Sadao Watanabe (musician)
Encyclopedia
is an influential Japan
ese jazz
musician who plays the alto saxophone
, sopranino saxophone
and flute
. He is known for his Bossa Nova
recordings, although his work encompasses a large range of styles with collaborations from musicians all over the world. Sadao first began learning music at the age of 18, and started performing professionally in 1953. By 1958 he had firmly established himself as a world-class saxophonist having performed with leading musicians and quartets. In 1962 he left Japan to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston. In 1995 the college awarded him an honorary doctorate degree for his contributions to music. Among his more prestigious awards are the Order of the Rising Sun
, the imperial medal of honour
for his contribution to the arts, numerous cultural awards from around the world, the Fumio Nanri
award, and his cities first honour award. In addition to his musical career, Watanabe has also published six photography books in Japan.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician who plays the alto saxophone
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
, sopranino saxophone
Sopranino saxophone
The sopranino saxophone is one of the smallest members of the saxophone family. A sopranino saxophone is tuned in the key of E, and sounds an octave above the alto saxophone. This saxophone has a sweet sound and although the sopranino is one of the least common of the saxophones in regular use...
and flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
. He is known for his Bossa Nova
Bossa Nova
Bossa Nova may refer to:*Bossa nova, a style of music*Bossa Nova , a dance form associated with the music*Bossa Nova , a 2000 film*Bossa Nova - album by John Pizzarelli...
recordings, although his work encompasses a large range of styles with collaborations from musicians all over the world. Sadao first began learning music at the age of 18, and started performing professionally in 1953. By 1958 he had firmly established himself as a world-class saxophonist having performed with leading musicians and quartets. In 1962 he left Japan to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston. In 1995 the college awarded him an honorary doctorate degree for his contributions to music. Among his more prestigious awards are the Order of the Rising Sun
Order of the Rising Sun
The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese Government, created on April 10, 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight from the rising sun...
, the imperial medal of honour
Medals of Honor (Japan)
Since the late 19th Century, the Government of Japan has issued six different types of to individuals for achievements in various fields.The Medals of Honor were established on December 7, 1881, and were first awarded the following year. Several expansions and amendments have been made since then...
for his contribution to the arts, numerous cultural awards from around the world, the Fumio Nanri
Fumio Nanri
was a jazz trumpeter nicknamed the "Satchmo of Japan" by Louis Armstrong. He was one of Japan's first jazz musicians to become known outside his native country...
award, and his cities first honour award. In addition to his musical career, Watanabe has also published six photography books in Japan.
As leader
- 1961 SADAO WATANABE
- 1965 SADAO WATANABE PLAYS
- 1966 GOIN' HOME MODERN JAZZ ALBUM
- 1966 TAKT JAZZ JAZZ&BOSSA
- 1967: Sadao Watanabe & Charlie Mariano: Iberian Waltz (Denon)
- 1967 NABESADA & CHARLIE
- 1967 BOSSA BEAT COLLECTION
- 1967 JAZZ SAMBA
- 1967 MY ROMANCE
- 1967 BOSSA NOVA '67
- 1967 BOSSA NOVA CONCERT
- 1967 MUSIC BREAK
- 1967 ENCORE!! JAZZ & BOSSA / SADAO MEETS SHARPS & FLATS
- 1968 WE GOT A NEW BAG / SADAO AND CHARLIE AGAIN
- 1968 SADAO MEETS BRAZILIAN FRIENDS / SADAO & BRAZILIAN8
- 1968 SADAO PLAYS BEATLES AND BACHARACH
- 1969 SWING JOURNAL JAZZ WORKSHOP
- 1969 PASTORAL
- 1969 SONG BOOK
- 1969 SADAO WATANABE LIVE AT THE JUNK
- 1969: Dedicated to Charlie Parker with Terumasa HinoTerumasa Hinois a Japanese jazz trumpeter. Currently based in New York, Hino is widely acknowledged as one of Japan's finest jazz musicians. His instruments include the trumpet, cornet and flügelhorn.-Biography:...
, Masanaga Harada, Fumio Watanabe, Kazuo Yashiro - 1970 SADAO WATANABE AT MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL
- 1970: Round TripRound Trip (Sadao Watanabe album)Round Trip is a 1974 jazz album by the Japanese saxophonist Sadao Watanabe with Chick Corea, Miroslav Vitous and Jack DeJohnette. -Track listing:#"Round Trip: Going and Coming" – 20:02#"Nostalgia" – 5:52...
(Universe) with Jack DeJohnetteJack DeJohnetteJack DeJohnette is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. He is one of the most influential jazz drummers of the 20th century, due to extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians like Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett and Sonny...
, Miroslav VitoušMiroslav VitoušMiroslav Ladislav Vitouš , is a Czech jazz bassist.-Biography:Born in Prague, he began the violin at age six, and started playing the piano at age ten, and bass at fourteen. As a young man in Europe, Vitouš was a competitive swimmer. One of his early music groups was the Junior Trio with his...
, Chick CoreaChick CoreaArmando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever... - 1970 COLLABORATION QUARTET with MASABUMI KIKUCHI SEXTET
- 1971 PAYSAGES
- 1972 SADAO WATANABE
- 1973 OPEN ROAD
- 1973 KENYA YA AFRICA MEETS INTER-AFRICAN THEATRE GROUP
- 1974 MBALI AFRICA LIVE
- 1974 SADAO WATANABE AT “PIT INN”
- 1975 SWISS AIR
- 1975 PAMOJA
- 1976: I’m Old Fashioned (Sony) with Ron CarterRon CarterRon Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
, Hank JonesHank JonesHenry "Hank" Jones was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with the NEA Jazz Masters Award... - 1976 SADAO WATANABE RECITAL
- 1977 MY DEAR LIFE
- 1977 BIRD OF PARADISE
- 1977 AUTUMN BLOW featuring LEE RITENOUR & HIS GENTLE THOUGHTS
- 1977: Birds of Passage (Elektra) with Ron CarterRon CarterRon Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
, George DukeGeorge DukeGeorge Duke is a multi-faceted American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He has worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and professor of music...
, Hank JonesHank JonesHenry "Hank" Jones was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with the NEA Jazz Masters Award...
, Hubert LawsHubert LawsHubert Laws is an American flutist and saxophonist with a 40+ year career in jazz, classical, and other music genres. Alongside Herbie Mann, Laws is probably the most recognized and respected jazz flutist...
, Kazumi WatanabeKazumi WatanabeKazumi Watanabe is a jazz and jazz fusion guitarist, from Tokyo, Japan. He was born on October 14, 1953 Kazumi learned to play guitar from Sadanori Nakamure, one of Japan's grandmaster guitarists. Kazumi released his first recording in 1971, and quickly became a promising guitarist in his own right...
, Tony Williams, Jimmy HaslipJimmy HaslipJimmy Haslip is an American electric bass player and record producer best known as a founding and current member of the pioneering fusion group Yellowjackets...
, Alex AcuñaAlex AcuñaAlejandro Neciosup Acuña aka Alex Acuña is a Peruvian drummer and percussionist, in the Afro-Cuban jazz style.Born in Pativilca, Peru, Acuña played in local bands from the age of ten, and moved to Lima as a teenager. At the age of eighteen he joined the band of Perez Prado, and in 1967 he moved...
, Diana Acuna, - 1978 CALIFORNIA SHOWER
- 1979 MORNING ISLAND
- 1980 HOW'S EVERYTHING
- 1981: Orange Express with Dave GrusinDave GrusinDavid Grusin is an American composer, arranger and pianist. Grusin has composed many scores for feature films and television, and has won numerous awards for his soundtrack and record work, including an Academy award and 12 Grammys...
, George BensonGeorge BensonGeorge Benson is a ten Grammy Award winning American musician, whose production career began at the age of twenty-one as a jazz guitarist....
, Bobby BroomBobby BroomBobby Broom , birthname Robert Broom, Jr., is an American jazz guitarist, composer and educator born and raised in New York City. Broom performs and records with jazz saxophone legend Sonny Rollins as well as his Bobby Broom Trio and the Deep Blue Organ Trio...
, Marcus MillerMarcus MillerMarcus Miller is an American jazz composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Miller is best known as a bassist, working with trumpeter Miles Davis, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonist David Sanborn, as well as maintaining a prolific solo career...
, Budddy Williams - 1983 FILL UP THE NIGHT
- 1983 CARNIVAL with Ron Carter, Hank Jones, Tony Williams
- 1984 RENDEZVOUS
- 1985 MAISHA
- 1985: Parker’s Mood with Seigen Ono, James WilliamsJames Williams (musician)James Williams was an American jazz pianist.-Biography:Williams began playing piano at age 13, and served as the organist at the Eastern Star Baptist Church in Memphis for six years early in his career. He attended Memphis State University, where he began playing jazz...
, Jeff Tain Watts, Charnett MoffettCharnett MoffettCharnett Moffett is an American jazz musician who plays piccolo bass, double bass and bass guitar.Moffett's given name was created as a combination of that of his father and that of Ornette Coleman... - 1985 TOKYO DATING
- 1986 GOOD TIME FOR LOVE
- 1988 ELIS
- 1988 MADE IN CORACAO TOQUINHO
- 1989 FRONT SEAT
- 1991 SWEET DEAL
- 1992 A NIGHT WITH STRINGS
- 1993 EARTH STEP
- 1994 IN TEMPO
- 1993 A NIGHT WITH STRINGS Vol.2
- 1994 A NIGHT WITH STRINGS Vol.3 / SADAO PLAYS PARKER
- 1997 Go Straight Ahead ’n Make a Left with Bernard WrightBernard WrightBernard Wright is an American funk and jazz keyboardist who began his career as a session musician and later released several solo albums in the 1980s....
, Charley DraytonCharley DraytonCharley Drayton is an American multi-instrumental musician and producer, who has played as a drummer and bass guitarist for many bands and artists and is currently the drummer in Australian rock bands Divinyls and Cold Chisel....
, Mike Flythe, - 1997 KUROI HITOMI SONG BOOK
- 1998 VIAJANDO
- 1999: Remembrance (verve) with Robin EubanksRobin EubanksRobin Eubanks is an American jazz and jazz fusion slide trombonist, the brother of guitarist Kevin Eubanks and trumpeter Duane Eubanks.-Biography:...
, Billy DrummondBilly DrummondWillis Robert "Billy" Drummond, Jr. is an American jazz drummer.Drummond learned jazz from an early age from his father, who was a drummer and a jazz enthusiast and whose record collection included many recordings of Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Max Roach, Buddy Rich and Elvin Jones, among others...
, Jim AndersonJim AndersonJim Anderson may refer to:* Jim Anderson , Wyoming politician* Jim Anderson , New South Wales politician* Jim Anderson , former Major League Baseball player...
, Cyrus ChestnutCyrus ChestnutCyrus Chestnut is an American jazz pianist, songwriter, and producer. In 2006, Josh Tyrangiel, music critic for Time Magazine, wrote: "What makes Chestnut the best jazz pianist of his generation is a willingness to abandon notes and play space." Chestnut enjoys mixing styles and resists being...
, Romero LubamboRomero LubamboRomero Lubambo is a Brazilian jazz guitar player.Romero Lubambo started learning classic piano at a very early age...
, Christian McBrideChristian McBrideChristian McBride is an American jazz bassist. His father, Lee Smith, and his great uncle, Howard Cooper, are well known Philadelphia bassists who served as McBride's early mentors...
, Nicholas PaytonNicholas PaytonNicholas Payton is a jazz trumpet player from New Orleans, Louisiana.-Biography:The son of bassist and sousaphonist Walter Payton, he took up the trumpet at the age of four and by the time he was nine he was playing in the Young Tuxedo Brass Band alongside his father... - 2000 SADAO 2000
- 2000 MINHA SAUDADE
- 2001 SADAO WATANABE MY DEAR LIFE 50th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION
- 2003 WHEEL OF LIFE
- 200? SKETCHES OF NATURE
- 2005 ONE FOR YOU
- 2005 Broadcast Tracks '69-'72
- 2005 Sadao & Charlie Again
- 2007 BASIE'S AT NIGHT
- 2009 INTO TOMORROW
As sideman
With Chico HamiltonChico Hamilton
Chico Hamilton , is an American jazz drummer and bandleader.-Early life through 1960s:Hamilton was born in Los Angeles, California. He had a fast-track musical education in a band with Charles Mingus, Illinois Jacquet, Ernie Royal, Dexter Gordon, Buddy Collette and Jack Kelso...
- El ChicoEl Chico (album)El Chico is an album by American jazz drummer Chico Hamilton featuring performances recorded in 1965 for the Impulse! label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 3 stars stating "The influences of Latin jazz, bossa nova, and the avant-garde are mixed into the unusual...
(Impulse!, 1965)