Ryo Fukui

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Ryo Fukui was a Japanese jazz pianist from Sapporo, born in 1948 and died in 2016. He began on the accordion at eighteen and taught himself to play the piano at twenty-two. He then moved to Tokyo. The saxophonist Hidehiko Matsumoto gave him encouragement and advice, but Fukui often doubted his own progress. In the following years he often played in a trio with Satoshi Denpo and his brother Yoshinori Fukui, in clubs such as Shinjuku Pit Inn.

Music and breakthrough

His first album, Scenery, was released in 1976, six years after his move to Tokyo. A year later came Mellow Dream. In 1992, during a trip to America, he met the pianist Barry Harris from Detroit, who became a friend and mentor and helped him with bebop. In 1994 My Favorite Tune was released, a solo album with his own work and arrangements of, among others, Sonny Clark. Four years later came In New York, with the drummer Leroy Williams and the bassist Lisle Atkinson. In 1995 he opened the jazz club Slowboat in Sapporo with his wife Yasuko, where he played regularly. He also taught and performed in France and America.

Influence

His playing is clear, infectious and full of swing, with a firm touch and a bluesy feeling that suits bebop. After his death his fame grew considerably. In the late 2010s Japanese jazz attracted renewed interest, above all with Scenery, which found a new audience through YouTube and streaming services. As a result collectors now hunt for his records, and reissues have appeared.

Listening

• 
  Early Summer · Ryo Fukui, 1976

Discography

Studio albums

• 1976SCENERY
• 1977Mellow Dream
• 1994MY FAVORITE TUNE

See also

• SCENERY