Shibusashirazu Orchestra (渋さ知らズ), which is at the forefront of contemporary jazz, was formed by bassist Daisuke Fuwa in 1989 as a free jazz orchestra. The orchestra is, so to speak, a multimedia jazz performance group consisting of over twenty musicians, including many well known Japanese performers such as Hiroaki Katayama (ts) and Takeshi Shibuya (p), as well as Butoh dancers, modern dancers, theater actors, and artists. All of the works played by Shibusashirazu Orchestra are Japanese jazz works composed or arranged by Daisuke Fuwa. The orchestra gives exciting stage performances, with its dynamic sound and lively dancing and acting. Large moving objects made by stage artists make the audiences even more enthusiastic. (A twenty-meter-long dragon danced in the air over the audience in their 1998 European tour.) It can be said that Shibusashirazu Orchestra is not only a jazz orchestra but also a group that brings together various aspects of contemporary Japanese culture. Some of its performances show the course of Japanese music from the Middle Ages to the present, as the group includes musicians playing traditional Japanese instruments such as shamisen, shakuhachi, and ryuteki (a bamboo flute).
