Ikuto Shimizu (Gt)
Yoshiki Yamada (Ba)
Ryo Noritake (Dr)
Ikuto Shimizu
A Jazz guitarist/composer/instructor
Born 1987, Gifu, Japan
Ikuto Shimizu began playing rock guitar at sixteen and became interested in jazz at eighteen. He entered the Koyo Conservatory of Music.
In August 2010, Shimizu moved to Boston where he studied on a scholarship at the Berklee College of Music. He studied under musicians and instructors such as Mick Goodrick, David Fiuczyinski, Jon Damian, Bret Willmott, Tim Miller, John Wilkins and Bruce Saunders, whilst learning harmony, improvisation and ensemble from Dave Santoro, Hal Crook, Ed Tomassi and Joanne Brackeen.
During his time in Boston, Shimizu performed with his own trio, Sideman. He graduated from Berklee in 2012, at the top of his class. After graduation, he moved to New York where he studied with his mentor, Gilad Hekselman.
Since returning to Japan, Ikuto Shimizu continues his musical endeavors in the Tokai region.
Yoshiki Yamada
acoustic bassist/electric bassist/composer
Born 1984. Currently residing in Brooklyn, New York. Graduated from the Berklee College of Music, jazz composition department in 2008. In 2010, Yamada moved the base of his activities to New York, and now centres his music career around America’s East Coast.
In 2012 Yamada took part in the recording of the album “Modern Rhythmic Usage”, led by British drummer, Christian Moran, and has also performed alongside percussionist Jamey Haddad (Paul Simon, etc.), Richard Stoltzman- receiver of a Grammy Award for his collaboration work with cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
Yamada performed at Blue Note, New York, as a member of the world music band “The Blue Dahlia”, and also participates in recordings and tours with the band. In addition to jazz, Yamada’s music activities cover a diverse range, including being an official member of the art and design program, “Music Under New York” (MUNY), run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), participating in the R&B band, “Yaz Band”, and providing musical support for the singer/songwriter Kiyotaka “Ki-yo” Kurihara.
Yoshiki Yamada regularly returns to Japan for performances, including Erena Terakubo’s(as) 2010 North Bird Tour, Takeshi Ohbayshi’s 2012 winter tour and 2009 Yokohama Jazz Promenade competition, and the 2013 and 2014 Japan tours of guitar trio “CuE”, which he formed with Hajime Yoshida(gt)and Hironori Momoi(dr), in New York.
Ryo Noritake
Born Nagoya, 1984.
Ryo’s first musical interests were centred around rock, heavy metal, hard rock and punk music, but overtime he came to devote himself to jazz and improvisational music.
After graduating from the Nagoya school of the Koyo Conservatory of Music, Noritake moved abroad to Boston, in 2005 to attend the Berklee College of Music. Whilst in Boston, he met the musician greats, Hal Crook, Ian Froman and Bob Gullotti, who became his mentors and had a profound influence upon both his music and life.
Following his graduation from Berklee with summa cum laude (B.M. 2008), he moved to the New York area to attend the William Paterson University to pursue a Master’s degree in Jazz performance. (M.M. 2011) , learning from the likes of Mulgrew Miller and Rich Perry. After a brief professional career in New York, he moved back to Japan in 2011.
Ryo Noritake’s culturally insightful and unwavering drumming style has earned him a valuable reputation as a drummer, and he currently performs with many musical units.
