profile of tetsudas.com

Saxophonist and Composer

1966年8月9日、富山県生まれ。

6才からピアノを始め、12才でトランペット、高校時代にテナーサックスに転向。大学在学中に独学でジャズを始める。卒業後名古屋で会社員として勤務するが、原朋直(tp)と大坂昌彦(d)に出会い、27歳でプロに転向。テナー、ソプラノサックスだけでなく近年ではフルートも演奏。

原・大坂5、日野皓正5、大西順子6、日野元彦6等の活動を経て近年では東京銘曲堂(TMD)、DIRECTIONに加え、メンバーを一新した自身のカルテットの他、ライフワークのソロ、デュオライブ等も精力的に実施。また日野皓正(tp)、山下洋輔(p)とのコンサートも不定期ながら数年に渡って開催。
2009年1月にはニューヨークとボストンで行われたイベントに竹澤悦子（筝）と共に招待され演奏。同年より石森管楽器店にてセルフプロデュース公演を定期的に開催。
また2007年よりJazzLife誌にて「わがままサックス哲学」の連載、2009年度より講師として洗足学園音楽大学での講座を受け持つ。

1999年に初リーダーアルバム「ETERNAL AFECTION」を発表。
2004年からソロパフォーマンスをライブ収録した「天元」シリーズ4タイトル発表。
2006年からはジャンル・楽器問わず、様々なミュージシャンとのデュオアルバムがリリース開始。
最新アルバムは、カルテット名義の「AIKA（哀歌）」。

Tetsuro Kawashima

Tetsuro KAWASHIMA, a tenor saxophonist and composer, was born in Toyama Prefecture on August 9, 1966. He learned to play the piano and the trumpet during his childhood, and he took up the tenor saxophone when he entered senior high school and joined the school brass band. During this time his main musical interests were in classical music, rather than jazz.

Upon graduating from high school, he entered the Okayama College of Science, where he majored in applied physics. He joined the light music club and came to know the joy of playing jazz. Improvising music freely was a great thrill for him and he devoted himself to it. After graduating from college, he chose to work for a machinery maker in Nagoya. On weekends he performed live at jazz clubs, where he got the chance to join in sessions with musicians from Tokyo, such as trumpeter Tomonao HARA and drummer Masahiko OSAKA.

With their encouragement, at the age of 27, Tetsuro KAWASHIMA decided to move to Tokyo to start a new life as a jazz tenor sax player.

Starting with the HARA-OSAKA Quintet, he participated in many of the bands of Japan's top musicians, such as pianist Mikio MASUDA, trumpeter Terumasa HINO, pianist Junko OHNISHI, and drummer Motohiko HINO, and also joined in a variety of recordings and sessions.
In 1999, he released "Eternal Affection" under his own name, and followed this release with "Burnin' Four Nights," his first live recorded album. He formed the Tetsuro KAWASHIMA Quartet in 2000 and released "My Soul" and "Emotion." The selections on these albums are mostly his original compositions. The tracks "You don't know what love is" and "FIRST LIVE" were released under the name Tokyo Meikyoku Do (TMD), a trio specifically formed for the playing of jazz standards.

From 2002 into 2003, he released four albums recorded in New York. "Suna--an edge of standards," "Cresta," and "True Eyes," are collectively referred as "A Trilogy in New York." The latest album, "Mambo Montage," was produced by Kip Hanrahan. His brilliant sound stands out amidst the intense latin rhythms. Every work displays his prominence on Japan's jazz scene as a musician and composer.

KAWASHIMA also performs live energetically both in club and concert hall settings, mainly in Tokyo. Besides the saxophone, he occasionally plays the flute, the piccolo, and even the bass clarinet. Many Japanese songs have recently been added to his repertoire. Audiences are impressed not only by his superb technique and musicianship, but also his positive attitude toward jazz and sincerity.

Since 1999, he has been voted most popular tenor saxophonist of the year by the readers of Japan's jazz magazine Swing Journal. Tetsuro KAWASHIMA is now one of the top musicians leading Japan's jazz scene, and he will keep moving forward in pursuit of his own sound.