Kazumi Watanabe (
Japanese: 渡辺 香津美,
Hepburn: Watanabe Kazumi, born October 14, 1953 in
Tokyo[1][2]) is a Japanese guitarist. Other guitarists such as
Luke Takamura and
Sugizo have cited him as an influence.[3][4]
Career
Watanabe learned guitar at the age of 12 from Sadanori Nakamure at the
Yamaha Music School in Tokyo.[5] He released his first album in 1971. In 1979, he formed a jazz rock band with some of Japan's leading
studio musicians, and recorded the album Kylyn.[6] During that year, he toured with the pop band
Yellow Magic Orchestra.[5]
In the 1980s, he toured as guest soloist with Steps, the
Brecker Brothers, and
Word of Mouth, led by
Jaco Pastorius. Watanabe created the jazz-rock/jazz-fusion band Mobo in 1983 with Mitsuru Sawamura (saxophone), Ichiko Hashimoto (piano), Gregg Lee (bass),
Shuichi Murakami (drums), and Kiyohiko Senba.[5]
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 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 on percussion). This band has released several adventurous fusion albums.
On February 27, 2024, he collapsed at his home in
Karuizawa and was transported by ambulance. On March 31 of the same year, as a result of scrutiny, it was reported on the official website that he was diagnosed with
cerebral stem hemorrhage with impaired consciousness and that he was in hospitalized, and that he would cancel all artist activities scheduled for this year based on the doctor's diagnosis and concentrate on treatment.[7]
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abcIwanami, Yozo; Sugiyama, Kazunori; Kernfeld, Barry (2002). Kernfeld, Barry (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. Vol. 3 (2nd ed.). New York: Grove's Dictionaries Inc. p. 886.
ISBN1-56159-284-6.