Stomu Takeishi

• Born — 1964 • Birthplace — Mito, Ibaraki, Japan • Occupation — Musician • Instrument — Bass guitar • Genre — Jazz rock

Takeishi began as a koto player. He moved to the United States in 1983 to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. After completing his degree in 1986, he moved to Manhattan to continue his studies at The New School. In the 1990s, he began to achieve prominence as an innovative New York jazz bass player, and critics have noted both his adventurous playing and sensitivity to sound and timbre. He has played in many international jazz festivals and often performs at major venues in New York, the United States, and Europe. He has performed and/or recorded with Don Cherry, Henry Threadgill, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Butch Morris, Dave Liebman, Randy Brecker, Wynton Marsalis, Paul Motian, Myra Melford, Cuong Vu, Badal Roy, David Tronzo, Erik Friedlander, Satoko Fujii, Laszlo Gardony, Ahmad Mansour, Andy Laster, Ned Rothenberg, and with Molé, a trio with Hernan Hecht and Mark Aanderud. Takeishi also plays in groups with his brother, percussionist Satoshi Takeishi, though the two did not collaborate until Satoshi moved to New York in the 1990s. Takeishi began duo collaborations with Brandon Ross in the year 2000, having gotten to know him while playing together in Henry Threadgill's Make A Move band in the mid-1990s. The two perform as For Living Lovers, and released their first album, Revealing Essence, in 2014. In 2009, the DownBeat Critics Poll named Takeishi Rising Star, Electric Bass.