PE'Z
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PE'Z is a Japanese jazz instrumental band consisting of five young men. It is dubbed "The Samurai Jazz Band." The group members are Ohyama "B.M.W" Wataru (trumpet, born in Kanagawa), Kadota "Jaw" Kousuke (sax, born in Ehime), Nirehara Masahiro (wood bass, born in Niigata), Hiizumi Masayuki (keyboard, piano etc., born in Kobe) and Kou (drums, born in Tokyo).
PE'Z began their music careers playing live on the streets of Shibuya in the center of Tokyo during the summer of 2000. Word of mouth spread quickly and they began pulling in large crowds which sometimes totaled up to 600.
In just 3 years, this small band has played in 10 big outdoor music festivals all over Japan, including NEWPORT JAZZ FESTIVAL '02 in Madaro, Mt. FUJI JAZZ FESTIVAL 2002 in Shizuoka, and Rising Sun Rock Festival in Hokkaido. In September 2002 their first full album, KUGATSU NO SOLA (September Sky) was released. They ranked at No.10 on the billboard which was an outstanding result for an instrumental band. In March 2003 they received an award for New Artist Of The Year at the 17th annual Japan Golden Disc Awards. In August 2003 they participated in the re-mix's of a famous Japanese duo called CHEMISTRY's 8th single "Ashita E Kaeru/Us" ("Return to Tomorrow"). And also, Hiizumi Masayuki (the keyboard player) collaborated with Shina Ringo (a famous Japanese pop artist) in an all Japan tour.
Other accomplishments including the song "Boomerang Boogie", which is the theme song for the Anime series, "Gad Guard".