Japan is the land of the rising sun, and one of its brightest lights is Bassist Yoshio Suzuki. Tune in to Mark Stevens’ Piano And All That Jazz to hear selections from Yoshio Suzuki’s 2015 CD release Generation Gap.
PROFILE: Born in Kiso-Fukushima of Nagano Prefecture in Japan, Yoshio Suzuki (鈴 木良雄) was raised in a musical family: his father a violin craftsman, his mother a piano teacher, and his uncle the founder of the world-renowned “Suzuki Method.” He studied both violin and piano as a child, and in high school he also took up the guitar. In college, he performed as the pianist of the Waseda University Modern Jazz Ensemble. Upon entering his professional career as a pianist, Suzuki began to study under the Japanese jazz saxophone icon Sadao Watanabe, who advised him to switch to the wood bass as his main instrument. So from 1969 to 1973, Suzuki played bass for Sadao Watanabe's group as well as for the Masabumi Kikuchi group. In October 1973, Suzuki moved to New York and began his career in America, the following year signing on as the regular bassist for Stan Getz, and also serving as the bassist for the legendary group Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers from 1975 ~ ’76. For the next four years, Suzuki worked mainly with Bill Hardman and Junior Cook. He also led his own band in New York City, featuring David Liebman on sax, and during that period worked also with Sonny Rollins, Lee Konitz, and Chet Baker. In the meantime, he was studying classical music composition; by blending his jazz, classical and Japanese influences, Yoshio Suzuki developed a unique, cross-cultural sound for his album releases that feature all-original compositions. Back in Japan since 1985, Suzuki has formed several jazz bands that play his original music, with album recordings being engineered in New York and even achieving exposure on the U.S. music charts. His latest jazz group Bass Talk debuted in 2001. In 2004, Bass Talk released their first album “Moon and Breeze,” which served as a milestone marking Suzuki’s 35 years as a professional musician, and they performed a commemorative concert at the prestigious Sogetsu Hall in Akasaka, Tokyo. Bass Talk has taken their music on tour to Estonia, Sweden and Latvia, and in June 2006 the band appeared at “Sweet Rhythm” in New York City as part of the JVC Jazz Festival (since 2009 known as the Newport Jazz Festival). Yoshio Suzuki was voted No. 1 Bass Player for three consecutive years between 2004~2006 in Swing Journal magazine’s Japanese Jazz Musician Reader’s Poll. Also known by the nickname “Chin,” he remains a leading figure of the Japanese jazz music scene.
