Tatsu Aoki is a multi-instrumentalist trained in traditional Japanese music, educator and experimental filmmaker. In his career as Chicago's Jazz and creative improvisor, he is mostly known as a long-standing bassist for Fred Anderson and he has also worked with George Freeman, and Von Freeman in the 90s. Aoki also has curious recording projects with Malachi Favors, Roscoe Mitchell, Don Moye, Wu Man, and other internationally renowned artists. Aoki also directs cultural events that promote the history of Japanese artistic traditions and contemporary Asian influences in jazz. As the founder and artistic director of Asian Improv Arts Midwest, he hosts events such as the annual Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival and the Japanese American Service Committee's Tsukasa Taiko Legacy arts residency program.
Fred Anderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who was based in Chicago, Illinois. Anderson's playing was rooted in the swing music and hard bop idioms, but he also incorporated innovations from free jazz. Anderson was also noted for having mentored numerous young musicians. Critic Ben Ratliff called him "a father figure of experimental jazz in Chicago". Writer John Corbett referred to him as "scene caretaker, underground booster, indefatigable cultural worker, quiet force for good." In 2001, author John Litweiler called Anderson "the finest tenor saxophonist in free jazz/underground jazz/outside jazz today."
Vintage Duets is an album by American jazz saxophonist Fred Anderson with drummer Steve McCall.
Destiny is an album by American jazz pianist Marilyn Crispell with saxophonist Fred Anderson and drummer Hamid Drake recorded in the 1994 "Women of the New Jazz" festival at Chicago’s HotHouse and released on Okka Disk.
Song For is the debut album by American jazz saxophonist Joseph Jarman, recorded in 1966 and released on the Delmark label.
Fred Anderson Quartet Volume One is an album by American jazz saxophonist Fred Anderson which was recorded live during the 1998 season at the Chicago club owned by Anderson, the Velvet Lounge, and released on the Asian Improv label. The Anderson's Quartet features longtime partner trumpeter Bill Brimfield, drummer Chad Taylor and Asian American bassist Tatsu Aoki.
Fred Anderson Quartet Volume Two is a double album by American jazz saxophonist Fred Anderson which was recorded live during the 1999 season at the Chicago club owned by Anderson, the Velvet Lounge, and released on the Asian Improv label. Anderson's Quartet features longtime partner drummer Hamid Drake, guitarist Jeff Parker and Asian American bassist Tatsu Aoki.
On the Run, Live at the Velvet Lounge is an album by American jazz saxophonist Fred Anderson, which was recorded in 2000 at his Chicago club, the Velvet Lounge, and released on Delmark. He's backed by his regular rhythm section of bassist Tatsu Aoki and drummer Hamid Drake.
Back at the Velvet Lounge is an album by American jazz saxophonist Fred Anderson, which was recorded in 2002 and released on Delmark. This second installment on Bob Koester's label of live recordings made at Fred's own club, the Velvet Lounge, features the young trumpeter Maurice Brown making his first appearance on CD, Chicago Underground's guitarist Jeff Parker and drummer Chad Taylor, and bassists Tatsu Aoki and Harrison Bankhead.
Duets 2001 is an album by American jazz saxophonist Fred Anderson with former Sun Ra drummer Robert Barry, which, despite the title, was recorded live in 1999 at Chicago's Empty Bottle after having performed together only once before. It was released on the Thrill Jockey label.
Back Together Again is an album by American jazz saxophonist Fred Anderson with drummer Hamid Drake, which was recorded in 2003 and released on the Thrill Jockey label. They played together for more than 30 years, but this was their first duo recording. A bonus CD-ROM includes footage of three of the tunes along with interviews in which Anderson and Drake dissect the process of how the songs evolve and the different styles and approaches the two use.
2 Days in April is a double album by a free jazz quartet consisting of saxophonists Fred Anderson and Kidd Jordan, bassist William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake, documenting two 1999 concerts at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at Cambridge. It was released on Eremite, a label founded by producer Michael Ehlers. Anderson and Jordan first meeting was at a mid-80s AACM concert in Chicago, but this is their first recording together.
Live at the Velvet Lounge Volume Three is an album by American jazz saxophonist Fred Anderson which was recorded during the 2007 Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival at the club owned by Anderson, the Velvet Lounge, and released on the Asian Improv label. Anderson's Quartet features San Franciscan saxophonist Francis Wong, drummer Chad Taylor and bassist Tatsu Aoki.
First Look, Chicago Duos is an album by American jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell with Asian American bassist Tatsu Aoki, which was released in 2005 on the Chicago-based Southport label.
Chicago Tenor Duets is an album by British jazz saxophonist Evan Parker and American saxophonist Joe McPhee, which was recorded in 1998 and released on Okka Disk.
Michael Zerang is an American jazz percussionist and drummer.
2×4 is an album by double bassists Malachi Favors Maghostut and Tatsu Aoki. It was recorded in August 1998 at Sparrow Sound Design in Chicago, Illinois, and was released on CD in 1999 by Southport Records.
A Symphony of Cities is an album by percussionist Famoudou Don Moye and bassist Tatsu Aoki. It was recorded in 2000 at Sparrow Sound Design in Chicago, Illinois, and was released on CD in 2002 by Southport Records. On the album, Moye and Aoki are joined by saxophonist Francis Wong and flutist Joel Brandon.
Birthday Live 2000 is a live album by saxophonist Fred Anderson. It was recorded at the Velvet Lounge in Chicago, Illinois, on March 22 and 25, 2000, and was released in 2009 by Asian Improv Records as a limited edition "official bootleg." On the album, Anderson is joined by bassist Tatsu Aoki and drummer Chad Taylor.
Jam for Your Life! is an album by percussionist Famoudou Don Moye. It was recorded at Sparrow Sound Design and North Shore Studios in Chicago, Illinois. An initial version, with material recorded in September 1985, was released on cassette later that year by AECO Records, a label founded by the Art Ensemble of Chicago. In 1991, AECO reissued the album, with material recorded during 1983–1991, on CD with a different track order and an additional track. On the album, Moye is joined by multi-instrumentalist Ari Brown, vocalist Luba Raashiek, and nearly a dozen additional musicians.
