Nautilus
Toshiyuki Sasaki (drums), Shigeki Umezawa (bass), Daisuke Takeuchi (keyboards)
Nautilus is a trio around drummer Toshiyuki Sasaki, formed in 2014 with his bassist Shigeki Umezawa and keyboardist Daisuke Takeuchi. Their distinctive style, which can be summed up as modern rare groove, embodies a mix of jazz, funk, disco music, soul and even hip-hop. The concept of Nautilus not only goes back to the composition "Nautilus" by Bob James, but also to an American submarine that actually existed, and thus resembles their contemporary style, which continues the Rare Groove music of the 70s in an abysmal visual language. All compositions are penned by Sasaki, who demonstrates his influences in his technical approach via drummers such as Chris Dave and Mark Guiliana, and his ability to compose melodious music. Sasaki's versatile but solid drumming combines with Umezawa's full-bodied, powerful bass and Takeuchi's classically trained skills to create an exceptional sound all his own.