Toshi Kankawa was born in Osaka in 1954, and seems to have crawled to a B-3 organ not long after. Officially he started taking piano lessons at age three, and by the time he was a teenager he was already playing professionally. Although he plays various keyboards, Kankawa early on became a devotee of the soulful sounds of the B-3 Hammond organ. Having set his course, he decided to study with a master, and he chose perhaps the most celebrated player of the instrument - jazz funk master Jimmy Smith.... read more

Toshi Kankawa was born in Osaka in 1954, and seems to have crawled to a B-3 organ not long after. Officially he started taking piano lessons at age three, and by the time he was a teenager he was already playing professionally. Although he plays various keyboards, Kankawa early on became a devotee of the soulful sounds of the B-3 Hammond organ. Having set his course, he decided to study with a master, and he chose perhaps the most celebrated player of the instrument - jazz funk master Jimmy Smith. At age 19 Kankawa moved to the States and began studying with Smith. He became an apprentice of sorts, and even went on tours with Smith. Kankawa returned to Japan in 1978, and started doing various gigs, including a two year stint playing for the famed late night TV show 11 PM Wide Show. In 1978 Kankawa released his first album as a group leader, Hobo's Blues. Since then he has released quite a number of albums, often working with some of the biggest names in jazz, including David Sanborn, Gary Bartz, Lenny White, Tony Levin, Lou Marini, Dennis Chambers, Hiram Bullock, Corey Glover, Phil Upchurch, Howard Johnson, Jon Faddis and Ronnie Cuber. And of course, Jimmy Smith, who appears on Kankawa's 1984 album Quarter Run, and whose songs Kankawa sometimes covers. In 1986 Kankawa had the distinction of participating in the Mount Fuji Jazz Festival, where he and acclaimed pianist Yosuke Yamashita were the first Japanese players to ever perform. In 1987 Kankawa released Mr. Soul Man, and then in 1989 moved to New York, where he played at the Blue Note and other local venues, and occasionally played festivals in the States and Europe. In 1992 he recorded Cat Club in New York, which included Omar Hakim, Mike Stern and Daryll Jones (touring bassist for the Rolling Stones) on the sessions. In 1996 Kankawa released B III, which was released by Victor in Japan and Europe. Besides Jimmy Smith, another influence on Kankawa's music is Sun Ra, from whom he takes a flamboyance and fearlessness in venturing off the beaten track. He has played extensively with American musicians, but has also recorded with Japanese fusion players. Recently Kankawa sometimes performs with DJs, including the well known DJ Kensei, with whom he records under the name Nude Jazz, and released the album Cynodontia in July 2005. Kankawa's son Fuyu is an accomplish funk, hip-hop, and jazz drummer, and sometimes plays with his father. In addition to playing and recording music, Kankawa has also started a music school in Osaka, and is the owner of the well known Osaka livehouse, Big Cat, which he named after Jimmy Smith's 1964 hit album The Cat. Recent times have seen Kankawa share stages with the likes of Soulive, Gary Bartz and Hiram Bullock, with whom he recorded his album of 2004 Live at STB 139. collapse