Minoru Muraoka

Minoru Muraoka (Japanese: 村岡福夫, born Muraoka Fukuo; 1924 in Miyakonojo – January 2, 2014) was a popular Japanese shakuhachi player. Playing in a jazz fusion style, Muraoka released many albums, both as a solo artist and with several groups, including Zen, the New Dimension Group and the Minoru Muraoka Orchestra.[1]

Biography

Born in 1924 in Yamada, Japan, Muraoka learned from folk singer Tansui Kikuchi to play folk songs in the classical style of Nakao Tozan on the shakuhachi, a Japanese end-blown flute.[2] After working in the editorial department of Zen-On Music Company, Muraoka left classical shakuhachi in 1959 and devoted himself to improving musical instruments and modernizing playing styles, focusing on the development of shakuhachi music.[2]

In 1962, Muraoka joined a shakuhachi trio called Shakuhachi San-Jyuso-dan, together with Katsuya Yokoyama and Kohachiro Miyata, with the aim of popularizing the instrument.[3] In 1964 he went on to become a freelancer and recording artist, focusing on producing jazz with the instrument in order to thoroughly popularize the shakuhachi, and accompanying hit songs in Japan such as "Ju" (Tree), "Oyaji no Umi" (Father's Sea), and "Yosaku" (Four Works).[2] Muraoka released the shakuhachi world's first popular jazz LP "Harlem Nocturne", released by Columbia Records in 1967.[4] His album Bamboo was released in 1970.[5]

Muraoka then formed a group called "New Dimension" in 1970, which centered on traditional Japanese musical instruments and released eleven LPs,[2] collaborating in 1976 on two albums with jazz flutist Herbie Mann, entitled Surprises, and Gagaku & Beyond.[6] He died on January 2, 2014 at the age of 90.[1]

Discography

Solo Albums

• Bamboo (1970)

With Herbie Mann

References
  1. "【エンタがビタミン♪・番外編】尺八界に相次ぐ訃報。村岡実さん、山本邦山さん。2つの巨星逝く。". Techinsight（テックインサイト）|海外セレブ、国内エンタメのオンリーワンをお届けするニュースサイト (in Japanese). 2014-02-11. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  2. "プロフィール| 村岡実 | 日本コロムビアオフィシャルサイト". 日本コロムビア公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  3. "Katsuya Yokoyama, SHAKUHACHI KOTEN HONKYOKU: Practice, Techniques & Notation". www.shakuhachi.com. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  4. Minoru Muraoka - Harlem Nocturne - Bamboo Flute Miracle Sounds, retrieved 2022-01-30
  5. "Minoru Muraoka - Bamboo". Discogs. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  6. Herbie Mann - Gagaku & Beyond, retrieved 2022-01-30

Other Sources


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.