Nippy Noya - 1970s

Guest blogger Richard's contribution this time is about an amazing percussionist...

Nippy Noya has appeared on over 300 albums from 1972 through the 2020s.
Starting in 1992, he also taught at the conservatory in Enschede.
This first compilation features a number of his works from the 1970s.

Born in Celebes in 1946, at a time when Indonesia and the Netherlands were fighting for control of the archipelago we now call Indonesia. Many of the archipelago’s islands were seeking independence, such as the Moluccas, which lie just east of Celebes (Sulawesi).

Nippy is the son of the renowned Japanese taiko drummer Fusao San Nakato.

In 1968, he came to the Netherlands, and just a few years later, he began making his first contributions as a session percussionist with an ever-growing and increasingly well-known group of artists.

Pretty soon, he was playing with the cream of the crop in the Netherlands, namely Cuby & The Blizzards, Sandy Coast, Golden Earring, and Jan Akkerman. From that moment on, he was undoubtedly the most important session percussionist in the Netherlands, and his expertise was also recognized abroad—particularly in Germany, and to a lesser extent in Belgium and the United Kingdom.

The aforementioned Cuby kicks things off, followed by Sandy Coast and Earth & Fire (featuring the recently deceased Jerney Kaagman). Other rock, blues rock, and prog acts include Kaz Lux, Jan Akkerman, Golden Earring, and the acclaimed Group 1850, who titled one of their tracks simply “Noya’s Congas.” From the jazz-fusion scene come Joop Scolten (one of the earliest recordings of “Nippy” from 1972), Charlie Mariano, and the completely over-the-top, blow-your-mind Peter Herbolzheimer Rhythm Combination & Brass.

Of course, he’s also in demand for commercial pop music (Teach-In, featuring a dubious tribute to a singer/actor from *Saturday Night Fever* and *Grease*) or the cabaret-style Su Kramer. Serious pop comes from the Flemish singer Johan Verminnen (with a French-language song).

Two songs pleasantly surprised me more than anything else. Udo Lindenberg with his cover of “Sympathie für den Teufel”—a song that’s best sung in German anyway—and, as my second favorite from this selection, Maggie MacNeal with her amazing rendition of “White Room.”

Nippy Noya’s roots are never far away. For instance, he helped launch the success of Daniel Sahuleka, whose first six albums are top-notch. And finally, the band Massada. A predominantly Moluccan band featuring two songs from their first two albums. Although they also make Latin-oriented music with hits like “Danse (Don’t Quit Dancing),” “Latin Dance,” and “Unknown Destination,” I’m choosing “Arumbai”—a huge hit in the Netherlands—and the absolutely beautiful “Beautiful Berimbau / Sleep My Love.”