SANDRA NKAKÉ (TRIO [ELLES])
KYOTO JAZZ SEXTET feat. TAKEO MORIYAMA

Born in Yaoundé, Cameroon in 1973. At the age of 12, she moved to France. Nkaké was passionate about music from an early age, particularly Prince whom she discovered as a teenager.
In 2008, Nkaké released her debut album “Mansaadi”, supporting the record with over 200 concerts around the world, including tours in Africa and Brazil. She recorded a tribute to Donny Hathaway on Stéphane Belmondo’s 2011 album “Ever After”. This album was released on Jazz Village record label. Nkaké’s expressive voice made her a staple on the French soul scene. She received the Frank Ténot prize at the Victoires du Jazz ceremony in July 2012. In September 2017, she released her third album “Tangerine Moon Wishes”, which she considered her most personal record.

Members: Shuya Okino (se/mc), Yusuke Hirato (p), Katsuto Koizumi P (b), Shinpei Ruike (tp), Takeshi Kurihara (sax)
Shuya Okino of Kyoto Jazz Massive, a DJ and composer, started this project with complete live performance and analog recording to express contemporary jazz. He made his debut in 2015 with the cover album “MISSION” on the Blue Note label. In 2015, he performed live for the first time at the opening party of KYOTOGRAPHIE Kyoto International Photography Festival, and collaborated with Francis Wol#, who captured Blue Note legends in his exhibition, using his album as the music for the venue. In the same year, after performing at Billboard Live Tokyo and Osaka, he appeared at Tokyo Jazz featuring Naruyoshi Kikuchi, Shun Ishiwaka, and Richard Spaven. In June 2017, he released his second album “UNITY,” recorded entirely with original music, from Blue Note.