colinmce Posted July 7, 2015 Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 ECM:Masabumi Kikuchi (1939-2015)Pianist Masabumi Kikuchi, one of jazz’s most original musicians, has died in New York, aged 75. Born in Tokyo, Masabumi Kikuchi, known to musicians everywhere by his nickname Poo, played with Lionel Hampton and Sonny Rollins while still a teenager, and made his recording debut in the early 1960s with Toshiko Akiyoshi and Charlie Mariano. In the 1970s he collaborated with Gil Evans and Elvin Jones and led his own groups, drawing influence from Miles Davis, Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk, as well as from Stockhausen, Ligeti and Takemitsu. Although he recorded only one studio album for ECM - “Sunrise” released in 2012 - he was an inspiration for musicians associated with the label, including Gary Peacock, Paul Motian and Thomas Morgan, admired for his rigorous individuality and his determined distance from all trends. In his last years Poo began to play a more inner-directed music, pursuing what he termed “floating sound and harmony”, and which he documented on many private recordings. “I’m more free now”, he announced at 70, “because I started believing in myself. When I sit down at the piano I do not prepare what I will play nor do I think about how to play, and I believe I found the way of putting out something new, and I guess I could call it my own”. Rest well .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted July 7, 2015 Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 Too young. Actually been listening to quite a few of his early, Japan-only recordings lately. There are the noticeable influences (Miles' groups, especially), but even then Kikuchi had his own thing, sensitive but not sappy (dry, almost). Another player the likes of whom we probably won't ever see again; or, if we do, for some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Shearn Posted July 7, 2015 Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 Damn, RIP. I love his playing from what I've heard, "Masabumi Kikuchi in Concert" is nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homefromtheforest Posted July 7, 2015 Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 Very sad to hear this! I have pretty much all his early albums and they're are many gems amongst them. Sad I never got to see him live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clifford_thornton Posted July 7, 2015 Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 Excellent player - sad to see him go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted July 7, 2015 Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 Sad news - RIP. Pretty sure I got to see him but not sure whether it was with Elvin Jones or Gil Evans. Elvin's Jazz Machine, I think.Just read the 'Do The Math' interview. Very interesting, he was a witness to the Tokyo B29 raids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clifford_thornton Posted July 7, 2015 Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 yeah, that DTM interview is heavy - thanks for the reminder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulpope Posted July 7, 2015 Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 R.I.P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjazzg Posted July 7, 2015 Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 Another one lost. His last ECM was sublime.I really encountered him with Motian and have still to investigate the early work although the Phillips with Gil Evans is a stormer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted July 7, 2015 Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 "He collaborated with Gil Evans" indeed. He didn't just work with Gil: Kikuchi was a vital contributor to several of those 70s orchestra recordings. Case in point (and electric piano warning for those so disinclined.): Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin V Posted July 7, 2015 Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 (edited) I enjoyed his work on a Paul Motian Trio 2000 + 2 Village Vanguard album (I still have to pick up the other two volumes), and I only recently picked up the first Tethered Moon album, which is excellent. I was struck by how patient an improviser Kikuchi was and how he could develop a tune at a glacial tempo. I'll be exploring more of his work in the future. Rest in peace, Mr. Kikuchi, and thank you for the music. Edited July 7, 2015 by Justin V Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 Sad news indeed. A fine and original pianist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 Sad news - don't know his music nearly as well as I feel I should ... his lone ECM album is wonderful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 Sad, I enjoyed what I heard...the recent ECM, Motian albums, Hollow Out with Elvin Jones. RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 Sad news - RIP. Pretty sure I got to see him but not sure whether it was with Elvin Jones or Gil Evans. Elvin's Jazz Machine, I think.Just read the 'Do The Math' interview. Very interesting, he was a witness to the Tokyo B29 raids.Saw him on keyboards with the Gil Evans Orchestra at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester in February 1978. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ombudsman Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 I have a few of his albums, my favorite being Poesy. Would have liked to have seen him play.I really enjoyed that Do the Math interview mentioned above, it's so unguarded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted July 9, 2015 Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 Steven Koenig posted this on the book of faces:Dear Music lovers,We are saddened to announce the passing of Masabumi Kikuchi and have been asked to forward the statement below from his daughter Abi Kikuchi:My father, Masabumi Kikuchi, who lived in New York has passed away at the North Shore University Hospital in Long Island. The official time of death was 10:05 pm EST, July 6th, 2015 (Japan time 11:05am July 7th, 2015).He died after an intensive medical care and surgery to help him recover from brain damage caused by internal bleeding, which kept him unconscious. During hospitalization, he also suffered from severe pneumonia, but the direct cause of his death was subdural hematoma.Born October 19th, 1939, he was 75 years old. Details of the funeral or memorial service have not been decided yet.Even if he remained unconscious, he did show some reactions, and doctors have told that he was in a lot of pain.However, I feel certain that he had wished to recover from this condition and play the piano once again, rather than to give up hope just to be released from the pain.I have only spent the first three years in my life with my father and we did not have such a strong relationship with each other. Though, I know that he had an extraordinary talent as a musician, as a pianist, to inspire and move listeners at the deepest level.This is from more than 10 years ago, so he might say that he changed his mind, but I would like to quote his words that gave me a strong impression:"For a musician -or should I say improviser?- like me, words are neither necessary nor important.One other thing is, I don't think so-called 'creative musicians' exist in this world, and I confirm this to myself more and more every day. We just bring music that already exists somewhere in space to where we are, by falling into a trance. I want to improve my sense of perception so I can transmit the music with as much detail and accuracy as possible."There is nothing that makes me happier than to know that the music my father left us would become a light in someone's heart.To everyone who loved my father's music, to friends in New York who sent him off playing his music, and all the people who had been so kind and patient with him in spite of the troubles he caused, I would like to express much appreciation on behalf of my father.Abi KikuchiJuly 8th, 2015You can view the statement online here in English and Japanese: http://www.lovemoka.jp/poo/Announcement.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted July 9, 2015 Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 The above is from an ECM press email that went around today.Anyway, so sad. Been enjoying his East West recordings lately thanks to the recent reissues. A marvelous player and glad that we have his recordings to savor. Forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted July 9, 2015 Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 (edited) Sad news - RIP. Pretty sure I got to see him but not sure whether it was with Elvin Jones or Gil Evans. Elvin's Jazz Machine, I think.Just read the 'Do The Math' interview. Very interesting, he was a witness to the Tokyo B29 raids.Saw him on keyboards with the Gil Evans Orchestra at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester in February 1978.It was about 1982/83 I saw Gil's band - I actually had a ticket for the 1978 tour at Colston Hall, Bristol but the biggest dump of snow for many a year early 1978 meant we were all holed up in my neck of the woods. So bad that the villages all had to be supplied by helicopter. I guess it wasn't meant to be. If it was Elvin's group I saw him with, that would have been about 1980. The lineup with Pat LaBarbera. Edited July 9, 2015 by sidewinder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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