Hirano Aya, Jazz Singer!?

I just heard Aya's song on the third character song CD for the anime Sumomomo Momomo. Now she's a jazz singer. She keeps surprising me.



"Flying Horse, Uma Kamen Love Theme" features a lot of English and a male singer/group called LotusJuice. Aya not only has both Japanese and English scat passages, but really uses the full range and strength of her voice. At first, I felt she wasn't quite getting it, but when she started to soar and dive, around the one-minute mark, and then especially after the four-minute mark, I was amazed.

When she said in her blog that she liked Shiina Ringo, I wondered when we'd ever hear it. Maybe this is the beginning. Perhaps she is finding a style that suits her: wild, free riffing. Here and in the very different case of the Lucky Star ED collection, she's at her best when she goes off into wild invention.



I believe the photo above left shows her at the recording session for this song, in May for a June release. In her blog, she profusely thanked the staff for getting her such a "sexy" song. The photo above right is a recent shot of her "as Angela Aki," as she said in her blog.

Sumomomo Momomo Character Song CD3 is available from amazon.co.jp for ¥1500. You can sample the song on YouTube.