Takashi Matsunaga

Takashi Matsunaga (松永貴志 Matsunaga Takashi, born 1986), sometimes known professionally as Takashi, is a Japanese jazz pianist and composer.

Matsunaga was born and raised in Kobe.At the age of five he first played a piano and Hammond organ that his father had. His father also took him to jazz clubs. After winning an electric organ competition at the age of ten, Matsunaga took lessons from Tadao Kitano, who also taught Makoto Ozone.

Matsunaga played his first concert as a professional when he was 15, appeared on television in 2002, then signed with Toshiba-EMI and released his first album the following year. As an 18-year-old, Matsunaga was promoted by Toshiba-EMI as "the youngest pro jazz pianist in Japan". Storm Zone, his 2004 release and debut album for Blue Note, contained only his original compositions.

Takashi Matsunaga released his first album at only 17 years old on the venerable Blue Note record label (August 2003).

All 9 tracks on the recording are his own compositions, and each accurately convey musically a particular scene or mood. The opening piece "Southern Cross" in reference to the heavenly constellation, or "Moko-Moko" in reference to the thumping sound of a drum being struck with a mallet. The title track, "Storm Zone," certainly calls to mind the maelstrom of a seriously aggressive weather pattern.

Matsunaga is accompanied by Daiki Yasukagawa (bass), Junji Hirose (drums) on his album Storm Zone. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.