Fumio Karashima / Pianist, Composer
Born in Oita in 1948. After moving to Tokyo, he became a member of George Otsuka (ds) group. On the occasion of performing with Elvin Jones (ds) in 1978, he was recognized by the great drummer and joined Elvin Jones Jazz Machine in 1980. He had been a regular member of the band for six years. Since then, Karashima had been actively performing in worldwide jazz scene in the U.S. and Europe, and established a solid position as one of the top pianists in the world. He had also deepened a friendship with the same generation jazz great Motohiko Hino (ds), and formed a trio with him. After that, he broke new ground in playing the solo piano, and has been developing his possibilities as a solo pianist until today. In 1988, he formed the Fumio Karashima Quintet that has been highly acclaimed as a genuine jazz quintet. He was also invited as a soloist by Japan's top orchestras such as Kenichi Tsunoda Big Band, Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra and New Japan Philharmonic, and gave excellent performances in "Rhapsody in Blue". In 1994, he released his album "In San Francisco" on which Tony Williams (ds) participated as a member.
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After that, he released "Open the Gate" with all-star performers including Katsumi Watanabe (g). Also in 1999, he released "Rencontre", a duo album with a harmonica virtuoso Toot Thielmans. In this album, he had shown an excellent piano technique that was a bit different from his piano solo works. After that, he formed a new trio with Yosuke Inoue (b) and Shingo Okudaira (ds), and released "The Elysian Air" in 2002 and "It's Just Beginning" in 2004, both of which were highly acclaimed as masterpieces of piano trio. Also, his live recording from a duo concert with Kei Akagi (p) "Grand New Touch" made a real hit of jazz piano. In 2006, he released his collaboration work with Jack DeJohnette (ds) "Great Time". On the release of this album, he realized a co-performance with another super drummer subsequent to Elvin Jones (ds) and Tony Williams (ds). This was his 24th leader album, which was perfect to mark the 30th anniversary of his debut as a jazz pianist. Known as a distinguished Japanese pianist who inherited the spirit of Elvin Jones, Fumio Karashima is highly acclaimed as a top pianist who established the supreme methodology in the jazz. In 2003 he was invited to five countries in South America - Cuba, Panama, El Salvador, Mexico and Argentina. He won the 31st Nanri Fumio Award of the year 2005.
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