Masaru Imada
Masaru Imada | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Masaru Imada (今田勝, Imada Masaru) |
| Born | 21 March 1932 Tokyo, Japan |
| Died | 30 May 2025 (aged 93)[1][2] |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Instrument | Piano |
| Website | imadamasaru.com |
Masaru Imada (今田勝, Imada Masaru; 21 March 1932 – 30 May 2025) was a Japanese jazz pianist and composer.
Life and career
Imada was born in Tokyo on 21 March 1932.[3] He had classical piano lessons.[3] He played jazz in student bands while a student at Meiji University, after which he worked in business for a year.[3] He then decided to pursue music professionally.[3] From 1953 he was part of clarinetist Eiji Kitamura's band.[3]
Imada had his own trio from 1964.[3] He formed Now'in, a fusion band, in 1984.[3] He played internationally at jazz festivals from the 1970s.[3]
Discography
An asterisk (*) after the year indicates that it is the year of release.
As leader/co-leader
| Year recorded | Title | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970* | Maki | Quartet, with tenor sax, bass, drums | |
| 1970* | Now! | Three Blind Mice | Quartet, with tenor sax, bass, drums |
| 1973 | Poppy | Three Blind Mice | Some tracks solo piano; some tracks trio, with Isao Fukui (bass), Masahiko Ozu (drums) |
| 1975 | Green Caterpillar | Three Blind Mice | Quintet, with Kazumi Watanabe (guitar), Isao Fukui (bass), Tetsujiro Obara (drums), Yuji Imamura (percussion) |
| 1976 | Masaru Imada Piano | Three Blind Mice | Solo piano |
| 1977 | Alone Together | Three Blind Mice | Duo, with George Mraz (bass) |
| 1980 | Andalusian Breeze | Trio | With Kazumi Watanabe (guitar), Mitsuaki Furuno (bass), Shinji Mori (drums), Yuji Imamura (percussion) |
| 1981 | Carnival | Trio | With Michael Brecker (tenor sax), Randy Brecker (flugelhorn), Kiyoshi Sugimoto (guitar), Akira Okazawa (bass), Yuichi Tokashiki (drums), Yuji Imamura (percussion) |
| 1982* | Seaside | With Grover Washington, Jr. (tenor sax, alto sax, soprano sax, flute), Tom Brown (trumpet), Steve Kahn (guitar), Anthony Jackson (bass), Steve Jordan (drums), Manolo Badrena (percussion) | |
| 1986* | Strange Conversation | Polydor | Quartet, with keyboard, bass, drums |
| 1988* | Azure | Sextet | |
| 2002* | Standards | Three Blind Mice |
References
- ^ "今田勝|ニュース&インフォメーション|JAZZ | ディスクユニオン･オンラインショップ" [Masaru Imada | News & Information | JAZZ | Disk Union Online Shop] (in Japanese). diskunion.net. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
- ^ "日本を代表するジャズ・ピアニスト，今田勝が93歳で永眠". Jaz.in (in Japanese). 2 June 2025. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Sugiyama, Kazunori, Imada, Masaru, Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, retrieved 1 February 2015