Tomomi Imaoka
Tomomi Imaoka was born in Okazaki City, Aichi . She was discovered whilst performing at a pops live concert by Osamu Uchida (also affectionately known as Dr. Jazz), a fervent supporter of jazz musicians, which led to her conversion to jazz music. Despite her petite frame, Tomomi is a natural born singer, with a powerful voice. Not only her singing ability, but also her genuine, warm and friendly character have won this rising vocalist increasing popularity.
From gospel music such as “Amazing Grace”, to The Beatles “Come Together”
Tomomi challenges her singing ability with a wide range of musical genres, other than standard jazz music. She performed at Blue Note Nagoya in May, 2015.
Dear Blues
Dear Blues is a Japanese jazz piano trio, swinging mainstream with funky blues feeling. Dear Blues formed in 2007 with Kazuya Nakoji on bass, Yoshitaka Yamashita on drums, and pianist Miya Nakajima as the leader.The groovy sounds were instantly accessible and appealing.
Dear Blues recorded their first album “Three Cats View” in 2008, and their second album “Sweet & Lovely” was released in 2009. They have been well received twice by audiences at Blue Note Nagoya. In November 2013, Dear Blues were invited to participate in the “Le Festival Eclats d’Email” jazz festival in Limoges, France, accompanied by Hitomi Ueda on vocals, where their performance was a great success. Their third album “La Mesha” was released in 2015. They have also released three collaboration albums, with jazz singers Tomomi Imaoka and Hitomi Ueda.
Dear Blues have also participated in radio shows, jazz concerts at elementary schools and an overseas live concert in Taiwan. They actively continue to perform nationwide in Japan.
