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Kaoru Abe (阿部 薫, Abe Kaoru) (May 5, 1949 – September 9, 1978) was a Japanese avant-garde alto saxophonist. Self-taught at a young age, Abe performed with notables such as Motoharu Yoshizawa, Takehisa Kosugi, Yosuke Yamashita, Derek Bailey, and Milford Graves,[1] although he generally performed solo. He was married to the author Izumi Suzuki, and was a cousin to singer Kyu Sakamoto. He was portrayed in Kōji Wakamatsu's film Endless Waltz by novelist and punk rock singer Kō Machida.
Kaoru Abe 阿部 薫 | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 5, 1949 Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan |
| Died | September 9, 1978 (aged 29) Nakano, Tokyo, Japan |
| Genres | Free jazz, avant-garde |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Harmonica, Guitar |
| Labels | DIW |
Personal life
editAbe dropped out of highschool in 1967, at 17 years of age, to focus on perfecting his playing, and in 1968, he did his first performance, at a jazz spot named Oreo. In 1970, he met Masayuki Takayanagi. in 1971, he met Izumi Suzuki, and in 1973, they married. In 1976, they had a daughter. However, in 1977, they divorced.
Career
editAbe was prolific, appearing almost every day to jazz spots and concerts. His library consists almost entirely of archival and live recordings, however he has recorded in a studio.
In his later years, Abe would begin playing different instruments. In 1976-1978 to be specific, were his years of most exploration. However, there have been instances of him playing harmonica in 1970-1971. He also played bass clarinet all the way throughout his career.
Death
editAbe died from Bromisoval overdose in 1978, causing an acute gastric perforation.
References
edit- ^ Sugiyama, Kazunori (2002). "Abe, Kaoru". In Barry Kernfeld (ed.). The new Grove dictionary of jazz (2nd ed.). New York: Grove's Dictionaries Inc. p. 3. ISBN 1561592846.
- Yuko Morita (ed.). Abe Kaoru march 1980. Tokyo: Bunyusha, 1994 (Japanese)
- Soejima Teruto. Nihon furii jazu shi (日本フリージャズ史, The History of Japanese Free Jazz). Tokyo: Seidosha, 2002 (Japanese)