David Tamura was a Japanese-American multi-instrumentalist based in New York City, US. He was a member of Von LMO's band on the album Red Resistor, which was described as "brilliantly tight".[1] He had played with many musicians on the New York noise rock scene.[2][3][4] He died on June 24, 2023 at the age of 69.[5]
He was one of the main forces behind The Jazzfakers, where he played guitar, keyboards, and saxophone; one reviewer writes "it's him that provides the powdery, blues-rich tenor melody that boards the loose-boned march of Oh Rise New, adding a recognizable jazz voice to the restless buzz-keyboard swirls and mosquito-drill guitar, the rambling bass tune and the childlike organ which hangs and fidgets on a single disruptive chord".[6] Of his release Mystic Mountain, with Marc Edwards, Grego Applegate Edwards wrote "David Tamura adds a welcome and contrastively volcanic tenor sax. But then the threesome of Karl Alfonso Evangelista, Colin Sanderson and Alex Lozupone, the three on very high-crank electric guitars, Alex (who also is leader of the band Eighty-Pound Pug that I have happily covered here) on combo electric guitar and bass."[7] In April, 2023, Tamura recorded an album with the group Toadal Package, which was called Final Entrance in a tribute to Last Exit.
Upon his death, Rachel Mason wrote: "He just had a true genuine quality of kindness - despite the appearance of being some kind of underground-street-gangster. This sight of him was a character out of Quinten Tarantino movie. Exuding cool. Arms filled with tattoos, and a jet black hair almost looking like fire folding around his face. Arms that were Crazy guns- and then the saxophone. He busted it out and he was just a full fledged experimental jazz machine. He really was A Comic book action hero."[8]
Julian Cope – Copendium: An Expedition Into The Rock 'N' Roll Underwerld (2012)* Ron Anderson / Robert L. Pepper* / David Tamura / Philippe Petit – Closed Encounters Of The 4 Minds[9] (2012)
Scott Rifkin's Music for the Free World (feat. David Tamura, Yuko Pepe & Sky Hall)[10] (2013)
Dave Burrells Conception - (featuring Dave Burrell, Joe Chonto, David Tamura) (2013)
Gene Janas / Matt Luczak / Gene Moore / David Tamura - Music On Monroe Street: Live At Downtown Music Gallery (2014)
Zilmrah - Looming
Saturn Big Brother On Acid – Big Brother On Acid (2014)
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