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Masa Ishikawa

Originally from Fukushima Japan, Masayoshi Ishikawa grew up in a city called Aizu Wakamatsu. As a pianist, Ishikawa has performed at many jazz festivals/concerts including Italy, China and the United States. He was chosen to perform as one of the five finalists for 2016 Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition.

As equal to his dedication to jazz performance, Ishikawa is passionate about crafting music with various instrumentations. His composition, Hotaru (firefly), was selected as the winner of 2014 Downbeat Student Music Awards in Graduate Original Composition for Small Ensemble. Several of his compositions have been published from UNC Jazz Press.

In March 2021, Masa collaborated with Eien Hunter (taiko drums/shinobue) on his composition Haseru to commemorate Japan's 2011 tsunami and earthquake tragedy. He also premiered Suite for the Forgotten (jazz orchestra with strings) in 2015. The music is dedicated to people who are currently living in Fukushima under the uncertain health impact of the radiation exposure from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants meltdown in 2011.

As a sincere respect to Stevie Wonder, one of his musical heroes, Ishikawa also premiered Stevie Wonder Recomposition Project in 2013. In this project, Ishikawa selected multiple Wonder compositions to recompose for chamber jazz ensembles with various instrumentations. Ishikawa has released 4 studios albums, which include Diaologe (2019), First Note (2023), Montage (2023) and Migration (2026).

Masa Ishikawa: Dialogue

by Don Phipps
January 22, 2020

The happy set of ten originals Masa Ishikawa composed for his album Dialogue suggests a budding talent. A visiting professor of jazz at the University of Iowa, Ishikawa, along with his bandmates, demonstrates a precise and light touch, where bluesy readings have just the right sense of playfulness. Born in Fukushima, Japan, Ishikawa teams up on this session with vibraphonist Christopher Varga, who has played with such notables as Terrence Blanchard and the late Jay McShann, bassist Eric ...