Sunday, October 19, 2008

CD Release Concert @ St. Peter's Church

 ニューヨークにもどこからともなく秋が来たようです。遅ればせながら、先月末に行った秋季コンサートの報告をさせて頂きます。

 今回のコンサートは我々の記念すべき1枚目のアルバム『オーガニック・ムード』のお披露目コンサートでした。結成5年目にして初のCDリリースは遅すぎると思われるかもしれませんが、元々アルバムを作るまで時間が必要だという事はバンド結成時から覚悟の上でした。理由は我々の特殊なバンド編成にあります。もちろん既成のバンド編成で演奏するのはラクですし、そうする事もできたのですが、我々はあえてその道を捨て、作られた枠を踏み越える作業に時間と労力を捧げました。5年かかりましたが、ようやくアルバムが完成し、皆様にも満足していただけるものができたと思います。

 このコンサートで私にとっての一番の収穫は、バンドのレベルが桁違いに上がったことを確認できた事でしょうか。手前みそに聞こえるかもしれませんが、プロ・ミュージシャンの客観的な目から見ても『桁違い』というのは決して大げさな表現ではありません。私は『よくここまで来たな』と、演奏している途中で思わず涙がこぼれるかと思うほど感動していました。感無量でした。

 このバンドで皆と一緒に頑張って来て良かったです。これからも丁寧に音楽を作っていきたいと思います。

 皆様、WaFooと末永くお付き合い下さい。

Fall arrived to New York. Don't know when, don't know where it's from but it is here. I apologize for the delay on renewing the blog and now I would like to put the belated report of the Fall concert which was held on the end of the last month.

The annual Fall concert was held at St. Peter's Church in Staten Island, New York. This concert was also for the announcement of the release of our first album "Organic Mood." We put our hearts and souls for this concert even more than usual. You might think taking five long years after the band started running to release the first album was way too long, but from the moment we formed the band, we expected to take a long time to shape our style before doing any recording. The reason was the peculiarity of the style and the orchestration of our band. Our band is unique. Nonetheless to say, it was much easier to play in established settings, we, however, chose not to follow that path. As all other artists, we wanted to be different even though we would need long painful years and a lot of efforts. Arts are all about going beyond the existing limits.

The most remarkable thing for me on this concert was that I realized WaFoo stepped up to a completely different level. It may sound like a cheap self-glorification but it is not. Taking an objective view as a professional musician, "completely different level" is very appropriate expression.

Took us five years. The band had come long way. When this thought came up to my mind in the concert, I was almost moved to tears in the middle of playing. My heart was full.

I am so glad that the whole band members stuck together and have persevered in making this band happen. Let's keep at it and make our music beautiful.

I would like to thank everyone who came to our concert. We need your support and certainly hope you will keep coming back.

Illustration: 篆刻素材AOI

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