Take Me - Casiopea (Live at Chuo Kaikan Hall, Tokyo, Feb. 1982)
Calin B.
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The piece I’ve selected to perform is a live recording of “Take Me” from 1982 by the band Casiopea. Casiopea is a Japanese jazz fusion group that is one of my favorite artists. The keyboardist on this track is Minoru Mukaiya, whose style of playing I love. Casiopea was very influential in the jazz fusion scene in Japan in the 1980s, and their live performances had unmatched precision and musicianship. “Take Me” is featured on the album Mint Jams, which is a collection of live performances that showcases this incredible virtuosity. This piece is a departure from what I usually play as a classical pianist, and the unique harmonies and chord progressions in this song have really helped me expand my musical vocabulary. It’s been so fun to learn this piece, and I hope to learn more works by Casiopea in the future.
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At its core, creativity is the ability to add something new to what I’m playing through my own musical identity. It means forming deep connections with the pieces I play to find how I can place myself into the unique musical world that the piece presents.