of the Jazz Future”. The recording features a program of original compositions and arrangements by Chie and an all star line-up of musicians from New York and Colorado that include world renowned Trumpeter Greg Gisbert, and the phenomenal baritone saxophonist, Gary Smulyan.
Throughout her career she has also served as copyist and/or assistant to Mr. Teo Macero, Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Star Big Band, John Lee, Big Apple Circus, Dave Schroeder, Convergence, and John Gunther to name a few. Chie is a Guest Artist in Residence for the Denver School of the Arts.
Far from a stranger to the stage, Chie started her musical career at the early age of four, when she started playing the electric organ in her native homeland of Saitama, Japan. Continuing with the instrument all through her early years, Chie went on to win the Yamaha Electone Competition for outstanding performance on the electric organ at the regional and national levels several years in a row.
At 18, Chie began her intensive study of the jazz language at Senzoku Gakuen Junior College in Kanagawa, Japan, while changing her primary musical focus to the piano, and graduated top of her class.
While at Kanagawa, Chie appeared on several CD releases. Under the direction of producer and percussionist, Youichi Hosohata, Chie performed on "Voice Vol. 3" on piano and keyboards. During this time she also recorded with Syamisen (traditional Japanese instrument) player Masahiro Nitta on King Records release entitled " SOU".
Soon after entering Berklee in the fall of 2001, Chie began to shift her focus from performing to composing. Her extraordinary talents being soon recognized by the professors at Berklee, she was awarded the Herb Pomeroy award for Jazz Composition in 2003. She had the extreme honor of performing her compositions with her own band at the 2004 North Sea Jazz Festival in the Hague, Netherland!
Her compositions have been performed with countless different bands at the IAJE Conference, the Regattabar Jazz Festival, the New Music Festival, and the Berklee Jazz Festival, to name just a few. Chie Imaizumi recorded her demo CD in July 2005 entitled ' A Change for the Better'. This disc features all original compositions by Chie, performed some amazing musicians including Greg Gisbert and Phil Wilson.
Upon graduating from Berklee, while keeping a busy schedule of composing and conducting her original music for variety of musical groups, Chie has also kept an active touring schedule, both here in the United States and abroad. Chie has toured Europe extensively, in 2005 alone having completed both a three week tour in the spring, and a three month tour in the winter, with the widely acclaimed Edith Piaf tribute band Ziaf. While in Europe, on top of playing performances nightly, the group also appeared on the foremost Radio stations and premier publications in Paris. While busy in their touring schedule, Ziaf caught the attention of Zoom-Zoom Productions and had the pleasure of being featured in the film/documentary Marguerite Monnot, Dans I'ombre de Piaf, having just been released in November of 2005.
Chie has also toured across her native country, Japan, numerous times, with the high energy and well received voice and piano duo " Tsune-Chie", of which she is the principal collaborator, composer, and pianist for the group. They have toured the country three times in the last three years, playing nightly without fail to packed houses and sold out shows. In 2002, she also had pleasure of touring Japan with rising stars and Geneon Entertainment Artists, the jazz vocal group " Syncopation ".
Thank you very much for the Link Up & Sharing the music Nice to meet you through cyberlink! Keep up da Great Work! Wishes you All the Best in 2009! Enjoy your Week
Bonjour Chie, I am on tour in the USA all october and november and i'll be performing in Fort-Collins at Colorado State University on Friday october 30... will you be in the area ? Bises. Eric
Hello,Chie! Thanks for the add...congratulations..your music is so great..thanks for share yours beauty compositions with us. All the best sincerelly Walmir
WAowww,, in this picture Happy Birthday to You Chie!!! Bonjour from Paris!!! Jacques Thévenet / JazzBox program/ONLINE:www.aligrefm.org for you:www.radiojazz.ch
Hey Chie! I was home at xmas and called and left you messages?..were you in Japan?... Not sure when the next trip home will be but it would be great to see you of course! You should make a facebook page cause I'm on there mostly now...rarely check this...
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