Ryo Fukui

Ryo Fukui (福居良, Fukui Ryo, June 1, 1948 – March 15, 2016) was a Japanese jazz pianist based in Sapporo. He played regularly at the "Slowboat" jazz club in Sapporo, which he and his wife Yasuko owned. Fukui taught and performed internationally until his death in 2016. His work has seen a spike in popularity after his death, with several reissues of his albums.

Ryo Fukui
Fukui at the piano, performing at "The Glee"
Background information
Birth nameRyo Fukui (福居良)
Born(1948-06-01)June 1, 1948
Biratori, Hokkaido, Japan
DiedMarch 15, 2016(2016-03-15) (aged 67)
Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Composer
  • pianist
InstrumentsPiano
Years active1976–2016
Associated actsHidehiko Matsumoto, Barry Harris, Leroy Williams, Lyle Atkinson, Satoshi Denpo

Early life and career

1966–1980s

Fukui began his life in music by learning accordion at age 18. At the age of 22 he began to teach himself piano and soon moved to Tokyo. Fukui met occasionally with saxophonist Hidehiko Matsumoto who offered valuable encouragement and guidance to the aspiring pianist. Nonetheless, Fukui was often disheartened, feeling as though he was not making significant improvement in his playing.[1]

Six years after moving to Tokyo, in 1976, Fukui released his first album, Scenery,[2][3] and his second album, Mellow Dream, the year after. He continued improving his skills over the following years in live performance, often appearing in a trio including Satoshi Denpo, Yoshinori Fukui (Ryo's brother), and himself. The trio would often play at the Shinjuku Pit Inn, Kichijōji "Sometime" jazz club and the "Jazz Inn Lovely" in Nagoya. Fukui also began to perform overseas in France and America as well as beginning to teach jazz piano to students internationally.

1990s–2015

In 1992 during his visit to America Fukui met Barry Harris, an American jazz pianist from Detroit.[4] The two went onto become close friends with Harris becoming a mentor figure to Fukui and helped him develop his technique in bebop. In 1994, a third album, My Favourite Tune, was recorded and released featuring Fukui on solo piano playing several original works as well as renditions of songs such as "My Conception" by Sonny Clark and "After Hours" by Avery Parrish. This album was followed by In New York four years later, in trio with the drummer Leroy Williams and the bassist Lisle Arthur Atkinson. In 1995 Fukui went onto open the Slowboat jazz club which attracted many local jazz players as well as international.[5] He would also go onto offer lessons and workshops to pass on his knowledge of music to others. Fukui's final album, A Letter From Slowboat was released in 2015—recorded live during his time at the Slowboat jazz club.

Death and legacy

Fukui died on March 15, 2016 of lymphoma. After his death, his widow Yasuko Fukui took over the Slowboat jazz club, running its day-to-day operations. Fukui's longtime friend Barry Harris has since been seen playing his song Fukai Aijo (深い愛情) and dedicating his performance to Fukui.

Online presence

In recent years, Fukui's music has made its way into popular internet culture as much of his work has been uploaded on to popular streaming platforms such as YouTube and Apple Music. This resurgence in Fukui's work has cultivated a large audience of collectors seeking the vinyl releases and releases of his work.[6]

Accolades

Fukui received the Sapporo Culture Encouragement Prize in 2012.[7]

Discography

Studio albums
  • 1976: Scenery
  • 1977: Mellow Dream
  • 1994: My Favorite Tune
  • 1999: Ryo Fukui in New York
  • 2015: A Letter From Slowboat
gollark: A black hole, if you will.
gollark: Unstar.
gollark: "Meme" -ing?
gollark: https://pastebin.com/BhTdc53s
gollark: You misspelt Rust.

References
  1. "Ryo Fukui - jazz live SLOWBOAT" (in Japanese). September 25, 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  2. Year By Year: Five Essential Albums of 1976 - JAZZIZ Magazine
  3. Lost In Time: A retrospective on Ryo Fukui 'Scenery'|The Michigan Daily
  4. "English guide | jazz live SLOWBOAT". Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  5. "English guide | jazz live SLOWBOAT". Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  6. Rosean, Sam (2017-01-01). "Artists From Japan #3: An Introduction to Ryo Fukui". Overblown. Retrieved 2019-10-07.
  7. "Heisei 24-nendo jushō-sha no shōkai" 平成24年度受賞者の紹介 [Recipients of the Heisei 24 Awards] (in Japanese). City of Sapporo. February 15, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
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