r/japanesejazz
▲ 31 r/japanesejazz
Updated List of Japanese Jazz Artists
Updated List of Japanese Jazz Artists
Dear esteemed members of r/japanesejazz - several years ago I began an effort to catalog all Japanese Jazz artists. Together with your help and more effort on my part I am now much further along. Here is the updated list - will be thrilled to hear from you who else I am missing!?
I believe this list will also assist all of you in expanding your familiarity and collections!
| Ai Kuwabara |
|---|
| Aikiko Yano |
| Akira Jimbo |
| Akiyoshi Toshiko |
| Asuka Kaneko ???? |
| Daisuke Takeuchi |
| Eiji Kitamura |
| Eiji Nakayama |
| Eiji Kitamura |
| Fumio Itabashi |
| Fumio Karashima |
| George Kawaguchi |
| George Otsuka Quintet |
| Hayashi Eiichi |
| Hideo Shiraki |
| Hino Terumasa |
| Himiko Kikuchi |
| Hiromi |
| Hiroshi Murakami |
| Hiroshu Suzuki |
| Hozan Yamamoto |
| Indigo Jam Unit |
| Iori Kimura |
| Isao Suzuki |
| Issei Norro |
| Itaru Oki |
| Jiro Inagaki |
| Junji Hirose |
| Jun Fukamachi |
| Jun Suzuki |
| Kaoru Abe |
| Katayama Hiroaki |
| Kazuki Katsuta |
| Kazumi Watanabe |
| Kazuo Imai |
| Kazutoki Umezu |
| Keiko Matsui |
| Ken Tsunoda |
| Kenji Omura (Kenji Mori) |
| Kimiko Kasai |
| Kiyoshi Sugimoto |
| Koichi Matsukaze |
| Koichi Matsukaze Trio |
| Koji Moriyama |
| Koko Tanikawa |
| Kosuke Mine |
| Kounosuke Saijo |
| Kyoko Kuroda |
| Mabumi Yamaguchi - |
| Makoto Ozone |
| Mari Nakamoto |
| Masabumi Kikuchi |
| Masahiro Kikuchi |
| Masahiko Satoh |
| Masahiro Andoh |
| Masaru Imada |
| Masayoshi Takanaka |
| Masayuki Takayanagi |
| Minako Yoshida |
| Minoru Muraoka |
| Minoru Mukaiya |
| Mitsuaki Katayama |
| Mix Dynamite |
| Miya Masaoka |
| Moon Haewon |
| Motohiko Hino |
| Ino Nobuyoshi |
| Naosuke Miyamoto |
| Nabuo Hara |
| Nobuyoshi Ino |
| Norio Maeda |
| Noritake Hiroyuki |
| Osamu Kawakami - |
| Ryo Fukui |
| Ryo Kawasaki |
| Ryuichi Sakamoto |
| Sachi Hayasaka |
| Sadao Watanabe |
| Senba Kiyohiko |
| Sharps and Flats Big Band |
| Shigeko Toya |
| Shigemichi Domoto |
| Shigenori Kamiya |
| Shigeo Sekito |
| Shinji Mori |
| Shintaro Quintet |
| Shunzo Ohno |
| Sleepy Matsumoto |
| Sunao Wada |
| Stir Up! |
| Taeko Ohnuki |
| Takao Uematsu |
| Takashi Imai |
| Takashi Kumagai |
| Takashi Masuzaki |
| Takeo Moriyama |
| Takeshi Inomata |
| Takuya Kuroda |
| Terumasa Hino |
| Teruo Nakamura |
| Tetsuo Masuzaki |
| Tetsuo Sakurai |
| Tohru Aizawa |
| Tomohiro Yahiro |
| Toshiko Akiyoshi |
| Toshiki Nagata ???? |
| Toshiaki Yokota |
| Toshiyuki Daitoku |
| Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio |
| Yamashita Yosuke |
| Yasuaki Shimizu - |
| Yasuko Agawa |
| Yenshu Tsubame Trio |
| Yoichi Okabe ??? |
| Yoriyuki Harada |
| Yoshio "Chin" Suzuki |
| Yoshiko Miyanoue |
| Yoshio Otomo |
| Yoshio Suzuki |
| Yoshitaka Akimitsu |
| Yosuke Yamashita |
| Yudo Matsuo |
| Yuji Imamura - |
| Yusike Shima |
| Yusuke Hoguchi |
u/stnr_on_failure — 3 days ago
▲ 8 r/japanesejazz
Japanese Jazz Artist Database Continued - More Help Requested
r/japanesejazz members, you did a phenomenal job this first round. Through your contributions I was able to add more than 20 artists to the database today, and only one single one was a repeat! So, big kudos for that!!!
Checking with Claude (AI), I asked how may Japanese Jazz musicians are there, dead or alive...here's his response: "There's no registry of jazz musicians anywhere in the world, so nobody can give you an exact figure — but let me see if there are any useful data points to anchor an estimate."
So our mission is to create a comprehensive, curated list of Japanese artists, pooling all the resources we can muster to complete this endeavor. It'll take time, for sure.
The next step and here I'd like to ask for more help - for some of the artists I've listed their instrument but many are missing - please comment with the names of artists and their instruments if you know them off the top of your head.
Again, much thanks for this team effort!!
| 1 | Ai Kuwabara | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Aikiko Yano | ||
| 3 | Akira Ishikawa | ||
| 4 | Akira Jimbo | Drummer | |
| 5 | Akiyoshi Toshiko | ||
| 6 | Asuka Kaneko | vocals, electric violin | |
| 7 | Ayako Hosokawa | ||
| 8 | Daisuke Takeuchi | Pianist | |
| Daisuke Takeuchi | |||
| Daisuke Takeuchi | |||
| Daisuke Takeuchi | |||
| 9 | Eiji Kitamura | Clarinetist | |
| 10 | Eiji Nakayama | ||
| Eiji Nakayama | |||
| Eiji Nakayama | |||
| Eiji Nakayama | |||
| Eiji Nakayama | |||
| Eiji Nakayama | |||
| 11 | Eiji Kitamura | Clarinetist | |
| 12 | Fumio Itabashi | Piano | |
| 13 | Fumio Karashima | ||
| 14 | George Kawaguchi | ||
| 15 | George Otsuka Quintet | ||
| 16 | Hajime Yoshizawa | ||
| 17 | Hayashi Eiichi | ||
| 18 | Hideo Shiraki | Drummer | |
| 19 | Hino Terumasa | ||
| 20 | Himiko Kikuchi | ||
| 21 | |||
| 22 | Hiromi | Piano (Hiromi Uehara) | |
| 23 | Hiroshi Fukumura | ||
| 24 | Hiroshi Murakami | Drums | |
| 25 | Hiroshu Suzuki | ||
| 26 | Hozan Yamamoto | Bamboo | |
| 27 | Indigo Jam Unit | ||
| 28 | Ino Nobuyoshi | Bass, Percussion | |
| 29 | Iori Kimura | Pianist | |
| 30 | Isao Suzuki | bass, cello, electric piano | |
| 31 | Issei Norro | Guitarist, Composer | |
| 32 | Itaru Oki | trumpet, fluegelhorn, cowbell, triangle, bells, Indian bells, wood block, backet trumpet | |
| 33 | Jiro Inagaki | Alto saxophone, tenor saxophone | |
| 34 | Junji Hirose | Saxophone | |
| 35 | Jun Fukamachi | Pianist, keyboards | |
| 36 | Jun Suzuki | Bass | |
| 37 | Kaoru Abe | alto & baritone sax, bass clarinet | |
| 38 | Katayama Hiroaki | Saxophone - Tenor | |
| 39 | Kazuki Katsuta | Saxophone | |
| 40 | Kazumi Watanabe | guitar | |
| 41 | Kazuo Imai | Guitar | |
| 42 | Kazutoki Umezu | reeds, melodica | |
| 43 | Keiko Matsui | keyboardist and songwriter | |
| 44 | Ken Tsunoda | Drums | |
| 45 | Kenji Omura (Kenji Mori) | alto saxophone, bass clarinet, flute | |
| 46 | Kimiko Kasai | vocals | |
| 47 | Kiyoshi Sugimoto | ||
| 48 | Koichi Matsukaze | alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, flute | |
| 49 | Koichi Matsukaze Trio | ||
| 50 | Koji Moriyama | ||
| 51 | Koko Tanikawa | ||
| 52 | Kosuke Mine | alto saxophone, tenor saxophone | |
| 53 | Kounosuke Saijo | Tenor Saxophone | |
| 54 | Kunihiko Sugano | Piano | |
| 55 | Kyoko Kuroda | piano, accordion | |
| 56 | Mabumi Yamaguchi - | Tenor Saxophone (Right) | |
| 57 | Makato Terashita | ||
| 58 | Makoto Ozone | piano | |
| 59 | Mari Nakamoto | vocalist | |
| 60 | Masabumi Kikuchi | Pianist | |
| 61 | Masahiro Kikuchi | Pianist | |
| 62 | Masahiko Satoh | piano, electric piano, arranger | |
| 63 | Masahiro Andoh | Guitarist, Composer | |
| 64 | Masaki Mori | ||
| 65 | Masato Honda | ||
| 66 | Masato Nakamura | ||
| 67 | Masaru Imada | ||
| 68 | Masayoshi Takanaka | Guitarist | |
| 69 | Masayuki Takayanagi | Guitarist | |
| 70 | Minako Yoshida | Vocalist | |
| 71 | Minoru Muraoka | Bamboo | |
| 72 | Minoru Mukaiya | Pianist, Composer | |
| 73 | Mitsuaki Katayama | ||
| 74 | Mix Dynamite | ||
| 75 | Miya Masaoka | ||
| 76 | Moon Haewon | ||
| 77 | Motohiko Hino | Drums | |
| 78 | Nakagawa Masami | ||
| 79 | Naosuke Miyamoto | ||
| 80 | Naoya Matsuoka | ||
| 81 | Nabuo Hara | Conductor Big Band | |
| 82 | Nobuyoshi Ino | Bass | |
| 83 | Norio Maeda | ||
| 84 | Noritake Hiroyuki | Drums | |
| 85 | Osamu Kawakami - | bass, electric bass (#1,2,4) | |
| 86 | Ryo Fukui | ||
| 87 | Ryo Kawasaki | Guitarist (Guitar Synthesizer) | |
| 88 | Ryuichi Sakamoto | Keyboardist | |
| 89 | Sachi Hayasaka | alto saxophone, soprano saxophone | |
| 90 | Sadao Watanabe | Sax | |
| 91 | Senba Kiyohiko | Percussion | |
| 92 | Sharps and Flats Big Band | ||
| 93 | Shigeko Toya | ||
| 94 | Shigemichi Domoto | Trombone | |
| 95 | Shigenori Kamiya | Guitar | |
| 96 | Shigeo Sekito | electone | |
| 97 | Shinji Mori | drums | |
| 98 | Shintaro Quintet | ||
| 99 | Shunzo Ohno | Trumpet | |
| 100 | Sleepwalker/Sleep walker | ||
| 101 | Sleepy Matsumoto | ||
| 102 | Sunao Wada | ||
| 103 | Stir Up! | ||
| 104 | Taeko Ohnuki | ||
| 105 | Takao Uematsu | Saxophone | |
| 106 | Takahashi Mizuhashi | Bass | |
| 107 | Takahiro Miyazaki | ||
| 108 | Takashi Imai | Trombone | |
| 109 | Takashi Kumagai | Trumpet | |
| 110 | Takashi Masuzaki | Guitarist | |
| 111 | Takehiro Honda | ||
| 112 | Takeo Moriyama | ||
| 113 | Takeshi Inomata | ||
| 114 | Takeshi Ito | ||
| 115 | Takuya Kuroda | Trumpeter | |
| 116 | Teru Sakamoto | ||
| 117 | Terumasa Hino | ||
| 118 | Teruo Nakamura | ||
| 119 | Tetsuo Masuzaki | Guitarist | |
| 120 | Tetsuo Sakurai | Bass | |
| 121 | Tohru Aizawa | ||
| 122 | Tomohiro Yahiro | Percussion | |
| 123 | Toshiko Akiyoshi | Pianist | |
| 124 | Toshiki Nagata ???? | double bass | |
| 125 | Toshiaki Yokota | flute | |
| 126 | Toshiyuki Daitoku | ||
| 127 | Toshiyuki Sekine | ||
| 128 | Tsutomu Okada | ||
| 129 | Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio | ||
| 130 | Yamashita Yosuke | Pianist | |
| 131 | Yasuaki Shimizu - | Tenor Saxophone (Left) | |
| 132 | Yasuko Agawa | voice | |
| 133 | Yenshu Tsubame Trio | ||
| 134 | Yoichi Okabe ??? | Percussion | |
| 135 | Yoriyuki Harada | ||
| 136 | Yoshie Nakano | ||
| 137 | Yoshio "Chin" Suzuki | bass | |
| 138 | Yoshiko Miyanoue | guitar | |
| 139 | Yoshio Otomo | ||
| 140 | Yoshio Suzuki | ||
| 141 | Yoshitaka Akimitsu | ||
| 142 | Yosuke Yamashita | piano | |
| 143 | Yudo Matsuo | ||
| 144 | Yuji Imamura - | Percussion | |
| 145 | Yusike Shima | ||
| 146 | Yusuke Hoguchi | Organ |
u/stnr_on_failure — 2 days ago
▲ 3 r/japanesejazz
Jazz Kissa - Phenomenal (Expensive, yikes...) New Book Out
u/stnr_on_failure — 2 days ago
Dude wtf happened to Early Summer on Spotify - Ryo Fukui
I can’t describe how peeved I am by the update to Ryo Fukui’s Scenery 1976 album on Spotify. Apparently there was a 2025 remaster that released recently (because this song is a regular listen for me) and REPLACED the original album on Spotify.
Any Fukui fan is very familiar with the truly iconic piano runs in Early Summer. Now on the album there is some minimal beats, background music remix of Early Summer on the album and I’m legitimately upset. NONE of the original musical journey is present. Im all about remasters, revisits by new artist but this is messed up. Has anyone else noticed this? Have feelings??
u/AthleteSufficient594 — 3 days ago
▲ 13 r/japanesejazz
Tonight's Tunes
I've had Blues For K for a few months now, but just discovered Sweet For K a couple weeks ago. Perfect late night soundtrack.
u/MarkVoenixAlexander — 6 days ago
▲ 18 r/japanesejazz
Soul Media - memory lane 2025 Nipponophone Japanese re-issue
Amazing japanese jazz, soul and funk album
( I also feel there’s a bit of a city pop feel, which I love )
overall love soul media and what they did with Jiro inagaki on this album ( produced by Jiro inagaki himself )
mostly just for the smoothness this album brings to the table, also some amazing funk moments to this record
Overall an amazing Japanese re-issue
u/vinyl_guy77 — 10 days ago
▲ 11 r/japanesejazz
Sounds of sound L.T.D.
Amazing Japanese jazz album by Takeshi Inomata
Full of texture, funk, and pure Japanese jazz vibes 🙏
u/vinyl_guy77 — 12 days ago
HIROSHI SUZUKI - CAT - Japan Pressing (EU link)
Clear Yellow Vinyl , in Gatefold Sleeve, Japanese pressing
u/Sudden_Audience_4988 — 14 days ago
Is there a cool punk/music scene in Tokyo?
im a 21 yo American woman visiting my brother in July who got an internship here in the city. Im involved in my hometowns scene and id like to check out what Japanese music is up to. (punk, EDM, raves, jazz, folk, im down for it all!
(ill also be traveling outside of Tokyo so any recs in the country are appreciated)
u/Suitable-Set-7927 — 14 days ago