 |
|
PROFILE MOQU (1957-2005) At the age of 23, Moqu (TANAKA SHIGEHISA) started playing the tenor saxophone. His interest in blues or R&B was very deep. So he joined the local blues band in Nagoya in early '80s. He kept on playing blues on a band VOLLEYBALLS as a main horn player. In the late '80s he was inspired by some free improvisers such as Otomo Yoshihide (g,turn-table), John Zorn (reeds) and so on. Though he was attracted their cool performing style, he was not going to play his instruments freely like them. In the early '90s he saw some musicians playing noise music or free jazz in Nagoya. After that he began working together with some local free improvisers and he changed his main instrument tenor saxophone to alto. And he began promoting many workshops, concerts and events for many performers in Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima. He also collaborated together. In 2000 Moqu hit a conception of saxhopone duo formation and offered Yanagawa Yoshinori (as) to play together. Their first gig was so exciting that both of them were convinced of the possibility of their musical development. Since then Moqu and Yanagawa had worked together. Basicly Moqu had been intersted in solo performance but he thought duo performance was the best and the most communicative dialog. In 2004, he got stomach cancer and had an operation on his stomach. After the operation, he had been blowing his alto saxophone all his energy. In November 2004 Moqu and Yanagawa released a CD "GRIND THE AIR". It was one of the brilliant monument of saxophone duo album in the world. But to our great regret, the CD was Moqu's first and last album.In January 2005, his cancer reapperared and after about 50 days' medical treatment, he died of aged forty-seven. It was on March 5, 2005. |