"Make YOU Happy is a happy, upbeat album full of Brazilian music, samba grooves and a showcase for the wonderfully lyrical pianist Miho Nobuzane. In addition to her impressive technical skills at the piano, her rhythmic flexibility and inventive solos, Nobuzane is also the composer of ten of the thirteen tracks on this album. Her compositions incorporate a broad array of Brazilian rhythms." ”Make YOU Happy is an impressive release, in which Nobuzane deftly demonstrates well-honed skills as a pianist, composer, and arranger. No doubt she would be a powerful contributor “ as soloist and accompanist “ in almost any situation. With the wealth of well-crafted music on this album, and that it represents but her first release, the door has been opened … and we can look optimistically toward the abundance of music yet to come from Miho Nobuzane.” -by Clive Griffin-Jazz Improv magazine “Brazilian by heart, born in Japan, living in NY, a pianist, Miho Nobuzane. The CD is called “Make YOU Happy.” Definitely made me very very happy. Highly recommended.” ーby Presenter & producer, Saúl Zavarce- “Fiesta Jazz” PBS FM 106.7 in Melbourne, Australia. “ 'Happy Sound'-Nobuzane plays with tremendous verve and joy, making audio coffee, perfect to listen to on the ipod as pound through the streets of New York.” ーby J.B.Spins, a jazz writer, NY ------------------------------------------------- All compositions by Miho Nobuzane except for "Cravo e Canela"(Milton Nascimento),"Palco"(Gilberto Gil),"Trilhos Urbanos"(Caetano Veloso) All arrangements by Miho Nobuzane Miho recorded for nine tunes with some of the finest Brazilian musicians in NY. Miho Nobuzane: piano on all tunes except 6,synthesizer on 1,6,7,vocals on 1,13,triangle on 4,window chime on 5,rain stick on 7 Adriano Santos: drums, Gustavo Amarante: el bass on 1-3,5-8,10,13 Nanny Assis(appears Blue Toucan Music): lead vocals on 6, 7, vocals & percussions on 1,7,13 Jorge Continentino: saxes on 1-3,8 She also recorded with great jazz musicians for 4 tunes. Darryl Hall:bass, Charles Hopkins:drums, on 4,9,11,12 Abdou Mboup: percussions on 4,9,11,12 kora(african harp)on 9, talking drum on 11 Recorded&Mixed by Kiyoshi Greg Bufford on 1-3,5-8,10,13 at KOBE recording studio,West Orange,NJ. Recorded & Mixed by Peter Karl on 4,9,11,12 at Peter Karl recording studio, Brooklyn,NY Mastered by Jeff Jones "The Jedi Master"at World Alert Music N.Y.C Art Design : Philip Manning Photography : Samuel W. Elijah www.swefoto.org Make up : Jenny Bufford Jewelry : Aya Mikuriya www.ayazakura.com Piano technician : Jemes Karr ------------------------------------------------- Miho is a versatile musician. She decided to record her first album as Brazilian Jazz which she loves so much and she feels like she can express herself best. She uses many different Brazilian rhythms on this album which are Samba, Bossa Nova, Baiao, Afoxe, Parti do Alto, Samba Cansao, Bahia funk, 3/4 Samba, world beat 5/4, and African 6/8. ------------------------------------------------- -BIO- Mainly performing in New York, a versatile jazz & Brazilian jazz pianist, composer, and vocalist Miho Nobuzane was born in Osaka, Japan, where she majored in classical piano during college. She has performed major New York City venues such as Blue Note, Kitano NY, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Joe's Pub, SOB's as well as touring the world. Miho has performed and/or recorded with the legendary drummer Bernard "pretty" Purdie, Victor Jones, Filo Machado, Hendrik Meurkens, Portinho, Cafe, Sergio Brandao, Grammy Award winner and Paul Simon’s bassist Bakithi Kumalo, Martha Reeves & Vandellas, Carla Cook, Elisabeth Withers, and many others. Her first album “Make YOU Happy” (Brazilian Jazz) has broadcast worldwide, and was ranked No.3 in the Brazilian Jazz category of the year 2007 by Saul Zavarce, the on air host and producer of “Fiesta Jazz” PBS FM 106.7 in Australia. She was also featured on "La gua gua" radiomix 89.1FM in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Jazz Improv magazine wrote: “MAKE YOU HAPPY” is an impressive release, in which Nobuzane deftly demonstrates well-honed skills as a pianist, composer, and arranger. No doubt she would be a powerful contributor as soloist and accompanist in almost any situation. Miho has a refreshingly distinctive style, virtuoso technique, wide rhythmic flexibility, and inventive solos. She plays with verve and joy, making a real connection with her audience. Her effervescent music and charming onstage personality leave listeners with their spirits lifted, feeling well-satisfied with the experience. ------------------------------------------ - Jazz Improv magazine CD review- Miho Nobuzane Make YOU Happy By Clive Griffin Make YOU Happy is a happy, upbeat album full of Brazilian music, samba grooves and a showcase for the wonderfully lyrical pianist Miho Nobuzane. In addition to her impressive technical skills at the piano, her rhythmic flexibility and inventive solos, Nobuzane is also the composer of ten of the thirteen tracks on this album. Her compositions incorporate a broad array of Brazilian rhythms. The album opens with a blast as the group tears through “Cravo E Canela” by Milton Nascimento. There are so many highlights on this album. “212” is the telephone area code for New York. No doubt that it is also an apropos title reflective of Nobuzane’s experiences and observations about the city that never sleeps. This piece is reminiscent of Chick Corea’s “Spain” in the way that a stop-time like theme is stated by Nobuzane on piano and bassist Daryl Hall. This up-tempo samba is a showcase for both of them. Nobuzane takes the tempo down a shade on “Brooklyn Bridge.” It’s a more relaxed groove here than on “212.” The feeling is still very much Brazilian. The tempo gives Nobuzane more breathing room and overall the placement of this track offers a refreshing pace change. “Palco,” composed by Gilberto Gil is a showcase for vocalist Nanny Assis, and Nobuzane on electronic keyboards. The upbeat piece is anchored by a rhyhmic assimilation of a funky backbeat groove and Brazilian flavors. “Miho’s Samba” is another bright Brazilian inflected piece. After the statement of the melody, tenor saxophonist Jorge Continentino bursts out of the gate with the first solo. Nobuzane follows with another impressive outing on keyboard. Much more than a demonstration of impressive chops, her solo is a model of musicality, well-connected ideas, crisp articulation, and the assimilation of thematic material, including stop-time elements. “Ray” is a straight ballad. It’s a sweet and simple melody. The tempo is slow. The feeling is soft and pensive.Adriano Santos brushwork offers the mellow, rhythmic support for Nobuzane to make this piece sing — and that is exactly what she does. If there is perhaps one thing from which this album would have benefited, it would have been to have another ballad or two sequenced into the programming. It’s a minor consideration though given everything else that the album is about. Make YOU Happy is an impressive release, in which Nobuzane deftly demonstrates well-honed skills as a pianist, composer, and arranger. No doubt she would be a powerful contributor — as soloist and accompanist — in almost any situation. With the wealth of well-crafted music on this album, and that it represents but her first release, the door has been opened … and we can look optimistically toward the abundance of music yet to come from Miho Nobuzane.