is a Japanese

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

. To date, he has released a total of 37 albums as a member of

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 ...

and

Jimsaku is a Japanese drum and bass duo formed by Akira Jimbo and Tetsuo Sakurai in 1990, after they left the jazz/fusion band Casiopea. They released 10 albums and one "Best of" collection, and disbanded in 1998. In 2020, they regrouped for their 30t ...

and

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

artist, and has also made 3 bass instructional videos.

History

Tetsuo Sakurai started playing bass when he was 13 years old. In 1976, Sakurai, with

Issei Noro is a Japanese jazz fusion guitarist who is one of the founding members and the main composer of the band Casiopea. He has released 6 solo albums and a compilation. He also works as an instructor of a guitar clinic, and as a producer. In 1983, ...

, founded

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

band

. He released 19 albums while in Casiopea but later left the band with

Akira Jimbo , is a Japanese jazz fusion drummer who combines electronic drum technology and acoustic drums. Aside from his solo work, he was the drummer for the Japanese jazz fusion band Casiopea and had participated in side projects with Keiko Matsui, Sh ...

in 1989 over musical differences. Both of them then went on to form a new jazz fusion

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

. Jimsaku was active for nine years, until 1998, when it was disbanded and both Sakurai and Jimbo went on to pursue individual solo careers.

Solo

Sakurai's third solo album ''TLM20'', released in 2000, was recorded live in a concert with Casiopea members

and

Minoru Mukaiya is a Japanese musician best known as the former keyboardist of the jazz fusion band Casiopea and producer of the Train Simulator series of Japanese video games. Mukaiya joined Casiopea during its formation in 1977 (with guitarist Issei Noro, dru ...

, and Kazuki Katsuta of Dimension. The fourth solo album ''Gentle Hearts'', released in 2001, was recorded with

Greg Howe Gregory Howe (born December 8, 1963)Malusardi, Guglielmo (October 2006) Guitar Nine Records. Retrieved 2012-10-14. is an American guitarist and composer. An active musician across four decades, he has released ten studio albums in addition to co ...

Dennis Chambers Dennis Milton Chambers (born May 9, 1959) is an American drummer. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2001. Early life Chambers was born on May 9, 1959. He began drumming at the age of four years, and was gigging in Bal ...

. The fifth solo album ''Cartas do Brasil'' was released in 2003 and was a vocal ballad cover album recorded in Rio de Janeiro with

Djavan Djavan Caetano Viana (; born 27 January 1949) is a Brazilian singer-songwriter. Early life and career Djavan was born in Maceió, Brazil to a white father of Dutch descent and a black mother. He later formed the group Luz, Som, Dimensão (LSD ...

Ivan Lins Ivan Guimarães Lins (born June 16, 1945) is a Latin Grammy-winning Brazilian musician. He has been an active performer and songwriter of Brazilian popular music (MPB) and jazz for over thirty years. His first hit, "Madalena", was recorded by ...

, and

Rosa Passos Rosa Passos (; born April 13, 1952) is a Brazilian singer and guitarist. Passos began playing piano at age thirteen, but after listening to Dorival Caymmi and João Gilberto she abandoned the instrument to become a singer. In the late 1960s, s ...

. In 2004, Tetsuo toured with Greg & Dennis. The following year, the tour live performances was released on DVD titled ''Gentle Hearts Tour 2004''. Sakurai is currently composing and playing his own music as a solo artist with domestic and foreign musicians.

Discography

Casiopea

*''

'' (1979) *''

Super Flight ''Super Flight'' is the second studio album by Japanese jazz fusion band Casiopea, released via Alfa Records on November 25, 1979. Recording took place at Studio A in Shibaura, Tokyo from August to October of that year. The album cover arts depict ...

'' (1979) *'' Thunder Live'' (1980) *''

Make Up City ''Make Up City'' is the fourth album and the third studio album by Casiopea released on November 21, 1980. Track listing All Arranged by Issei Noro, except "Reflections Of You" by Minoru Mukaiya & Issei Noro. Personnel CASIOPEA are : Issei ...

'' (1980) *''

Eyes of the Mind ''Eyes of the Mind'' is the fifth album and the fourth studio album by Casiopea, released in 1981. The album was recorded in Los Angeles. Track listing All Arranged by Casiopea and Harvey Mason except "Space Road" arranged by Kenny Mason. Pers ...

'' (1981) *'' Cross Point'' (1981) *''

Mint Jams ''Mint Jams'' is the seventh album and the second live album by Japanese jazz-fusion band Casiopea, released on May 21, 1982. The album's title is an arrangement of the band members' first and last initials. Description Live sound recordings ...

'' (1982) *''

4x4 Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

'' (1982) *''

Photographs A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now created ...

'' (1983) *''

Jive Jive ''Jive Jive'' is the tenth album and the eighth studio album by Casiopea, recorded and released in 1983. Track listing Personnel CASIOPEA are : Issei Noro - Electric guitar ( YAMAHA SG Original, SG 3000, GS-1000 Fretless), KORG Guitar Synthesi ...

'' (1983) *''

The Soundgraphy ''The Soundgraphy'' is the 11th album by Casiopea, recorded and released in 1984 in Japan. This is also Casiopea's first Compilation album. Track listing Personnel CASIOPEA are :Issei Noro - Electric guitar :Minoru Mukaiya - Keyboards :Tetsuo ...

'' (1984) *''

Down Upbeat ''Down Upbeat'' is the twelfth album and the ninth studio album by Casiopea, recorded and released in 1984. Track listing Personnel CASIOPEA are : Issei Noro - Electric guitar ( Yamaha SG-2000 Fretless) :Minoru Mukaiya - Keyboards ( Yamaha DX ...

'' (1984) *'' Halle'' (1985) *''

Casiopea Live ''Casiopea Live'' is the third live album and first live video by Casiopea, released in 1985. This is also Casiopea's 14th album overall. Track listing Personnel CASIOPEA are :Issei Noro - Electric guitar :Minoru Mukaiya - Keyboards :Tets ...

'' (1985) *''

Sun Sun ''Sun Sun'' is the 15th album by Casiopea, recorded and released in 1986. Track listing LP CD Personnel Casiopea are :Issei Noro – electric guitar (Yamaha Issei Model, SG-3000 Fretless & Kramea Pitchrider-7000 with DX-7) :Minoru Mukaiya � ...

'' (1986) *''

Casiopea Perfect Live II ''Casiopea Perfect Live II'' is the fourth live album and second live video released by the jazz fusion group Casiopea. On February 25, 1987, it was released with a laser disc from laser disc Co., Ltd. 7" single record "Asian Dreamer" was distribu ...

'' (1987) *''

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

'' (1987) *''

Euphony Phonaesthetics (also spelled phonesthetics in North America) is the study of beauty and pleasantness associated with the sounds of certain words or parts of words. The term was first used in this sense, perhaps by during the mid-20th century and ...

'' (1988) *''

Casiopea World Live '88 ''Casiopea World Live '88'' is the fifth live album released by the jazz fusion group Casiopea in 1988. It is a compilation Album consisting of recordings of some of their songs played in concert during Casiopea's World Tour in 1988 that promoted ...

'' (1988)

Shambara

*Shambara (1989)

Jimsaku

* ''

'' (1990) * ''45°C'' (1991) * ''Jade'' (1992) * ''Viva!'' (1992) * ''100%'' (1993) * ''Wind Loves Us'' (1993) * ''Navel'' (1994) * ''Blaze of Passion'' (1995) * ''Best Selection'' (1995) * ''Dispensation'' (1996) * ''MEGA db'' (1997)

Solo

*''Dewdrops'' (1986) *''A Gate of the 21st Century'' (1999) *''TLM 20 ~ Live Memories of 20 years ~'' (2000) *''Gentle Hearts'' (2001) *''Cartas do Brasil ~ブラジルからの手紙~'' (2003) *''Gentle Hearts Tour 2004'' (2004) *''My Dear Music Life (2009)'' *''Vital World'' (2010) *''Talking Bass'' (2012) *''Nothin But the Bass'' (2015)

References

External links

Tetsuo Sakurai official siteTetsuo Sakurai official MySpace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakurai, Tetsuo 1957 births Japanese bass guitarists Jazz fusion bass guitarists Japanese jazz bass guitarists Living people Musicians from Tokyo Casiopea members