Tsuyoshi Yamamoto


Tsuyoshi Yamamoto is a Japanese jazz pianist and composer.

Life and career

Yamamoto was largely self-taught as a pianist, although he did have piano lessons as a child. He attended Nihon University. As a student there, he played professionally, first as an accompanist to pop singer Micky Curtis; they toured Europe in 1967. In 1974, he became house pianist at Misty, a Tokyo jazz club. He also made his recording debut as leader that year. He played major international festivals in the late 1970s. He also "lived in New York for a year, when he performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Carmen McRae, Sam Jones, Billy Higgins, Elvin Jones, and Sonny Stitt, among others."

Playing style

Commenting on Yamamoto's 2008 album What a Wonderful Trio!, Audiophile Audition noted that "Yamamoto seems to favor the very highest reaches of the treble keyboard with great gusto".

Discography

An asterisk after the year indicates that it is the year of release.

As leader/co-leader

As sideman