Kazz has taken the road less traveled.  His career path has slalomed thru some unusual twists and turns, all having added to his unique sound. Born Kazutaka Tsuji in Hokkaido, he grew up playing guitar.  After high school he moved to Tokyo and played in various rock bands without notable traction. Getting restless, he moved to LA, and later signed on to do volunteer work in Africa. To prepare for his assignment in Niger, Kazz was sent to France for a few months to learn French. Africa...

Kazz has taken the road less traveled.  His career path has slalomed thru some unusual twists and turns, all having added to his unique sound. Born Kazutaka Tsuji in Hokkaido, he grew up playing guitar.  After high school he moved to Tokyo and played in various rock bands without notable traction. Getting restless, he moved to LA, and later signed on to do volunteer work in Africa. To prepare for his assignment in Niger, Kazz was sent to France for a few months to learn French. Africa was indeed a culture shock, but after awhile he made friends with locals and formed the band Mourasni.  The reggae-leaning band toured extensively in West Africa, and their music was often played on the radio and featured on TV. In 2000 he decided to return to Japan, and here joined a psychedelic jam band called Mirakuru Saru (in English, “Miracle Monkey”).  The band toured across Japan, and made stops in Taiwan, the States and England, but without gaining any mainstream success. Having sharpened his chops, but still largely spinning his wheels, Kazu made the move to the beach town of Haiyama, got into surfing and started playing solo. For his live shows he alternated between percussion, which he had taken up in Africa, and acoustic guitar. He plays usually in a finger-picking style, using his own original tunings, and sometimes uses a sampler to loop parts which he then plays over. The music he makes Does not fit exactly into any category, but both Tower Records and iTunes sell it from their world music sections.  In 2006 surfing took him to Hawaii, where he also played music. Amongst the gigs he picked up there was improvising at a film festival along to the sound of waves and narration of legendary Hawaiian surfer Gerry Lopez for a short film called “Mana” created by Denjiro Sato.  Also in 2006 he released his first solo album “Nagi” (“Glassy” in English, a surfer reference to calm water).  Kazz continued to play live frequently and along the way caught the ear of Japanese musician/producer Pardon Kimura, who signed him to the Tuff Beats label, whose roster includes Keison, Kenji Jammer and Oshiro Masako, and where he released “Yume Go Kuchi”.  Still often playing small bars and cafes, he continued to perform throughout Japan, and next caught the attention of musician/ musicologist/ producer Makoto Kubota of Sunset Gang/Sunsetz fame. Together they produced “Guitalele Trip” in Kubota’s living room, released independently in October 2009. Kazz continues to play solo doubling on acoustic guitar and percussion, and in November embarked on a national tour.   He also sometimes accompanies domestic and visiting artists, usually as a percussionist, and has played a number of times with popular Hawaiian band Kalapana.