(Posted today on the TONY Blog)
The downtown New York jazz scene lost one of its busiest, most creative souls last weekend when percussionist Take Toriyama passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. We received the sad news late this afternoon in an e-mail from Michaël Attias, curator of the excellent weekly series "Night of the Ravished Limbs" at Barbès in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Born in the small town of Chiba, Japan, Takeaki Toriyama found early success playing in a popular Japanese rock band. In search of something more musically satisfying, he came to the U.S. in 1993 to study at the Berklee College of Music. Toriyama arrived in Brooklyn in 2000, and quickly established himself as one of the scene's most promising newcomers. Some weeks it seemed that he was practically the house drummer at Barbès, one of the city's most vital music venues.
Among the many performers whose live dates and recordings Toriyama graced are seasoned figures such as Jimmy Heath, Dave Liebman, Chick Corea, Danilo Perez and George Garzone, as well as rising stars including Attias, Ben Monder, Loren Stillman, Russ Lossing, Anat Fort and Monika Heidemann. He was a member of Matt Moran's uproarious Slavic Soul Party!, and played on the band's outstanding recent release, Teknochek Collision.
Members of SSP! and other musicians whose lives Toriyama touched will be gathering this Sunday, June 3 at 1pm to honor his memory with a musical march, which will start at the 9th Street entrance to Prospect Park and make its way to Barbès (9th St at Sixth Ave). Toriyama's family has flown in from Japan; private donations will be accepted to defray their travel and funeral costs. It would be a lovely thing for them to see firsthand the many, many local listeners whose lives were enriched for all too short a time by Toriyama's lively playing and joyous spirit.
Go here for Darcy James Argue's touching, detailed post.
Comments