57 years history of Nobuo Hara and his Sharps & Flats, Jazz big band can be said to be the history of postwar Japanese popular music.

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Nobuo Hara, who started Sharps & Flats with 10 members in September 1951, adopted the same big band style of 17 members as the present in a short period of time, and like a concert band such as Duke Ellington Orchestra , Count Basie Band and others, they conducted real top-class music activities.

In 1958, they succeeded in their first recital, and was highly acclaimed from the beginning . They co-starred with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. Hara met nationally famous singers such as Hibari Misora, Eri Chiemi and others and wrote the songs for them The song ”真っ赤な太陽" , composed by Hara, became a big hit and he gained a wide range of fans on a nationwide scale.

Through such a variety of activities, Sharps & Flats became the first Japanese band to participate ＜ American Newport Jazz Festival ＞ in 1967. The band made a successful appearance in and was invited to perform from all over the world, including from the US, Soviet Union, Europe and Asia. In addition, he has co-starred with international big stars such as Quincy Jones, Sammy Davis Jr., Diana Ross, Eve Montan, Pat Boone and Perry Como, and contributed to not only the Japanese music industry, but also proved "Sharps & Flats" as the global band

Through such wide-ranging and energetic activities, the band won numerous awards including the Fumio Nanzato Award, the Art Festival Excellence Award, the Art Festival Award, and the Japan Record Award for Meritorious Service. The band leader, Nobuo Hara received the Purple Ribbon Medal in 1988 and in 1998. He has been honored with the 4th Asahi Kobayashi Award and has been highly praised for his long-standing contribution to Japanese music culture.

Sharps & Flats current members Nobuo Hara (ts / Leader), Tatsuya Sato (ts), Shinichi Inome (as), Hideo Oyama (as), Nobuyuki Morikawa (bs), Yuzo Kataoka (tb), Shunji Sato (ts). tb), Yoshiaki Hashimoto (tb), Masaki Domoto (btb), Shin Sugawara (tp), Mike Bryce (tp), Isao Sakuma (tp), Narihiro Kikuchi (tp), Junzo Iwami (g), Kiyoshi Takano (t). pf), Kunio store network (b), Takanori Itagaki (ds)

Nobuo Hara and Sharps & Flats, who celebrated their 55th anniversary in 2006, are rare that the band leader at the time of their founding is still the active leader while there are many big band appearing all over the world. It is a great band.