Casiopea

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Casiopea
Left to right (the band's 6th lineup): Issei Noro, Yoshihiro Naruse, Kiyomi Otaka, and Akira Jimbo
Background information
Origin	Tokyo, Japan
Genres	Jazz fusion jazz-funk smooth jazz city pop
Years active	1976–2006, 2012–present
Labels	Alfa Polydor Pioneer Pony Canyon Hats Unlimited [ja]
Members	Issei Noro Kiyomi Otaka (ja) Yoshihiro Naruse (ja) Yoshinori Imai
Past members	Hidehiko Koike Tohru "Rika" Suzuki Minoru Mukaiya Tetsuo Sakurai Takashi Sasaki (ja) Masaaki Hiyama Noriaki Kumagai (ja) Akira Jimbo
Website	casiopea.co.jp

Casiopea (カシオペア, Kashiopea, derived from the name of the constellation Cassiopeia), now known in its fourth iteration as Casiopea-P4, 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 (ja) 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.^[1]

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.^[2]

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.^[3]