Takashi Kako

Takashi Kako
Born	(1947-01-31) 31 January 1947 Osaka, Japan
Genres	Jazz, Classical music, Contemporary classical music
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer
Instrument	Piano
Labels	America, Trio
Website	Takashi Kako Official Site

Takashi Kako (加古 隆, Kako Takashi) (born 31 January 1947) is a Japanese pianist and composer, who works in both jazz and art-music idioms.

Early life

Kako was born in Osaka. He began playing piano at eight years old and learned to play jazz while in his teens.

Later life and career

He attended the Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music, receiving both his bachelor's (1965-1969) and master's in composition (1971) there. Upon graduating, he matriculated at the Paris Conservatoire, where he studied composition under Olivier Messiaen; concurrently, he played jazz in clubs, beginning a long-term association with Kent Carter and Oliver Johnson as a trio. He played with Noah Howard, Masahiko Togashi, and Steve Lacy in the 1970s, and with Togashi again as a duo in the early 1980s. Starting in the mid-1980s, he increasingly moved toward playing solo piano, although he occasionally toured with ensembles as well.

In addition to his performance career, Kako has worked extensively as a composer. He has written scores for traditional ensembles and for film and television, including the 1998 film The Quarry.

Discography

As Emergency

(with Bob Reid, Boulou Ferré, Glenn Spearman, Sabu Toyozumi)

• Homage to Peace (America, 1973) - Recorded in 1972

As leader/co-leader

• Jazz A Maison De Japon, Paris (パリ日本館コンサート) with Mototeru Takagi (Nadja, 1974) - live
• Passage (パッサージュ) (Trio, 1976)
• Micro World (マイクロワールド) (Trio, 1976)
• Paris Days (巴里の日) (Trio, 1977) - recorded in 1976
• Night Music (Sun, 1977) - recorded in 1974
• Legend of The Sea-Myself (海の伝説―私) (Trio, 1977) - live
• TOK with Oliver Johnson, Kent Carter (Trio, 1978)
• El Al with Toshiyuki Miyama and his New Herd (Union, 1979)
• Valencia with Masahiko Togashi (Trio, 1980)
• L'Aube (夜明け) (Baybridge, 1984)
• Twilight Monologues with Masahiko Sato, Aki Takase, Ichiko Hashimoto (Lunatic, 1984)
• Solo Concert (Insights, 1985)
• Poesie (CBS/Sony, 1986)
• Klee (いにしえの響き - パウル・クレーの絵のように) (CBS/Sony, 1986)
• Scrawl (CBS/Sony, 1987)
• Kenji (CBS/Sony, 1988)
• Long Journey (幻想行) (CBS/Sony, 1989)
• Symphonic Poem: Spring: Homage to Flowers (春～花によせて) (CBS/Sony, 1990)
• Estampe Sonore (CBS/Sony, 1991)
• Apocalypse (アポカリプス 〜黙示録) (Sony/Epic, 1992)
• La Collection de l'art du vent (風の画集) (Sony/Epic, 1992)
• Prelude De L'Eau (水の前奏曲) (TriStar Music, 1993)
• Norwegian Wood (ノルウェーの森) (Epic/Sony, 1996)
• Presentimen (予感 アンジェリック グリーンの光の中で) (Sony/Epic, 1998)
• Moments Tranquilles (静かな時間) (Sony, 1999)
• Waltz With The Wind (風のワルツ) (Sony, 2004)
• Piano (Takashi Kako album) (Avex Classics, 2006)
• Kumano (熊野古道) (Avex-Classics, 2007)
• Qualtet (Avex Classics, 2010)
• Blue Sea (滄) with Mototeru Takagi, Sabu Toyozumi (Kaitai, 2012)
• New Sea (新海) with Mototeru Takagi, Sabu Toyozumi (Kaitai, 2012)

Soundtracks

• NHK Special The 20th Century In Moving Images (映像の世紀) Original Soundtrack (Escalier, 1995; Excerpt on YouTube)
• Original Soundtrack From The Motion Picture The Quarry (月の虹) (Sony Music Media, 1998)
• Shiki-Jitsu (式日) Original Soundtrack (Studio Kajino, 2000)
• A Single Drop of Water in a Mighty River (大河の一滴) Original Soundtrack (Toho, 2001)
• Letters from the Mountains (阿弥陀堂だより) Original Soundtrack (Toho, 2002)
• The Great White Tower (白い巨塔) Original Soundtrack (Fuji TV, 2004)
• Best Wishes for Tomorrow (明日への遺言) Original Soundtrack (Avex Trax, 2008)

References

• Kazunori Sugiyama, "Takashi Kako". The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. 2nd edn, ed. Barry Kernfeld.