is a Japanese guitarist. Other guitarists such as

Luke Takamura is a Japanese musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as guitarist of the heavy metal band Seikima-II from 1987 to 1999, and for various temporary reunions since. From 2002 to 2020, he was the lead singer and guitarist of the rock ...

and

Sugizo , born and better known by his stage name Sugizo, is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, composer and record producer. He is best known as the lead guitarist and violinist of the rock band Luna Sea since 1989. Sugizo started his solo care ...

have cited him as an influence.

Career

Watanabe learned guitar at the age of 12 from Sadanori Nakamure at the Yamaha Music School in Tokyo. He released his first album in 1971. In 1979, he formed a jazz rock band with some of Japan's leading

studio musicians Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a t ...

, and recorded the album ''Kylyn''. During that year, he toured with the pop band

Yellow Magic Orchestra Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO for short) is a Japanese electronic music band formed in Tokyo in 1978 by Haruomi Hosono (bass, keyboards, vocals), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, lead vocals) and Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, vocals). The group is cons ...

. In the 1980s, he toured as guest soloist with Steps, the

Brecker Brothers The Brecker Brothers were a jazz fusion music duo consisting of siblings Michael and Randy. Michael played saxophone, flute, and EWI, and Randy played trumpet and flugelhorn. The brothers attended Cheltenham High School in Wyncote, Pennsylvan ...

, and

Word of Mouth Word of mouth, or ''viva voce'', is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one pe ...

, led by

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987) was an American jazz bassist, composer and producer. He recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader and was a member of Weather Report from 1976 to 1981. ...

. Watanabe created the jazz-rock/jazz-fusion band Mobo in 1983 with Mitsuru Sawamura (saxophone), Ichiko Hashimoto (piano), Gregg Lee (bass),

Shuichi Murakami (January 1, 1951 – March 9, 2021) was a Japanese jazz drummer and session musician. Career Murakami was born in Nishinomiya. He first learned to play French horn, but switched to classical percussion as a teenager before settling on the ...

(drums), and Kiyohiko Senba. During the eighties Watanabe released the jazz-rock albums ''To Chi Ka'' (1980), ''Mobo Club'' (1983), ''Mobo Splash'' (1985), and ''Spice of Life'' (1987). A DVD was issued from the tour which featured drummer

Bill Bruford William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English former drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording ...

and bassist Jeff Berlin, who also played on the record. In the 1990s Kazumi assembled an all-Japanese line-up called Resonance Vox (Vagabonde Suzuki on bass, Rikiya Higashihara on drums,

Yahiro Tomohiro Yahiro is both a masculine Japanese given name and a Japanese surname. Possible writings Yahiro can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *弥弘, "more and more, vast" *弥広, "more and more, wi ...

on percussion). This band has released several adventurous fusion albums.

Discography

As leader

* ''Infinite'' (Express, 1971) * '' Endless Way'' (Columbia, 1975) * '' Monday Blues'' (RCA, 1976) * ''Milky Shade'' (Union, 1976) * ''

Olive's Step Olive's Step is the 6th album by Japanese guitarist Kazumi Watanabe. The album was released on LP by Better Days label of Nippon Columbia in 1977. Track listing Personnel * Kazumi Watanabe - Electric guitar (A1-A4, B1-3), Acoustic guit ...

'' (Better Days, 1977) * ''Guitar Work Shop'' (Flying Dog, 1977) * ''Lonesome Cat'' (Denon, 1978) * ''Kaleidoscope'' (Denon, 1978) * ''

Mermaid Boulevard ''Mermaid Boulevard'' is Kazumi Watanabe's sixth studio album, released in 1978. Track listing Personnel * Kazumi Watanabe – guitar, guitar synth * Ernie Watts – tenor saxophone, flute * Patrice Rushen – electric piano, clavinet * Jun Fu ...

'' (Alfa, 1978) * '' Tokyo Joe'' (Denon, 1978) * ''Village in Bubbles'' (Better Days, 1978) * ''Kylyn'' (Better Days, 1979) * ''Kylyn Live'' (Better Days, 1979) * ''

To Chi Ka ''To Chi Ka'' is a fusion album by Kazumi Watanabe. It was recorded and mixed in March 1980 during a very prolific period for Watanabe and then released in May 1980. The album features some of the most acclaimed jazz and rock musicians; part of the ...

'' (Better Days, 1980) * ''

Dogatana ''Dogatana'' is a 1981 album by Japanese jazz guitarist Kazumi Watanabe. As usual for Watanabe, it features many acclaimed musicians. The album, compared to other Watanabe works, has a very acoustic sound and is characterized by peculiar guitar "d ...

'' (Denon, 1981) * ''Mobo'' (Domo, 1984) * ''Mobo I'' (Gramavision, 1984) * ''Mobo II'' (Gramavision, 1984) * ''Mobo Live'' (Domo, 1985) * ''Mobo Splash'' (Domo, 1985) * '' The Spice of Life'' (Domo, 1987) * ''

The Spice of Life Too ''The Spice of Life Too'' is an album by jazz fusion guitarist Kazumi Watanabe; featuring Bill Bruford, Jeff Berlin and Peter Vettese. It was released on the Gramavision record label in 1988. The original title released in Japan is "The Spice o ...

'' (Gramavision, 1988) * ''

Kilowatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

'' (Gramavision, 1989) * ''Romanesque'' (Domo, 1990) * ''Pandora'' (Polydor, 1991) * ''Esprit'' (Domo, 1996) * ''Dandyism'' (Domo, 1998) * '' One for All'' (EmArcy, 1999) * ''Beyond the Infinite'' (Dozo, 2001) * ''Guitar Renaissance'' (EWE, 2003) * ''

Mo' Bop II ''Mo' Bop II'' is an album by guitarist Kazumi Watanabe. It was released in 2004 and features only two other members in the lineup, besides Watanabe. The album is part of a project called "New Electric Trio" which began in 2003 with ''Mo' Bop'' an ...

'' (East Works, 2004) * ''Guitar Renaissance II'' (EWE, 2005) * ''Guitar Renaissance III'' (EWE, 2006) * ''Kaihogen'' (Cube, 2006) * ''Guitar Renaissance IV'' (EWE, 2007) * ''Acoustic Flakes'' (EWE, 2009) * ''Jazz Impression'' (EWE, 2009) * ''Tricoroll'' (EWE, 2011) * ''Mo' Bop III'' (EWE, 2011) * ''Guitar Renaissance V'' (EWE, 2012) * ''Live at Iridium'' (EWE, 2012) * ''Spinning Globe'' (Warner, 2013) * ''En Vivo!'' (Victor, 2015) * ''Gracim'' (Warner, 2016) * ''Lotus Night'' (Warner, 2016)

As sideman

* Jimmy Hopps, ''Mudari: Spirit of Song'' (Denon, 1977) *

Hideki Matsutake Hideki Matsutake (born August 12, 1951 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese composer, arranger, and computer programmer. He is known for his pioneering work in electronic music and particularly music programming, as the assis ...

, ''Live Space Fantasy'' (For Life, 1978) *

, ''Word of Mouth Band 1983 Japan Tour'' (Rhino, 2012)

References

External links

Kazumi Watanabe Official SiteKazumi Watanabe 2016 English Interview on Innerviews
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watanabe, Kazumi 1953 births Living people Jazz fusion guitarists Japanese jazz guitarists Japanese session musicians Gramavision Records artists Columbia Records artists PolyGram artists