LAUNCH OF NEW EMOTIONAL POWERHOUSE DUO — JEANNE NEWHALL & KAZUNORI KOGA
The acclaimed Los Angeles based singer, songwriter, and pianist Jeanne Newhall has joined musical forces with Osaka based guitar guru Kazunori Koga to form an exciting Duo. Together they bring a vast array of influences, from jazz and blues to folk, pop, and R&B. Their compelling and heart-warming story, whether told by Ms. Newhall in English or Mr. Koga in Japanese, will inspire a belief in all things magical.
Several months before Ms. Newhall’s first performances in Japan in February of 2013, she was contacted many times by a gentleman who had been an avid fan, collecting her albums that spanned her 20 year recording career. He owned a small private jazz club in Osaka where a couple of her American friends and well know celebrities in the jazz scene had also performed. After speaking with them, Ms. Newhall was convinced to make her maiden voyage to Japan to perform several shows with a band comprised of several Japanese musicians. Among the musicians was Kazunori Koga bringing both his acoustic and electric guitar mastery to the mix. It was not long before they recognized each other, like familiar old souls.
As Mr. Koga describes, ” a special chemistry emerged between us. I contacted her after the shows to let her know the connection that I felt between us.”. As Ms. Newhall says, “his intuitive and soulful sensibilities provided a foundation for me to sing and play from as never before. I could not wait to perform with him again.”
As a result of the first meeting and shows in February 2013, Ms. Newhall invited Mr. Koga to come to Los Angeles in May to perform a concert with her at the famous Catalina Jazz Club Hollywood. A mere 24 hours after Ms. Newhall and Mr. Koga reunited on stage at Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood, they gathered at Castle Oaks Studio in the canyons near the Pacific Ocean with legendary bassist Abraham Laboriel and Alex Acuña’s protegé percussionist Walter Rodriguez to record her newest album, “SKY.”
As a result of the release of the album “Sky” which features Kazunori Koga on all the songs,
Ms. Newhall returned to Japan twice more in October 2013 and April 2014 for several performances with Duo in Osaka, Kobe, Esaka, and Kyoto.