was a Japanese jazz fusion composer, arranger, and

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical inst ...

. He played with

The Brecker Brothers The Brecker Brothers were a jazz fusion music duo consisting of siblings Michael and Randy. Michael played saxophone, flute, and EWI, and Randy played trumpet and flugelhorn. The brothers attended Cheltenham High School in Wyncote, Pennsylv ...

and

Steve Gadd Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction into the '' Modern ...

and released albums for

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States ...

and

Toshiba , commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, ...

in the 1970s.

Early life and career

At the age of 3, Fukamachi began to learn piano. After attending Izumi High School, he began landing production deals. He dropped out of

Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music or is the most prestigious art school in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained renowned artists in the fields of painting, scul ...

just prior to graduating. In 1971, he signed to

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

for the release of his debut album, ''A Portrait of a Young Man''. Following this, he worked as composer and keyboard player of jazz fusion. Since the early 1970s he began to use synthesizers to create numerous albums, in particular using the Yamaha CS-01 breath controller technique. In 1989, he was appointed Professor of Scooter Gakuen University Music School and founded Japan's first synthesizer major.

Death

On November 22, 2010, he died of an

aortic dissection Aortic dissection (AD) occurs when an injury to the innermost layer of the aorta allows blood to flow between the layers of the aortic wall, forcing the layers apart. In most cases, this is associated with a sudden onset of severe chest or ...

due to pericardial hematoma.

Discography

As leader

* ''Piano Solo Best of Beatles'' (Polydor, 1972) * ''Hello'' (Polydor, 1972) * ''Now Sound Christmas'' (Polydor, 1972) * ''Piano Solo Screen Music 10'' (Polydor, 1973) * ''Rokuyu'' (Express, 1975) * ''Silver Fish'' (Polydor, 1975) * ''Introducing Jun Fukamachi'' (Toshiba, 1975) * ''Spiral Steps'' (Kitty, 1976) * ''Jun Fukamachi at Steinway'' (Toshiba, 1976) * ''Jun Fukamachi at the Steinway (Take 2)'' (Toshiba, 1976) * ''Together with Jun/Martha Miyake'' (Toshiba, 1976) * ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (Toshiba, 1977) * ''Crystal City'' (Philips, 1977) * ''The Sea of Dirac'' (Kitty, 1977) * ''Triangle Session'' (Kitty, 1977) * ''Second Phase'' (Toshiba, 1977) * ''Evening Star'' (Kitty, 1978) * ''Live'' (Alfa, 1978) * ''On the Move'' (Alfa, 1978) * ''Fantastic Suite: A Dream On a Spring Night'' (Toshiba, 1978) * ''Riverside'' (Alfa, 1979) * ''Wonderland'' (Alfa, 1980) * ''Quark'' (Alfa, 1980) * ''Fusion Synthesizer'' (Express, 1980) * ''The Soundtrack Mishione'' (Columbia, 1980) * ''Solo Vol. 1'' (Vap, 1983) * ''Remember to Remember'' (Kitty, 1983) * ''Yamato Final Synthesizer Fantasy'' (Columbia, 1983) * ''Queen Emeraldus Synthesizer Fantasy'' (Columbia, 1983) * ''Daisy Chain'' (Climax, 1983) * ''Digital Trip Urusei Yatsura'' (Animex, 1984) * ''Yellow Moon'' (TDK, 1984) * ''Jun Fukamachi Meets Takashi Sato'' (Eastworld, 1986) * ''Spiral Steps'' (Kitty, 1992) * ''Variation of Variation'' (Kosei, 1996) * ''Midnight Dive'' (J-one, 1998) * ''Civilization'' (J-one, 1999) * ''Winter'' (Network, 2001) * ''Autumn'' (Network, 2001) * ''Summer'' (Network, 2001) * ''Spring'' (Network, 2002) * ''Calm'' (Network, 2002) * ''Piano World'' (GT Music, 2003) * ''Marriage'' (GT Music, 2004) * ''Taizo'' (Finger, 2004) * ''Last Nocturne'' (Universal, 2012) * ''Recital at Suntory Hall'' (Jun Fukamachi, 2017)

As sideman

With

Prism Prism usually refers to: * Prism (optics), a transparent optical component with flat surfaces that refract light * Prism (geometry), a kind of polyhedron Prism may also refer to: Science and mathematics * Prism (geology), a type of sedimentary ...

* ''Nothin' Unusual'' (TDK, 1985) * ''Dreamin'' (SMS, 1986) * ''The Silence of the Motion'' (SMS, 1987) * ''Live Alive Vol. 2'' (SMS, 1987) With others *

Casiopea , now known in its fourth iteration as Casiopea-P4, is a Japanese jazz fusion band formed in 1976 by guitarist Issei Noro, bassist Tetsuo Sakurai, drummer Tohru "Rika" Suzuki, and keyboardist Hidehiko Koike. In 1977, keyboardist Minoru Mukaiya ...

, ''Super Flight'' (Alfa, 1979) *

Benard Ighner Benard Ighner (January 18, 1945 – August 14, 2017) was an American jazz singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. Biography Ighner was born in Houston, Texas. After graduating in 1962 he moved with his parents to San Diego, Califor ...

, ''Little Dreamer'' (Alfa, 1978) *

Tatsuya Nakamura is a Japanese musician, drummer and actor. After performing with several prominent punk rock bands, Nakamura rose to fame as drummer of Blankey Jet City from 1987 to 2000. In 1996, he founded his solo project Losalios, where he performs every i ...

, ''Locus'' (Sea Horse, 1984) *

Masayoshi Takanaka is a Japanese guitarist, composer, and producer. He was born in 1953 in the Shinagawa ward in Tokyo, Japan. Takanaka's music was influential in the city pop genre of the late 1970s and '80s. Early life Takanaka was born to a Chinese fathe ...

, ''Takanaka'' (Kitty, 1977) * Masayoshi Takanaka, ''An Insatiable High'' (Kitty, 1977) * Kyohei Tsutsumi, ''Hit Machine'' (Toshiba, 1976) *

Kazumi Watanabe is a Japanese guitarist. Other guitarists such as Luke Takamura and Sugizo have cited him as an influence. Career Watanabe learned guitar at the age of 12 from Sadanori Nakamure at the Yamaha Music School in Tokyo. He released his first album ...

, ''Mermaid Boulevard'' (Alfa, 1978)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fukamachi, Jun 1946 births 2010 deaths Japanese jazz composers Japanese jazz keyboardists