Pe'z

PE'Z (ペズ, Pezu) is a Japanese jazz instrumental band consisting of five men, dubbed "The Samurai Jazz Band." They have been signed onto Sony Music Japan since 2008.

History

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 three years, the band played in ten outdoor music festivals throughout 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, reaching No.10 on the billboard. In March 2003 they received an award for "New Artist Of The Year" at the 17th annual Japan Gold Disc Awards.

In August 2003 they participated in the re-mix of Japanese duo called Chemistry's 8th single "Ashita E Kaeru/Us" ("Return to Tomorrow").

That same year, Masayuki Hiizumi joined Shiina Ringo's backing band as a keyboard player for her nationwide tour. In 2004, he joined Shiina's new band Tokyo Jihen, but eventually left the group to focus his attention back to PE'Z in the next year. He has since released a Solo Album entitled 5+2=11 under the moniker H Zett M.