Yosuke Yamashita at San Sebastian Jazz Festival at San Telmo Museoa

Born in Tokyo in 1942, Yamashita is a celebrity in Japan and has performed on the world’s biggest stages, including frequent appearances at the most prestigious Jazz festivals. Despite having mainly worked in the field of Jazz, he has also energetically collaborated with numerous musical genres, ranging from classical orchestras to traditional Japanese or international folk music. The critics admire Yamashita’s explosive style, often compared to that of Cecil Taylor.

Yamashita played the piano professionally for the first time in 1959, at the age of 17, going on to attend Kunitachi College of Music from 1962 to 1967 and study classical composition. He released his first recording in 1963, turning him into a pioneer of Japan’s avant-garde and free Jazz scene. In 1969 he formed the Yosuke Yamashita Trio and started to tour Europe. In the 80s, Yamashita joined bass player Cecil McBee and drummer Pheeroan akLaff to form his New York Trio....

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Born in Tokyo in 1942, Yamashita is a celebrity in Japan and has performed on the world’s biggest stages, including frequent appearances at the most prestigious Jazz festivals. Despite having mainly worked in the field of Jazz, he has also energetically collaborated with numerous musical genres, ranging from classical orchestras to traditional Japanese or international folk music. The critics admire Yamashita’s explosive style, often compared to that of Cecil Taylor.

Yamashita played the piano professionally for the first time in 1959, at the age of 17, going on to attend Kunitachi College of Music from 1962 to 1967 and study classical composition. He released his first recording in 1963, turning him into a pioneer of Japan’s avant-garde and free Jazz scene. In 1969 he formed the Yosuke Yamashita Trio and started to tour Europe. In the 80s, Yamashita joined bass player Cecil McBee and drummer Pheeroan akLaff to form his New York Trio.

Over his career, the Japanese pianist and composer has taught, published works on improvising, has directed big bands, played with important orchestras including the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, has worked with giants such as Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor, has produced film soundtracks, participated twice in a spectacular artistic performance where he plays the piano while being consumed by flames, has received the Japanese Government’s Medal of Honour for his contribution to the arts…

Yamashita is undoubtedly one of the most important figures in the history of Japanese Jazz and is one of those who, over the years, has made the greatest contribution to Japan becoming one of the world’s leading Jazz countries.

Yosuke Yamashita will give two concerts in the San Telmo Museum cloister:

-21 July: QUIET MEMORIES. The title of his recent solo piano released in Japan only in 2020. A CD featuring original pieces and Jazz standards.

-22 July: CLASSICAL MOMENTUM. In this concert he will improvise popular classical numbers like Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue or Ravel’s Bolero.

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