1976–1989: First period 1974–1976: Early activities (pictured in 1973), before transitioning to an instrumental sound. In 1974, guitarist
Issei Noro, a third-year student at Tokyo Metropolitan Tamagawa High School, and bassist
Tetsuo Sakurai, a second-year at
Keio Shiki Senior High School, met through a mutual friend and quickly became friends. The three began rehearsing together at a studio in
Tokyo, aiming to emulate
Beck, Bogert & Appice with a
hard rock and
funk-based sound. Occasionally, they included a vocalist in their band, but the core members, Noro and Sakurai, were flexible in their musical approach, causing the band's direction to gradually shift towards
instrumental music with
jazz elements. To fill the drummer position left by Suzuki, the band held auditions, resulting in the recruitment of Takashi Sasaki. Yoshihiro Naruse, who would later join the band, was a judge during the contest and praised them, even asking for an encore despite it being a competition. As a result of their popularity, their demo tape caught the attention of
Alfa Records, leading to Casiopea's debut in 1979. Casiopea debuted with their self-titled album on May 25, 1979. Noro was able to participate in the recording and production, with American recording engineer
Al Schmitt, who had just arrived in Japan, serving as the engineer. Composer
Jun Fukamachi, who was with Alfa and working on the album, went to
New York City for the recording of Jun Fukamachi & The New York All Stars Live. Through this connection, they were able to have
the Brecker Brothers and
David Sanborn contribute to the album.
1980–1989: Lineup changes and heyday Akira Jimbo met Tetsuo Sakurai when Sakurai stood in for Keio University's big band. Impressed by his talent, Sakurai recommended him as Casiopea's next drummer, with Jimbo's first recording with the group being the 1980 live album
Thunder Live. On 21 May 1982, they released
Mint Jams, a live album compiled from performances recorded at Central Hall in Tokyo in February of that year. The album was selected as best album of 1982 by the Japanese jazz magazines
Adlib and
Jazzlife, with
Tower Records Japan describing
Mint Jams as a landmark in Japan's jazz‑fusion history and one of the band's career‑defining works. The band's albums began to attract attention overseas, prompting tours in the United States and Europe; guitarist Issei Noro credited Mint Jams with making their European tour possible. The members toured internationally and returned to Japan later that year to record
4×4 with international musicians including
Lee Ritenour,
Don Grusin,
Nathan East, and Harvey Mason. In 1989, Casiopea's contract with their record label ended and the band prepared to transfer to a new label, prompting a stop to band activities, including album production and national touring, as members pursued side projects. During the hiatus, Tetsuo Sakurai and Akira Jimbo formed Shambara, recording and touring with other musicians. Issei Noro and Minoru Mukaiya objected to their simultaneous membership in Shambara and Casiopea, arguing it would hinder Casiopea's planned restart. Sakurai and Jimbo insisted they could balance both bands, but after the dispute remained unresolved they left Casiopea and formed the duo Jimsaku.
1990–2006: Second period With only Issei Noro and Minoru Mukaiya remaining from the original Casiopea lineup, bassist
Yoshihiro Naruse replaced Sakurai and drummer Masaaki Hiyama replaced Jimbo. Casiopea then signed to Pioneer. In August 1992, Hiyama left the band due to health issues, and drummer Noriaki Kumagai replaced him later that year, first appearing in the album
Dramatic in 1993, and the band returned to the Alfa label that year, then to
Pony Canyon. In 1997, Jimbo returned as a part-time member, recording more albums and writing compositions. This would become Casiopea's longest running line-up in the band's history (guitarist Issei Noro, keyboardist Minoru Mukaiya, and bassist Yoshihiro Naruse, with drummers Masaaki Hiyama from 1990 to 1992, Noriaki Kumagai from 1993 to 1996, and the returning Akira Jimbo from 1997 to 2006). In 2000, the band again signed to Pioneer, who would release their
20th Anniversary album (featuring Noro, Mukaiya, Jimbo and Naruse, with former members consisting of Kumagai, Koike, and Sakurai). In 2006, wanting to stop touring and play less with Casiopea, Noro decided to suspend all group activities, effectively putting the band on hiatus.
2012–2022: Return and third period (Casiopea 3rd) Although all the members were pursuing their own paths and Noro believed that the disbandment marked the end of Casiopea, the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami inspired him to restart the band to uplift people's spirits through music in the wake of the disaster. In April 2012, Noro announced that Casiopea would be active again, although Minoru Mukaiya had left the band and was replaced by keyboardist Kiyomi Otaka. Alongside Noro and Otaka, bassist Yoshihiro Naruse and drummer Akira Jimbo rejoined the band; Jimbo was credited as a supporting member but treated as a full member. The band adopted the name Casiopea 3rd and also announced that they would perform for the first time since their hiatus at Tokyo Jazz 2012 and would be releasing their first
best-of album. On 9 October 2013, they were appointed by the Japan Audio Society as an Ototen ambassador, the association’s first time naming one in recognition of its long-running contribution to the audio industry. Throughout the 2010s, Casiopea 3rd resumed releasing albums, releasing
Ta・Ma・Te・Box in 2013, their first in eight years, which reached number 18 on the
Oricon Albums Chart and topped the jazz & classical chart. They released their second album,
A・So・Bo, two years later. They would continue with I・Bu・Ki in 2016 and A・Ka・Ri in 2018. In February 2022, Akira Jimbo announced that he would leave Casiopea 3rd; his final appearances were on the April and May 2022 Billboard Tour.
2022–2025: Fourth period (Casiopea-P4) In July 2022, Issei Noro announced that drummer Yoshinori Imai would replace Akira Jimbo and the band would be renamed from Casiopea 3rd to Casiopea-P4. They released their 35th album,
New Topics, soon after, with Imai's younger age motivating the band to record for the first time in three years. They released their 36th album,
Right Now, in 2024 to mark the band's 45th anniversary, with all members contributing compositions to the album, including an unreleased piece. In December 2024, prior to performances in Osaka and Tokyo, the band announced that they would be holding their final concert with Kiyomi Otaka as their keyboardist, as she chose to leave the band. A month prior to the final concert, the band had contacted pianist to see if he wanted to join as a replacement, which he accepted prior to the announcement.
2025–present: Fifth period In May 2025, Casiopea, now using their original first name, introduced Jun Abe as a member during a series of performances. Noro said in an interview with
Daily Sports that he reverted to his original name after Otaka's decision to leave and to refresh the band's image. They released their 37th album,
True Blue, under their original name on 27 August 2025. == Musical style and influence ==