Isao Suzuki

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Isao Suzuki ( Jap. 鈴木勲 , Suzuki Isao ; * 2. January 1933 in Tokyo ) is a Japanese double bassist of the Modern Jazz . Occasionally he also plays the cello .

Live and act

Suzuki, under the influence of a concert by Louis Armstrong with Milt Hinton in 1953, decided to play the double bass. He began his career with Tony Tekiseira to join George Kawaguchi in 1960 , in whose band he also met Sadao Watanabe . In 1962 he became a member of Tony Scott's quartet to join the Hidehiko Matsumoto Quartet in 1964. In 1966 Sadao Watanabe brought him into his band together with Masabumi Kikuchi and Masahiko Togashi . Then he led the house band at Five Spot in Jiyugaoka , where he accompanied Oscar Peterson , Horace Silver , Wynton Kelly and Art Blakey . In 1970 he went to New York City , became a member of Blakeys Jazz Messengers for a year , but also performed with Thelonious Monk , Charles Mingus , Ella Fitzgerald , Wynton Kelly, Bobby Timmons , Jim Hall, Ron Carter and Sun Ra .

After returning to Japan, Suzuki formed his own band, Grandma Sound , with whom he recorded his debut album in 1972. He toured internationally with this band (for example, he performed at the Java Jazz Festival in 2009 ). He also accompanied Kenny Burrell and often Mal Waldron on their Japan tours and also recorded with Cedar Walton and Duke Jordan . On his album Self-Portrait (1980) he played more than twenty different instruments.

He has been awarded the Japan Jazz Prize several times . Since 1984 he has been running the Japan Bass Players Club together with Hideto Kanai . In 1987 he founded in Osaka , the Loft 6 as a venue for young musicians.

Discographic notes

  • Isao Suzuki Trio / Quartet: Blow Up ( Three Blind Mice , 1973), with Takashi Mizuhashi, George Otsuka, Kunihiko Sugano
  • Isao Suzuki Sextet: Ako's Dream (Three Blind Mice, 1976, TBM 2576), with Isao Suzuki (clo) Kazumi Watanabe (g), Kazumasa Akiyama (git), Tsuyoshi Yamamoto (p, ep, syn), Motohiko Hamase (b, eb), Akira Doi (dr)
  • Isao Suzuki & New Family: Mongolian Chant (Paddle Wheel, 1980), with Shigeharu Mukai , Toshiyuki Honda
  • Isao Suzuki: Self-Portrait (Paddle Wheel, 1981)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Brief portrait (How Japan Came to Love Jazz: 10 Pioneers of the Japanese Jazz Scene)
personal data
SURNAME Suzuki, Isao
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 鈴木 勲 (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Japanese jazz musician
DATE OF BIRTH January 2, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH Tokyo prefecture