Bio:
Kei Matsumaru
Saxophonist, composer, improvisor. Though born in Japan in 1995, Kei Matsumaru was raised in the highlands of Papua New Guinea where he calls home. From there, he moved to Boston to study music in 2014, after which he relocated to Japan in late 2018.
Kei is currently based in Tokyo and has been active mostly in the jazz and improvised music scene, but has increasingly been collaborating with artists from other musical genres and creative disciplines, such as contemporary dance, visual arts, and various media arts. In 2021, he participated in a band led by Jim O'Rourke to perform Christian Marclay's graphic score "To be continued" as part of the "Christian Marclay Translating" exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo.
Kei is a member of SMTK, a rock/free jazz/instrumental band, as well as mºfe (em-doh-feh), an electro-acoustic ambient/avant trio. In 2020, he released "Nothing Unspoken Under the Sun" as his quartet's first album.
He also periodically presents "dokusō", a series of live 90-minute solo saxophone performances through which he explores the relationship between time, space, body, and instrument and how the performance affects cognition and perception of these elements in both the audience and himself.
Recent collaborators include: Jim O'Rourke, Otomo Yoshihide, Eiko Ishibashi, Kazuhisa Uchihashi, Tatsuhisa Yamamoto, Dos Monos, etc.
2014 - started attending Berklee College of Music on a full tuition scholarship
2015 - joined Berklee Global Jazz Institute
2016 - Yamaha Young Performing Artist - Honorable Mention
2017 - YAMAHA scholarship (2017-2020)
2018 - Downbeat magazine, Winner, Undergraduate Small Combo - Kei Matsumaru Trio
2018 - Berklee College of Music, Bachelor of Music, Performance (Summa Cum Laude)
Studied with Tiger Okoshi, George Garzone, Terri Lyne Carrington, John Patitucci, Joe Lovano, Danilo Perez, Ben Street, Adam Cruz, etc.
2019 - 1st album as leader "THINKKAISM", released by Disk Union
2020 - SMTK releases their 1st EP, "SMTK" through the label, APOLLO SOUNDS
2020 - SMTK releases their 1st full length album, "SUPER MAGIC TOKYO KARMA" - APOLLO SOUNDS
2020 - 1st album as Kei Matsumaru "Nothing Unspoken Under the Sun" released by Disk Union
2021 - SMTK releases their 2nd album, "SIREN PROPAGANDA" - APOLLO SOUNDS
2021 - mºfe releases their 1st album "不_?黎°pyro明//乱 (l°fe / de°th)" - Song X Jazz
サックス奏者・作曲家。1995年生まれ。パプアニューギニアにある標高1500メートルの人口400人程度の村で育ち、そこで高校卒業まで楽器を独学で習得し、2014年に米バークリー音楽大学へ全額奨学金を得て入学、2018年に同大学を首席で卒業。同年日本へ帰国、以来東京近辺を中心に様々なアーティストと共演を重ねる。
2020年にバンドSMTK（石若駿・マーティホロベック・細井徳太郎・松丸契）で『SMTK』『SUPER MAGIC TOKYO KARMA』、自身名義による1stアルバム『Nothing Unspoken Under the Sun』を発表。2021年にSMTK『SIREN PROPAGANDA』、m°fe『不_?黎°pyro明//乱 (l°fe / de°th)』（高橋佑成・落合康介・松丸契）をリリース。2020年より90分の即興演奏を通して空間と時間と楽器と身体の関係性を探る「独奏」を活動の一環として開始。
バンド活動と並行して以下のアーティストと共演多数：石橋英子、ジム・オルーク、山本達久、大友良英、芳垣安洋、内橋和久、Dos Monos、浦上想起、須川崇志、スガダイロー、荒悠平、Aokid、etc.
2014年全額奨学金を得てボストン・バークリー音楽大学に入学
2015年特別育成機関Berklee Global Jazz Instituteに加入
2016年Yamaha Young Performing Artist - Honorable Mention
2017年ヤマハ音楽奨学支援奨学生（’17〜’20)
2018年米Downbeat誌で自身のトリオ・オリジナル作で優勝
2018年ボストン・バークリー音楽大学首席卒業 (Summa Cum Laude)
タイガー大越, George Garzone, Terri Lyne Carrington, John Patitucci, Joe Lovano, Danilo Perez, Ben Street, Adam Cruzに師事
2019年9月 1st Album 『THINKKAISM』をdiskunionレーベルよりリリース
2020年4月所属しているバンドSMTKで1st EP『SMTK』をAPOLLO SOUNDSよりリリース
2020年5月同バンドで1st Album 『SUPER MAGIC TOKYO KARMA』をリリース
2020年11月アルバム 『Nothing Unspoken Under the Sun』をdiskunionレーベルよりリリース
参加バンド/共演歴 (敬称略)：
Kei Matsumaru Quartet, blank manifesto, SMTK, mºfe, Boys/THINKKAISM, Francis Bowmore, Mao Soné Quintet, Marty Holoubek Quintet, songbook project, James Macaulay Quartet "Sun Shade", 日野皓正, 石若駿, 金澤英明, 石井彰, Marty Holoubek, 細井徳太郎, 曽根麻央, 須川崇志, 角銅真実, 井上銘, James Macaulay, Aaron Choulai, 吉本章紘, Marty Hicks, Francesca Han, James Bowers, 木村紘, 伊藤勇司, 浦上想起, 松木美定, 松下マサナオ, 荘子it, 本田珠也, 林栄一, 松井宏樹, 石川広行, 林正樹, 栗林すみれ, 江藤良人, 落合康介, 高橋佑成, 大村亘, 山口廣和, 佐藤浩一, 福盛進也, 甲斐正樹, ヤマザキタケル, 坪口昌恭, ハクエイキム, スガダイロー, 壷阪健登, 永武幹子, 吉良創太, 守真人, 吉峯勇二郎, 大坂昌彦, 佐瀬悠輔, 石田衛, 片倉真由子, 山本達久, 西田修大, 中村佳穂, 千葉広樹, 日髙理樹, Joe Talia, 吉田隆一, 中山晃子, 荒悠平, Aokid, 岩本大紀, 藤原大輔, 大友良英, 芳垣安洋, 内橋和久, 竹村一哲, 田中信正, 瀬尾高志, and more