Casiopea
Casiopea (カシオペア, Kashiopea; derived from the name of the constellation Cassiopeia), is a Japanese jazz fusion band formed in 1976 by guitarist Issei Noro, bassist Tetsuo Sakurai, drummer Tohru "Rika" Suzuki, and keyboardist Hidehiko Koike. In 1977, keyboardist Minoru Mukaiya and drummer Takashi Sasaki replaced Koike and Suzuki respectively. They recorded their debut album Casiopea (1979) with guest appearances by American jazz musicians Randy Brecker, Michael Brecker, and David Sanborn. In 1980, drummer Akira Jimbo joined the band. Casiopea has released over 40 albums in Japan and around the world.
Starting from 2012, they formed Casiopea 3rd as a spin-off from the original, featuring Kiyomi Otaka on keyboards and returning members, Issei Noro, Akira Jimbo, and Yoshihiro Naruse.
On July 1, 2022, it was announced that Yoshinori Imai would be the band's new drummer after Akira Jimbo left Casiopea 3rd, and the band would be rebranded as Casiopea-P4.
On December 1, 2024 the band announced that Kiyomi Otaka would be leaving. Otaka did her last performance with the band on December 15, this performance was later broadcast on television by Japanese pay television channel WOWOW.
On February 19, 2025 the band announced that Jun Abe would be succeeding Kiyomi Otaka as their keyboardist and that they were being rebranded as Casiopea, their original name.
