Stomu Yamashta Biography

Tsutomu Yamashita, 15 March 1947, Kyoto, Japan. A percussionist and composer, Yamash’ta attempted to combine avant garde and rock music in the 70s. He studied at the Kyoto Academy of Music, making his concert debut as a soloist at the age of 16. From 1964-69 he studied and performed in the USA with both classical and jazz musicians. During the 70s, such modern composers as Hans Werne Henze and Peter Maxwell Davies created works for him which were recorded in 1972 for L’Oiseau-Lyre. From 1973, Yamash’ta created what he called ‘floating music’, a fusion of classical, rock and Eastern styles with his own European group, Come To The Edge. Among his shows were Red Buddha Theatre and The Man From The East, which included elements of Japanese kabuki theatre and were highly praised by British and French critics. He recorded six albums for Island Records with collaborators Steve Winwood, Klaus Schulze, Gary Boyle and Murray Head. Go Too was released by Arista Records with Dennis Mackay producing. During the 80s, Yamash’ta returned to the classical concert halls but also recorded instrumental works for new age company Celestial Harmonies.

Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.