Italian jazz pianist Giovanni Mirabassi is releasing his own cover album featuring songs from films by Studio Ghible. The album’s title is “MITAKA CALLING – Mitaka no Yobigoe -“, and none other trhan Ghibli great and Academy Award-winning director, Hayao Miyazaki, is illustrating the album’s jacket cover.

It turns out that Hayao Miyazaki is a huge fan of the Italian musician’s work. In fact, Miyazaki visited Mirabassi when the pianist held a concert in Japan for his “ANIMESSI – Le château dans le ciel” concert. That album also contained six Ghibli cover songs. The two would become friends after the concert.

The album’s cover songs include:

 1. “Ano Natsu he” (Sprited Away)

 2. “Ashitaka Sekki” (Princess Mononoke)

 3. “Umi no Mieru Machi” (Kiki’s Delivery Service)

 4. “Flying boatmen” (Porco Rosso)

 5. “Castorp (Ma no Yama)” (The Wind Rises)

 6. “Doom -Kumo no Wana-“ (Porco Rosso)

 7. “Ohm tono Kouryu” (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind)

 8. “Gake no Ue no Ponyo” (Ponyo)

 9. “Tonari no Totoro” (My Neighbor Totoro)

Mirabassi is also planning to tour Japan for the album as well. It will happen in spring 2020.

Source: Nippon Clumbia