Kayo Ishuu -- Mezame（めざめ）

 

A lot of us are coming out of the Easter weekend grumbling at the beginning of another work week. So I gather that the morning coffee was even more appreciated than usual. I've been a coffee drinker since around university; before then I'd been strictly on the Orange Pekoe tea. However, I cannot say in all honesty that I am a coffee connoisseur since I admit that I prefer to drink it with cream (no longer with sugar since my old flame was able to wean me off that years ago) and not black.

There's nothing like the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, though, to herald the beginning of that trek to the table for breakfast. Earlier today, NHK's "Asaichi"（あさイチ）was focusing on the healing power of smell and naturally that cup of java was targeted for its distinct aroma. Of course, when the announcer was grandly enjoying his cuppa, a famous made-in-Japan jingle played in the distance and you can hear it above at the 43-second mark of this commercial.

In the above commercial here, you can hear it once more at 36 seconds. It's been called "Dabada"（ダバダ〜）as an affectionate nickname due to the famous soft and heavenly scatting representing the pure enjoyment of taking in that hot dark liquid. The brand here is Nescafe's Gold Blend that's been around 1967 according to J-Wiki and aside from some musical tangents such as Kazumasa Oda's（小田和正）"Little Tokyo" in 1991, Gold Blend has always used "Mezame" (Waking Up) as its anthem.

The singer behind "Mezame" is Kayo Ishuu（伊集加代）whose career in the industry lasted between the late 1960s and the 2010s. She was also one of the jazzy co-scatters for the theme of the late-night NTV show "11 PM". But for "Mezame", it's all classy and refined as the Nescafe guys wanted it for their coffee. The above is the full version as composed by pianist and arranger Masao Yagi（八木正生）which I hadn't ever heard before until I began writing this article. Indeed, it sounds like background music for a tour of one of Europe's greatest castles...which hopefully serves coffee at the end of the tour. The accompanying cake had better be made by the best French bakers.

"Mezame" has apparently been given slightly different arrangements over the decades although for the most part, it's been Ishuu's scatting at the core. However in 2012, pop duo Dreams Come True came up with their own soulful version of the song in tribute to its 45th anniversary.