Drummer, percussionist, trumpet player
Yasuhiro Yoshigaki was born in Hyogo prefecture in 1959. While a university student, he started performing on the Kansai (western Japan) jazz scene. Following stints as leader of various groups, including a Kansai salsa band and an improvisational music ensemble, he founded the bands Altered States (Uchihashi Kazuhisa [guitar], Mitsuru Nasuno [bass], Yoshigaki [drums]) and Sights (Yuji Ohara [trombone], Hiroshi Funato [bass], Yoshigaki [drums]). Yoshigaki played in such groups as Modern Chokichokis, Otomo Yoshihide's Ground-Zero, Shibusashirazu, and Kazutoki Umezu's Betsuninanmo Klezmer Orchestra before relocating to Tokyo in '97. Not only does he collaborate with such jazz and improv musicians as Takeshi Shibuya (piano), Satoko Fujii (piano), Fumio Itabashi (sax), Kazutoki Umezu (sax), Eiichi Hayashi (sax), Sachi Hayasaka (sax), Michihiro Satoh (Tsugaru shamisen), Samm Bennett (percussion, vocals), Toshiki Nagata (bass), Shun Sakai (vocal), Natsuki Kito (guitar), Taizo Sakai (guitar), Koichi Makigami (voice), and Yukihiro Isso (nokan); he also performs and records with artists in many other genres--among them, Nenes, DIVA, Junji Ariyama, Yasuhiro Kobayashi, Harumi Kitagawa, Panta, Shizuru Otaka, Hoppy Kamiyama, Toshiaki Chiku, Rikuo, Masami Satoh, Yasukatsu Oshima, Kabu Yumeno, Mayumi Oshima, Kiyoshi Hasegawa, Leonard Eto, Jadranka, Kahimi Karie, and Mariko Hamada. In addition, he's participated in the Tokyo and Kyoto Operations of John Zorn's Cobra (as prompter in Kyoto); and in music production for theater (e.g., the group Ishinha, Yukio Nirekawa's production of Macbeth, and Bungakuza's Arabian Nights) and films by Shinji Somai, Christopher Doyle, and others.
Currently, Yoshigaki is performing (mainly live) as a member of such groups as Rovo (Yuji Katsui [violin], Seiichi Yamamoto [guitar], Yoichi Okabe [percussion], Tatsuki Masuko [keyboard], Jin Harada [bass]), Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Ensemble, Naruyoshi Kikuchi's Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden, Hiroshi Minami's Go There!, the Hiroaki Katayama (sax) Quartet, Carmen Maki & Salamandre, and Taisei Aoki's (trombone, bass, keyboard) group; and with his own groups, including Emergency!, Vincent Atmicus, and Orquesta Nadge! Nadge!
Yoshigaki regularly plays outside of Japan. Some of his most notable international festival appearances are listed below.
2005
With Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Orchestra at Musicus Concentus (Italy), Jazz Festival Gdansk (Poland), Banlieues Bleues (France), Musique Action (France), Musiques Innovatrices (France), and Le Weekend Festival (UK)
2004
With Rovo at the Moers New Jazz Festival (Germany)
2002
With Shibusashirazu at the Moers New Jazz Festival (Germany)
With Altered States at Summer Jazz (Poland)
2000
With Shibusashirazu at the Moers New Jazz Festival (Germany)
1999
With Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Orchestra at Music Unlimited (Austria)
1998
With Shibusashirazu at the Moers New Jazz Festival (Germany), the Verona Jazz Festival (Italy), the Druga Godva Jazz Festival (Slovenia), and the Diersbach INNtone Festival (Austria)
1997
With Ground-Zero at the Angelica Festival (Italy)
With Ground-Zero and Altered States at the Ring Ring Festival (Serbia) and the LMC Festival (UK)
1996
With Fumio Itabashi's group at the Thailand International Jazz Festival
1995
With Altered States and Ground-Zero at the Taktlos Festival (Switzerland), the Victoriaville International Festival (Canada), and the Knitting Factory's Tokyo Noise Core (New York, U.S.A.)
With Ground-Zero at Musique Action (France)
1993
With Altered States at the Tallinn International Festival (Estonia) and the Vilnius Jazz Festival (Lithuania)