Issei Noro (野呂 一生, Noro Issei; born January 1, 1957) is a Japanese guitarist, songwriter, producer, and composer, best known as a founding member of the jazz fusion band Casiopea. Noro began his musical career in 1976 with Casiopea, serving as the group's guitarist. Casiopea made its recording debut in 1979 with their self-titled album, and Noro remained with his band until 2006, when activities were suspended. He returned when Casiopea restarted in 2012 following the 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and subsequent nuclear disaster, and continues to perform with his group. Outside Casiopea, Noro formed the band Inspirits in 2008 and has collaborated with other jazz fusion musicians. He is an endorsed artist of Yamaha, which has provided him with custom-made guitars, and is noted for his guitar-playing techniques.
Bands
- Casiopea - current member
Credited On
- Casiopea - The Way of Casiopea - Casiopea, released June 23, 2004 (
GNBL-1002). Guitars, Products Supervisor, Written-By.
Biography
From the en.wikipedia article Issei Noro (CC BY-SA 4.0), revision 1369554941.
Early and Personal Life
Noro was born on Japanese New Year's Day, January 1, 1957 in a Meguro ward of Tokyo, Japan. Because he was born on Japanese New Year, he was given his name, "Issei" (一生), meaning "lifetime". His father passed away when he was one year old, and then, he was raised by his single mother, who worked as a schoolteacher. His grandparents moved from Aomori to Tokyo to live nearby and help raise him and his older sister. During his childhood, he aspired to be a painter and developed a strong appreciation for art. As a junior high student, Noro began playing guitar after seeing a friend's steel-string acoustic guitar, later switching to electric guitar and seeing an American band Grand Funk Railroad on tour. Then, he attended Tokyo Metropolitan Tamagawa High School, where he became obsessed with hard rock and became influenced by Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. During this time, he joined a rock community, where he met bassist Tetsuo Sakurai, and began rehearsing with him in sessions that led to the formation of Casiopea. He also started learning jazz, studying theory from books by Joe Pass and Sadao Watanabe. After graduating senior high school, he enrolled at Meisei University and joined a band Fancy House, a band made up of the university's light music club members. He dropped out after one year to pursue music full time. Since 1990, Noro has served as a visiting professor at Tokyo College of Music, where he teaches guitar, ensemble, and arrangement; his instruction has included remote lessons. In recent years, he moved to a suburb of Tokyo and has been described as a living semi‑retired life, during which he watches science fiction films on streaming services, as well as YouTube videos. In an interview with Encount, he said that he practices guitar daily and would considered retirement if he were no longer able to realize his musical ideas. Noro is also a painter, having continued to paint in his later years and providing artwork for the cover arts of bands, where he involved in. He published his autobiography, Watashi Jidai Watakushi-Jidai, on December 20, 2016.
Solo Career
In 1985, Noro released his debut solo album Sweet Sphere, having grown tired of touring with Casiopea and wanting to explore new creative avenues. He collaborated with American musicians Patrice Rushen, Nathan East, John Robinson, Phillip Ingram, Jerry Hey, and the band Seawind on the album. In 1996, he released his third album, Top Secret, which was the first CD-Extra album in Japan. He followed this with his fourth album, Under The Sky, in 2001, which was entirely created using a fretless guitar. In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, Noro published a series of YouTube videos on the Casiopea YouTube channel, providing guitar lectures for music fans who were struggling during the lockdown.
Musical Collaborations
In 1987, Noro formed the group Ottottorio with fellow guitarists Masahiro Andoh of T-Square and Hirokuni Korekata. The trio performed live in 1988, released two live albums, and released the studio album Triptych in 1998. For T-Square's 35th anniversary concert in 2014, Andoh invited Noro and Korekata to perform with the band. In 2009, Noro collaborated with Tetsuo Sakurai, his former bandmate in Casiopea, to form an acoustic duo in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of their debut. They performed self-covers of their works as well as other famous songs. In December 2012, Noro participated in the Live in Tokyo Crossover Night concert alongside Casiopea, following that band's resumption of activities. He has also took part in the Guitar☆Man charity concerts in 2013 and 2014.
Sources
- Wikidata entity Q730082.
- en.wikipedia, Issei Noro (revision 1369554941), CC BY-SA 4.0.
- ja.wikipedia, 野呂一生 (revision 111126070), CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photograph: Issei Noro.png on Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0, by Paddock Music Co..
