Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden (
dCprG) is a Japanese experimental afro-jazz/"rock-in-opposition"/fusion supergroup, formed in 1999 by renowned saxophonist
Naruyoshi Kikuchi after
Tipographica break-up. The band's original line-up, with two performers on each instrument except bass, featured Naruyoshi's bandmates from
Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Quintet and members of several other prominent Tokyo underground groups:
Rovo,
Kuricorder Quartet and
Asteroid Desert Songs. In July 1999, DCPRG gave its first live performance, praised by critics and listeners for the fierce energy and innovative sound, inspired by
Miles Davis in the '70s "electric funk" period, Japanese composer
Masabumi Kikuchi and Afro-jazz polyrhythms. The band's iconic feature was a "multi-BPM" technique, with each musician keeping a different tempo and creating unique cross-rhythmic structures. In the summer of 2001, a reputable Japanese label P-Vine Records presented two debut studio works by DCPRG, a 30-min composition on
Sino / Pan-American Beef Stake Art Federations split CD with
Rovo, followed by the band's full-length
Report From Iron Mountain studio CD album. In 2002, Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden produced
[url=https://discogs.com/release/4847024]GRPCD1[/url] compilation, featuring seven remixes by
Otomo Yoshihide,
Rei Harakami,
Tatsuya Oe,
DJ Me DJ You duo,
Tsutomu Kuwata under
DJ Quietstorm alias, and
Kazunao Nagata.
DCPRG continued touring with an extended horns section:
Koji Nishimura,
Kunimitsu Kohata and
Shiro Sasaki on trumpets and
Takerou Sekijima on tuba. The band released its second studio CD album,
Structure Et Force, on P-Vine in September 2003, with
Jason Shalton replacing Otomo on guitar, while Sekijima, Sasaki and
Taisei Aoki (trombone) joined DCPRG permanently. In September 2004, the group's [url=https://discogs.com/release/3615439]CD mini-album[/url] with covers of "Stayin' Alive" by
Bee Gees and
David Bowie's "Fame" and the 2-nd part of Kikuchi's debut composition for DCPRG, "Pan-American Beef Stake Art Federation," was jointly released by P-Vine and Columbia Music Entertainment.
In 2007, following the third studio album,
Franz Kafka's Amerika 2xCD, which also became the last release for P-Vine Records, Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden went on a hiatus that lasted over three years. The band's live tour history between June 2001 and April 2007 has been documented on a three-part cycle, starting with
Musical From Chaos 2xCD on P-Vine in June 2003, featuring Tokyo shows at undefined in Shibuya, Liquidroom, Shinjuku, and undefined. The second 'live report,'
[url=https://discogs.com/release/11510856]MUSICAL FROM CHAOS 2[/url] CD+DVD, came out in March 2005 on a Japanese label P-Vine Records, with concerts recorded at P-Vine Records, undefined and Club Quattro, Tokyo. The concluding
Musical From Chaos 3 "Hoa-ky" DVD was published by P-Vine in December 2007, compiling live excerpts filmed at various venues across Japan, such as Milk, Tokyo, Club Quattro in [url=https://discogs.com/label/507790]Shibuya[/url], [url=https://discogs.com/label/822583]Nagoya[/url] and [url=https://discogs.com/label/933972]Hiroshima[/url], 大阪Bigcat, P-Vine Records, Shibuya O-East, The Voodoo Lounge (2), and undefined.
In 2009, Kikuchi planned a one-off comeback show, invited by
Michael Henderson to join the Japanese leg of his "Electric Miles Reunion Band," but these plans fell through. Instead, DCPRG made a solo comeback in October 2010, performing with a renewed line-up at Hibiya Yagai Ongakudo open-air stage in Tokyo's Hibiya Park on a rainy night — a show later released by undefined on
Boycott Rhythm Machine Again DVD. The same month, they gave a second reunion concert at KBS Hall in Kyoto. Kikuchi briefly partnered with P-Vine Records and
Kip Hanrahan's label P-Vine Records before signing a new deal with prestigious jazz label Impulse! through UMG's Japanese branch undefined. DCPRG released two CD albums on Impulse,
Alter War In Tokyo in September 2011, recorded live at undefined in Tokyo with
Arto Lindsay as a special guest, and
Second Report From Iron Mountain USA, the first studio work in five years.
In May 2015, DCPRG presented
Franz Kafka's South America SACD+DVD, the fifth studio album, via [url=https://discogs.com/label/1256047]Taboo[/url], one of undefined imprints in Japan.
Original DCPRG line-up (1999–2001)
Naruyoshi Kikuchi — keyboards, VOX Jaguar organ, CDJ turntables, conduction
Masayasu Tzboguchi — keyboards, electric piano, clavinet, synths
Otomo Yoshihide — guitar
Koki Takai — guitar, filters & effects
Kenta Tsugami — soprano saxophone
Yoshihiro "Gosekky" — tenor saxophone
Gen Ogimi — percussion
Masaki Yoshimi — tabla
Masaki Kurihara — bass
Yasuhiro Yoshigaki — drums
Nobuo Fujii — drums
Guests:
Itoken — drums, tambourine
Koji Nishimura,
Kunimitsu Kohata — trumpet
Second installment (2003–2007)
Naruyoshi Kikuchi — keyboards, CDJ turntables
Masayasu Tzboguchi — keyboards, synthesizers
Jason Shalton — guitar
Koki Takai — guitar
Kenta Tsugami — soprano saxophone
Gosekky — tenor saxophone
Gen Ogimi — percussion
Masaki Yoshimi — tabla
Masaki Kurihara — bass
Yasuhiro Yoshigaki — drums
Nobuo Fujii — drums
Takerou Sekijima — tuba
Taisei Aoki — trombone
Shiro Sasaki — trumpet
Current line-up (since 2015)
Naruyoshi Kikuchi — band leader
Masayasu Tzboguchi — keyboards
Tomomi Oda܍ — keyboards
Takayoshi Ohmura — guitar
Gen Ogimi — percussion
Tsugami Kenta — saxophone
[url=https://discogs.com/artist/4016582]Takai Shiohito[/url] — saxophone
Shinpei Ruike — trumpet
[url=https://discogs.com/artist/4016580]Arigath ⎨アリガス⎬[/url] — bass
Muneomi Senju — drums
[url=https://discogs.com/artist/4016581]Kyojun Tanaka[/url] — drums
܍
Josei played on keyboards on
Alter War in Tokyo and
Second Report From Iron Mountain USA before Tomomi Oda joined
