About Konan Brass Ensemble Club
 
Konan Brass Ensemble Club is a jazz band located in Ashiya city,

 

Hyogo prefecture.
 
 

KBE's repertories include the tunes

 by Count Basie, Sammy Nestico, Buddy Rich, and Glenn

Orchestra, and so on.

KBE is a big band which has more than 60 members. It has a

junior high school band, and a high school band. 2nd year high

school students retire from the band in November, when the

cultural festival in our school is held.

 

 KBE's major performances

KBE's major performances are the regular concert in June,

Japan Student Jazz Festival in August, and the cultural festival

concert in November.

We perform in orher events, such as the Student Jazz Live,

Kobe Jazz Street, Motomachi East Jazz Picnic , and so on.

 

 

About Hawaii tour

We also have a music exchange program with Le Jardin

Academy Private School(LJA) in Hawaii every three years. This

program is aimed at deepening international friendship and

international understanding.

Our message is "Music Brings Us Together." Based on the

message, we perform in various places such as LJA, Kamehameha

School, the stage at Ala Moana Shopping Center,

the event called Hawaiian Invitational held at Kapi'olani Park,

Aloha Tower, Bishop Square, and so on.

The next year we go to Hawaii, students of LJA come to Janan,

and they do a music exchange as well.

 

 

KBE's History

KBE started in 1982 as a jazz band. Before it started its

 activities as a club, three or four students who liked music got

together, and they formed an ansemble of the clarinet and the

flute. After that, various instruments joined the group, and it

became larger and larger. Now it is a big band which has more

than 60 members.

Mr. Shogo Izutsu, who was a student of Konan and was studying

abroad in America, sent Konan the scores of "April in Paris" by

Count Basie Orchestra. This inspired the creation of the Konan

Brass Ensemble Orchestra.

So we play a lot of tunes by Count Basie Orchestra. Other than

Count Basie Orchestra, we play various tunes by big bands such

as Glenn Miller Orchestra, Buddy Rich Orchestra, and so on.