- Kato Hideki
Kato Hideki (b. 1962 in
Nagoya , Japan; 加藤英樹, family name Kato) is aJapan ese musician and composer. He was a seminal member of the TokyoNoise music scene of the late 80s and early 90s, collaborating with Japanese experimental musicians such asOtomo Yoshihide ,Tatsuya Yoshihide , Makigami Koichi, andYamatsuka Eye . He led his own bands, Player Piano and Bass Army. He was a member of the original Ground Zero with Otomo and Uemura Masahiro. In 1992 Kato moved toNew York where he still resides.Since coming to New York, has recorded and performed with the likes of
John Zorn ,Marc Ribot ,Christian Marclay ,Calvin Weston ,Eyvind Kang ,Billy Martin (percussionist) ,Nicolas Collins ,Zeena Parkins , James Pugliese, John King, Michael Schumacher, and many others.His collaborations include Dying Ground, Billy Martin's Socket, Phase III, Italian DOC Remix, and the Crescent Moon Trio. He has an electronic duo with
James Fei .In 1995 he formed
Death Ambient withIkue Mori andFred Frith and released three CDs on theTzadik label, the latest, "Drunken Forest," in 2007.In 2004 he formed a new trio, Green Zone, with Otomo Yoshihide and Uemura Masahiro--the lineup of the original Ground Zero, but this time with Kato as leader. The band name comes from the 10 km² area in central Baghdad during the US-Iraq war. The pieces Kato wrote for this trio were inspired by the US invasion of Iraq.
His newest project is a quartet with Calvin Weston, Charlie Burnham and Briggan Krause.
Kato's music has become more political since he emigrated to the US. His current works focus on
pollution andglobal warming . He describes his music as "documentary without pictures."Recordings
*"Karada wa Oto o Dasu Mono" /"Bass Army" (Trigram) - Dual Bass trio with the original Ruins bassist & Ground Zero drummer
*"Hope & Despair" (Extreme) - An acoustic CD with musicians in NYC and Japan
*"Death Ambient" (Tzadik, 1995) - The first Death Ambient CD with Ikue Mori & Fred Frith
*"Sieves" (Improvised Music from Japan , 1993) - Electro-Acoustic Duo with James Fei
*"Synaesthesia" (Tzadik, 1995) - The second Death Ambient CD
*"Turbulent Zone" (Music for Expanded Ears , 1998) - Solo Electric Bass CD, using Prime Number tuning
*"Green Zone" (doubtmusic , 2005) - The trio with the original Ground Zero crew
*"Drunken Forest" (Tzadik, 2007) - Third Death Ambient release, produced by KatoExternal links
* [http://katohideki.com/ Kato Hideki official site ]
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