Composer, bossa nova guitarist, and producer Goro Ito has announced a new tribute album celebrating the music of his close friend Ryuichi Sakamoto. Co-led with renowned cellist Jaques Morelenbaum and vocalist Paula Morelenbaum, the album reimagines works from across Sakamoto’s career, alongside a classic by Antonio Carlos Jobim and a new original piece, Fragmentos, written by Ito and Paula Morelenbaum.
The recording features contributions from Aya Ito, Koichi Sato, Keita Ogawa, and Mami Kakudo, with Haruomi Hosono joining on bass for Happy End - a song famously covered by Yellow Magic Orchestra. As a bonus, the album includes Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (re-modeled by Goro Ito), originally released in 2010.
All tracks are arranged and produced by Goro Ito, the album is out now, listen here.