was a Japanese

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

composer, arranger, and

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instru ...

. He played with The Brecker Brothers and

Steve Gadd Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American jazz fusion drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and most highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction i ...

and released albums for

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

and

Toshiba is a Japanese multinational electronics company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, elevators and escalators, electronic components, semiconductors ...

in the 1970s.

Early life and career

At the age of 3, Fukamachi began to learn piano. After attending Izumi High School, he began landing production deals. He dropped out of

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music or is a school of art and music in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained artists in the fields of painting, sculpture, crafts, inter ...

just prior to graduating. In 1971, he signed to

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

for the release of his debut album, ''A Portrait of a Young Man''. Following this, he worked as composer and keyboard player of jazz fusion. Since the early 1970s he began to use synthesizers to create numerous albums such as ''

Quark A quark () is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nucleus, atomic nuclei ...

'' (1980), in particular using the Yamaha CS-01 breath controller technique. In 1989, he was appointed Professor of Scooter Gakuen University Music School and founded Japan's first synthesizer major.

Death

On November 22, 2010, he died of a pericardial hematoma due to

aortic dissection Aortic dissection (AD) occurs when an injury to the innermost layer of the aorta allows blood to flow between the layers of the aortic wall, forcing the layers apart. In most cases, this is associated with a sudden onset of agonizing ches ...

Discography

As leader

* ''Piano Solo Best of Beatles'' (Polydor, 1972) * ''Hello'' (Polydor, 1972) * ''Now Sound Christmas'' (Polydor, 1972) * ''Piano Solo Screen Music 10'' (Polydor, 1973) * ''Rokuyu'' (Express, 1975) * ''Silver Fish'' (Polydor, 1975) * ''Introducing Jun Fukamachi'' (Toshiba, 1975) * ''Spiral Steps'' (Kitty, 1976) * ''Jun Fukamachi at Steinway'' (Toshiba, 1976) * ''Jun Fukamachi at the Steinway (Take 2)'' (Toshiba, 1976) * ''Together with Jun/Martha Miyake'' (Toshiba, 1976) * ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (Toshiba, 1977) * ''Crystal City'' (Philips, 1977) * ''The Sea of Dirac'' (Kitty, 1977) * ''Triangle Session'' (Kitty, 1977) * ''Second Phase'' (Toshiba, 1977) * ''Evening Star'' (Kitty, 1978) * ''Live'' (Alfa, 1978) * ''On the Move'' (Alfa, 1978) * ''Fantastic Suite: A Dream On a Spring Night'' (Toshiba, 1978) * ''Riverside'' (Alfa, 1979) * ''Wonderland'' (Alfa, 1980) * ''Quark'' (Alfa, 1980) * ''Fusion Synthesizer'' (Express, 1980) * ''The Soundtrack Mishione'' (Columbia, 1980) * ''Solo Vol. 1'' (Vap, 1983) * ''Remember to Remember'' (Kitty, 1983) * ''Yamato Final Synthesizer Fantasy'' (Columbia, 1983) * ''Queen Emeraldus Synthesizer Fantasy'' (Columbia, 1983) * ''Daisy Chain'' (Climax, 1983) * ''Digital Trip Urusei Yatsura'' (Animex, 1984) * ''Yellow Moon'' (TDK, 1984) * ''Jun Fukamachi Meets Takashi Sato'' (Eastworld, 1986) * ''Spiral Steps'' (Kitty, 1992) * ''Variation of Variation'' (Kosei, 1996) * ''Midnight Dive'' (J-one, 1998) * ''Civilization'' (J-one, 1999) * ''Winter'' (Network, 2001) * ''Autumn'' (Network, 2001) * ''Summer'' (Network, 2001) * ''Spring'' (Network, 2002) * ''Calm'' (Network, 2002) * ''Piano World'' (GT Music, 2003) * ''Marriage'' (GT Music, 2004) * ''Taizo'' (Finger, 2004) * ''Last Nocturne'' (Universal, 2012) * ''Recital at Suntory Hall'' (Jun Fukamachi, 2017)

As sideman

With

Prism PRISM is a code name for a program under which the United States National Security Agency (NSA) collects internet communications from various U.S. internet companies. The program is also known by the SIGAD . PRISM collects stored internet ...

* ''Nothin' Unusual'' (TDK, 1985) * ''Dreamin'' (SMS, 1986) * ''The Silence of the Motion'' (SMS, 1987) * ''Live Alive Vol. 2'' (SMS, 1987) With others *

Casiopea , is a Japanese jazz fusion band formed in 1976 by guitarist Issei Noro, bassist Tetsuo Sakurai, drummer Tohru "Rika" Suzuki, and keyboardist Hidehiko Koike. In 1977, keyboardist Minoru Mukaiya and drummer Takashi Sasaki ( ja) replaced Koik ...

, ''Super Flight'' (Alfa, 1979) *

Benard Ighner Benard Ighner (January 18, 1945 – August 14, 2017) was an American jazz singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. Biography Ighner was born in Houston, Texas. After graduating in 1962 he moved with his parents to San Diego, Califor ...

, ''Little Dreamer'' (Alfa, 1978) * Tatsuya Nakamura, ''Locus'' (Sea Horse, 1984) *

Masayoshi Takanaka is a Japanese musician, producer and composer. Takanaka rose to fame and achieved commercial success during the 1970s and 1980s. He is known for his virtuosic guitar playing and skilled musicianship, composing and performing across various diff ...

, ''Takanaka'' (Kitty, 1977) * Masayoshi Takanaka, ''An Insatiable High'' (Kitty, 1977) * Kyohei Tsutsumi, ''Hit Machine'' (Toshiba, 1976) *

Kazumi Watanabe is a Japanese guitarist. Other guitarists such as Luke Takamura and Sugizo 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 ...

, ''Mermaid Boulevard'' (Alfa, 1978)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fukamachi, Jun 1946 births 2010 deaths Musicians from Tokyo Japanese jazz composers Japanese jazz keyboardists Deaths from aortic dissection