藤原清登 – Kiyoto Fujiwara
Kiyoto Fujiwara
Photo : Shinomiya
Born in Takamatsu of Kagawa prefecture in 1953. Having both parents as musicians, if was naturel for him to start playing bass at. the age of sixteen. He studied under professor Seiichi Imamura at the Tokyo University of Music and Fine Art, after which he left for the US to enter Berklee College of Music in 1974, also he studied and graduated from the Juiliard School under the former principal bass player to The New York Philharmonic, John A. Schaeffer. His career started with the Horace Silver Quintet in 1975, and he has demonstrated his abilities with numerous well-known bands, such as Clifford Jordan, Jaki Byard, and Joe Lee Wilson. He is a man of exceptional talent who can unite his burring heart for jazz with the surpassing skills of classical music.
He has participated in a European tour as a member of the Juilliard Orchestra. He has also collaborated with progressive artists in other fields such as dance, theater, and fine arts. As a serious international performer in the genre of jazz and classical music, he has performed at music festivals both in Japan and abroad, including Village Gate, Sweet Basil, Blue Note, Birdland in New York, Musica Oggi (Italy), Intone Festival (Austria), Fort Worth Music Festival (Texas), and Free Jazz Festival (Atlanta).
Since forming his own group, the Manhattan Graffiti Four (including Kenny Garrett and Thomas Chapin) in 1985, he has released more than a dozen albums as a leader. He has also participated on many other albums. In 2000, he was voted No. 1 in the bass category by the Swing Journal, and is affectionately known as the “King of the Modern Bass.
In recent years, he has been releasing CDs and performing concerts in Japan, and in 2013 he founded his own label, GARGANTUA. Following his first album, “I’ll Catch The Sun”(2013), he released his second album, “Koffee Crush,” (2017) and the third album “Songbook55″ (2023), he published a book, “What I Learned at Juilliard and Berklee,” through Kawade Shobo Shinsha. In addition to his own trio, he has also been attracting attention for his work with the unaccompanied double bass solo Gargantua and the large-scale Jump Monk Bass Band Special (Jump Monk BBS), which features multiple double basses. He also taught the next generation of musicians at Senzoku Gakuen College of Music.
• Press Kit
• Career in Music
| 1974 | Leaves for the U.S. to enroll in the Berklee College of Music (Boston). Performs with Geoge Russell, Ran Blake. |
| 1975 | Joins the Horace Silver Quintet. Settles in New York, where he begins his professional musical career. Does his first recording as a member of the Joe Lee Wilson Quintet. |
| 1976 | Plays with the Clifford Jordan Quartet. Works with numerous progressive artists, making his debut in a wide range musical genres, from traditional Japanese music to classical music as well as modern jazz. Perfoms and tours with such artists as Jackie Mclean, Woody Shaw, Jaki Byard, Sunny Murray, Roy Haynes, Eddie Jefferrson, Eddie Gomez, Rashid Ali, Sam Rivers.perfoms at major New York jazz clubs such as Villege Gate , Sweet Basil and Blue Note. |
| 1979 | Participates in an , FM.Tokyo recording of Terumasa Hino Japanese All Stars at villege Gate. |
| 1980 | Enrolls in The Juilliard School continues his studios under John Schaeffer, former Principal contrabass player for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. |
| 1983 | Receives graduate diploma from The Juilliard School. Selected as a nember of The Juilliard Orchestra to tour Europe. |
| 1984 | Receives post graduate diploma from The Juilliard School. Forms his own group”Manhattan Graffiti Four (MG4)” with Kenny Garrett, Peter Madison and Shunsuke Fuke. Performs at the Fort Worth Festival(Texas）. |
| 1985 | MG4 performs at the Brooklyn Museum Cherry Blossom Festival and the Jazz center of New York. Performs at the Jazz Mobile At Lincoln Center (Avey Fisher Hall). |
| 1986 | Plays with the Archie Shepp Sextet. Performs at the Greenwich Jazz Festival (New York). |
| 1987 | MG4 travels to Milan, Italy for their first European concert. Does recordings as a member of Fumio karasima Trio;tours Japan for the first time with them. |
| 1988 | Releases his debut album Manhattan Graffiti Four. MG4 tours Japan four the first time , live performance at Pit Inn is broadcast on nationwide FM stations. |
| 1989 | Releases his sophomore album Manhattan Tango (Alfa Jazz). |
| 1990 | MG4′s second Japan tour , a10-venue tour including the Osaka Galaxy Hall. A special, moving concert for primary school students. Establishes the “Graffiti Workshop , “an organization for New York musicians;begins holding regular recitals of accomplished works. |
| 1991 | Goes to Milano to pursue such studies as song and opera. Experiments with full-scale stage music containing elements of classical , rock, jazz and other musical styles. |
| 1992 | Releases third album 60 Miles High (TDK). Includes pieces for large ensembles. |
| 1993 | MG4 Special+performs, on its third Japan tour, with the addition of classical vocalists, oboists and flutists.9 venues include the Parthenon Tama. Performs at the Caribbean Culture Center. |
| 1994 | Releases fourth album Live At Sweet Basil NY(TDK). Fourth Japan tour, perfoming at 7 venues. performances are broadcast on NHK-FM througout Japan. |
| 1995 | Records “Bass” (Jugemu) as contrabassist, an unaccompanied solo recording. |
| 1996 | Releases “Modern Bass”(King Record), exploring the limits of bass. |
| 1997 | Releases “Concierto de Aranjuez”(King Recod). Performs at the Inntone Festival(Austria). |
• Partial list of performance
| 1974 | Ran Blake |
| 1974 | George Russell |
| 1975 | Horace Silver Quintet |
| 1975-79 | Joe Lee Wilson |
| 1975-79, 1995 | Clifford Jordan |
| 1976 | Andrew Hill |
| 1977 | Sunny Murray |
| 1977-81 | Jaki Byard |
| 1977 | Woody Shaw |
| 1978 | Jackie McLean |
| 1978-79 | Ivory Coast |
| 1979 | Eddie Jefferson |
| 1980 | Shamek Farrah |
| 1980 | Sonny Fortune |
| 1981 | Terumasa Hino |
| 1982-84 | Juilliard Orchestra |
| 1983 | Juilliard Orchestra European Tour |
| 1984-86 | Gunter Hampel |
| 1986 | Archie Shepp |
| 1986-90 | Fred Ho & Afro Asian Music Ensemble |
| 1993 | Anita O’Day |
| 1994-97 | Thomas Chapin |
| 1996 | Michel Legrand |
| 1984〜 | “MG4(Manhattan Graffiti Four)”, “Kiyoto Fujiwara Trio”, ”Jump Monk BBS Orchestra”, “Jazz Is!!”, “Noodle Crazy Monkey” |
| Numerous other TV and radio appearances |
• Festival appearances:
Musica Oggi (Milan, Italy)
Houston Music Festival (Texas)
Fort Worth Music Festival (Texas)
Greenwich Village Jazz Festival (New York)
Atlanta Free Music Festival (Georgia)
San Francisco Jazz Festival (California)
Japan Society (New York)
Left Bank Jazz Society (Maryland)
Intone Festival (Australia)
JAZZ ART Sengawa (Chofu)
NAKASU JAZZ (Fukuoka)