Pizzicato Five
Unlike Ben Folds Five, Pizzicato Five did at one time (in its early days in the mid-eighties) have five members. However, by the time their music was first released in the U.S. in the early nineties, they were down to three. Prior to disbanding in March 2001, Pizzicato Five consisted of two members, musical mastermind Yasuharu Konishi and singer Maki Nomiya.
Pizzicato Five's music reflects Konishi's varied musical interests. Albums like Playboy & Playgirl (a.k.a. The International Playboy Playgirl Record) bear an obvious debt to '60s pop, bossa nova, and lounge, while Happy End of the World is strongly influenced by the club music to which Konishi began paying attention in the early nineties.
