Enishie Seigen Ono Ensemble 6 of 12

Seigen Ono Ensemble
Recorded live at the 27th Montreux Jazz Festival, 1993

Guitar: Seigen Ono
Alto sax: Mane Silveira
Soprano sax, flute: Paul Shapiro
Trombone: Yohichi Murata
Accordion: Toninho Ferragucci
Percussion: João Parahyba
Drums: Bobby Previte
Keyboards, bass: Peter Scherer
Cello: Maxine Neuman
Violin: Alexander Balanescu
Violin: Claire Connors
Guitar: Amadeo Pace

For the past 10 years, the Montreux Jazz Festival has kept the tradition of closing the festival with a "never-ending night". When Seigen Ono came to perform for the first time at the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 17, 1993, he was the last to leave the stage of the Miles Davis Hall at 6 o'clock in the morning. Seigen's band, with its amazing mixture of musicians of all nationalities, fresh approach to arrangements, and the incredible variety of rhythms, produced unique sounds that surprised everybody. When Seigen's show ended, the window curtains were drawn for the audience to witness the sunrise over the Lake Léman. It was a magical moment.
For the first time after 27 festivals, I invited an artist on the spot to come back the next year to perform this time on the bigger stage of the Stravinski Auditorium. Everything worked out and Seigen Ono and his multi-national band hit the stage after midnight on July 11th, following the performance of Lalo Schifrin with the Münchner Rundfunk Orchester, featuring guest stars, including Grady Tate, Ray Brown, Slide Hampton, Paquito D'Rivera and Jon Faddis.
This year, Seigen set up a full-size Brazilian café on stage, next to the musicians and when the band started to play, two women started to mix the national drink of Brazil, "Caipirinha." This was offered first to the musicians, visibly enhancing their enthusiasm and then to members of the audience, some of whom were invited to join in a dance marathon on stage. After two caipirinhas and one hour of Seigen Ono's music, I found myself on stage, dancing the tango with a Brazilian lady.
Seigen Ono's music cannot be described, it must be listened to. Its original flavor, the magical atmosphere, the delicacy of the melodies, the quality of the musicians and, above all, the gentle way Seigen Ono conducts all his projects, made it a night to remember.

Montreux, October 1994.
Claude Nobs (Director and Producer of the Montreux Jazz Festival)

Closing comments at the 27th Festival made at - 6:15 AM on July 18, 1993:

"Seigen ONO San!... I will never forget this music. Thank you so much. Voila, c'est ainsi que se termine le festival de jazz de Montreux, 27ème édition. Merci à vous tous et toutes et restez avec nous. Nous vous retrouverons l'année prochaine. Bonne soirée, enfin bonne matinée plutôt... Les croissants, c'est au bar, les cafés aussi... A bientôt ! Merci." -- Emmanuel Gétaz (Director of the Montreux Jazz Festival "Miles Davis Hall")

"C'était un final formidable et je crois que, personnellement, j'ai trouvé l'orchestre tellement formidable que j'ai déjà décidé qu'il sera programmé l'année prochaine à l'auditorium Stravinsky. Merci à vous. C'est le dernier carré. On recommencera l'année prochaine. On va ouvrir les rideaux. On va aller peut-être se baigner, prendre du soleil. Vous avez été formidable. Good night. Thank you. And welcome back next year, you'll be fantastic. Welcome back to Montreux next year." -- Claude Nobs