Sha’s (*1983) answer on the question of his musical influences is “R’n’B’. Minimalfunk. Ambient”. Isa Wiss (vocals), Mik Kuusen (piano), Thomas Tavano on bass, and Julian Sartorius on drums have been with him in Banryu since 2004. They are now presenting their debut album with ‘Chessboxing Volume One. Sha explains the meaning of Japanese band ‘Banryu” as: “Banryu is the dragon ready to jump, lets everything rise and roll by while not losing its tension and posture at every moment and ready to strike anytime …” All of the music was composed by Sha over the past few years with the lyrics being written by Isa Wiss. Their poetic and energetic messages are conveyed through their music, form, and groove. Over the years Sha has had a lot of international experience as a bass and contrabass clarinet player, particularly with Nik Bartsch’s Ronin, but also with Mik Kusen’s Blau. He also plays alto sax, the Asian khen and other instruments in his own band. Sha declares that musical chessboxing may become a future discipline with the title ‘Volume one’. Allaboutjazz
