The Square -- Twilight in Upper West

 

I was going to call it a night with my previous article but then I was coursing through the Discord City Pop servers and read a comment that Hirotaka Izumi（和泉宏隆）, a keyboardist of the fusion band The Square (or T-Square as it is called now) passed away on April 26th at the age of 62 from heart failure. When I checked on his J-Wiki page, the same news was there and it was confirmed through his own website, "Misty Fountain" with the announcement made on April 28th.

Izumi also contributed to The Square through his composition of songs and my very first exposure to the band was the oh-so-cheerful and mellow "Takarajima"（宝島）, a song that he created back in 1986 which became known to a new generation of listeners thanks to its use in the anime "Hibike! Euphonium"（響け!ユーフォニアム）in 2016. In tribute to him, I'm bringing out one of his other compositions and the final track of The Square's 12th album, "Truth", which was released in April 1987.

"Twilight in Upper West" is a beautiful and introspective piece led by saxophonist Takeshi Ito（伊東たけし）which seems to describe a wonderful and peaceful end of a day after the accomplishment of something difficult but worthwhile. Izumi also has his own marvelous solo midway through the song, and the overall effect is rather elegiac. 

There was an orchestra version of "Twilight in Upper West" created between The Square and the Munich Symphony Orchestra in 1994 that was used as a theme song for the Fuji-TV drama "Bakumatsu Koukousei"（幕末高校生...High School Students at the End of the Edo Era） that aired in the same year. I have to say that it's a grand and heroic interpretation of the original ballad, and I can even imagine the high school band in "Hibike! Euphonium" tackling this one.

It's a pity that Izumi has left so suddenly but fans like myself can be rest assured that he has left a lot of songs through The Square and other projects that people like me can further explore and enjoy for years to come. My condolences to his family. Apparently, there will be a Memorial Premiere video airing on his YouTube channel on May 2nd from 9:30 am (presumably Japan Standard Time) according to his website. If any fans have any confirmation and/or further information, please let us know.