Maaya Sakamoto -- DOWNTOWN

So, if we can get a classic kayo done in its original New Music then covered in City Pop and even Chip Tune, why not get a version given with a jazz arrangement with a hint of ska? That was indeed the case with "Downtown" originally by Tatsuro Yamashita and Ginji Ito（山下達郎・伊藤銀次）in the 1970s with the most famous cover by EPO in 1980 and even a technopop version by YMCK in 2008.

Then in October 2010, Maaya Sakamoto（坂本真綾）, whom I knew only for her work with a couple of anison just in the past couple of years, "Shiawase ni Tsuite Watashi ga Shitteiru Itsutsu no Houhou"（幸せについて私が知っている5つの方法）and "Million Clouds", had come up with her own big band version of "Downtown" as her 18th single. Judging from the intro, Sakamoto decided to follow the Tats original.

Being a jazz fan myself, I did appreciate the big band arrangement here.

Sakamoto's version of "Downtown" peaked at No. 5 on Oricon and was also a track on her 7th album "You can't catch me" from January 2011 which did hit No. 1 and modestly finished the year as the 170th-ranked album. The above is just a mere 25-second snippet from the official music video. Actually, I remember seeing the video but at the time, I had no idea who Sakamoto was.

And whaddaya know? It was also the opening theme of a TBS anime titled "Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru" (それでも町は廻ってる...And Yet the Town Moves) which had its run starting from October 2010.