BIOGRAPHY
YOSHIAKI MASUO
Guitarist Yoshiaki Masuo was born
in 1946 in Tokyo, Japan. Without formal instruction,
and listening to his father's record collections, Masuo
taught himself to play the guitar, influenced heavily
by the sounds of Wes Montgomery and Barney Kessel who
were his favorites. His father was a jazz pioneer in
Japan on piano, organ and as a big band leader. Some
of Masuo’s first memories of live jazz were from
his trips to his father’s gigs at the American
military bases.
Attending college at Waseda University
in 1965, he joined the university jazz club where he
was quickly discovered by Japan's top saxophonist, Sadao
Watanabe, who took Masuo under his wing and into his
group. The group hurtled Masuo to popularity and in
it, he toured Japan many times over, recording albums
with them and playing on Sadao's weekly radio show.
In 1969, Masuo won the honor of
"best jazz guitarist" in the annual Swing
Journal musician's poll, a position he held for many
years. His first solo album, "Winds of Barcelona"
was released that same year on the CBS-SONY label, and
by 1970, he was touring Europe and the United States
with the Watanabe group, leaving Japan for the first
time and playing at the Montreux and Newport jazz festivals.
When Watanabe's group disbanded
at the end of 1970, Masuo took what he thought would
be a six month trip to New York City. He soon found
himself in the middle of the jazz scene there, playing
with musicians Elvin Jones, Roy Haynes, Lenny White,
and Mike Brecker. Masuo recorded on Jones' "Merry
Go Round" album, and went on to play with Lee Konitz
in 1972. In the spring of '73, he became a regular member
of the Sonny Rollins band and in his six year association
with Rollins (three years at this time), he toured extensively
in the U.S., Europe and Japan and recorded on three
of Rollins' albums; "Horn Culture", "Cutting
Edge", and "Sonny Rollins Live in Japan".
Reviews of the Rollins concerts often singled out Masuo's
guitar work. A review in a London newspaper referred
to "Yoshiaki Masuo, whose jazz guitar would make
an evening memorable even without the redoubtable Rollins"
and a High Fidelity review of the recording of the Montreux
Festival concert ("The Cutting Edge") spoke
of "Guitarist Masuo's charging, churning solos
that are highlights of Rollins' club performances."
Masuo recorded "111 Sullivan
Street" in 1975, with the (at the time) Sonny Rollins
rhythm section of Bob Cranshaw (bass) and David Lee
(drums). This was his first lead album since coming
to the U.S..
In '78, he formed his own electric fusion group (the
Animal House Band) recording six highly successful albums
on the Electric Bird label, three of which won awards.
He toured extensively with this group inviting Jan Hammer
as special guest in 1980.
In 1982 Masuo rejoined Rollins’ band for another
three years, playing the memorable Town Hall/Beacon
Theater concert and playing on Sonny's "Reel Life"
album.
After acquiring a recording studio
(“The Studio) in New York City’s Soho area
and having made a mark in the international jazz world,
Masuo began to help record some of New York City's young
and most promising jazz musicians. He formed the JazzCity
(1987) and JazzCity Spirit (1993) labels, producing
nearly 300 CDs over the next 20 years, contributing
much to the U.S. and Japanese jazz scenes. During this
time, although he was not performing on the club scene,
Masuo continued to record his own albums ("Masuo"-
1989, "Acoustic Duo" – 1990 and "A
Subtle One" - 1991 with musicians Kenny Kirkland,
Ron Carter, and Al Foster among others). "Just
Like Old Times", a reunion album with Sadao Watanabe,
was released in 1993.
In the spring of '97, Masuo had
the honor of performing at Washington DC's Kennedy Center
for the Three Generations of Japanese Jazz All Stars
concert, along with groups like Toshiko Akiyoshi and
Lew Tabackin. His career continues as a producer, writer
and recently as a performer again, delighting his many
fans who have missed hearing his music live. His album,
"Are You Happy Now" with Larry Goldings (organ)
and Lenny White (drums) was released on the Sunnyside
label in the U.S. and Europe, and the Omagatoki label
in Japan in 1998. A reviewer wrote of the release, "Masuo
has emerged with this enjoyable date to re-establish
himself as a premier jazz guitarist in the modern mainstream".
(Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide)
"Life is Good" (2008),
the first album on Masuo's Sunshine Ave. Label bears
Masuo's signature crossover style, weaving the worlds
of folk, pop, and classical with straight ahead jazz.
"I'm Glad There is You",
his latest duo endeavor with premier pianist Bill Mays
is also available on the Sunshine Ave. Label.
