Takashi Matsunaga
| Takashi Matsunaga | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Takashi Matsunaga (松永貴志 Matsunaga Takashi) |
| Born |
1986 (age 29–30) Kobe, Japan |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Website | takashimatsunaga.com |
Takashi Matsunaga (松永貴志 Matsunaga Takashi, born 1986), sometimes known professionally as Takashi, is a Japanese jazz pianist and composer.
Life and career
Matsunaga was born and raised in Kobe.[1] At the age of five he first played a piano and Hammond organ that his father had.[1] His father also took him to jazz clubs.[1] After winning an electric organ competition at the age of ten, Matsunaga took lessons from Tadao Kitano, who also taught Makoto Ozone.[1] Matsunaga played his first concert as a professional when he was 15, appeared on television in 2002, then signed with Toshiba-EMI and released his first album the following year.[1] As an 18-year-old, Matsunaga was promoted by Toshiba-EMI as "the youngest pro jazz pianist in Japan".[1] Storm Zone, his 2004 release and debut album for Blue Note, contained only his original compositions.[2] In 2012, he recorded for the anime Sakamichi no Apollon, which narrates the story of two teenagers playing jazz, one piano the other drums.
Playing style
"Matsunaga has a busy, almost frenetic, bop-based playing style, with dense clusters of notes and a profusion of riffs and melodic ideas."[1]
Composing style
A reviewer for The New York Times commented that Matsunaga composes in "various stylistic idioms, including Latin-tinged numbers [...] gentle ballads [...] and swinging tours de force".[1]
Discography
An asterisk (*) after the year indicates that it is the year of release.
As leader/co-leader
| Year recorded | Title | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003* | Takashi | Toshiba-EMI | Trio |
| 2003* | Moko Moko | Toshiba-EMI | |
| 2003 | Storm Zone | Blue Note | Trio, with Daiki Yasukagawa (bass), Junji Hirose (drums) |
| 2004* | Today | Somethin' Else | |
| 2006* | Inorganic Orange | Somethin' Else | Trio |
| 2008* | Love Makes the Earth Float | Somethin' Else | Trio, with Hiroaki Mizutani and Daiki Yasukagawa (bass; separately), Akira Sotoyama and Junji Hirose (drums; separately) |
| 2013* | Good News | Somethin' Else |
Main source:[3]