Tak Matsumoto
| Tak Matsumoto | |
|---|---|
Tak Matsumoto performing in 2012
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Takahiro Matsumoto |
| Also known as | Tak |
| Born | March 27, 1961 |
| Origin |
Toyonaka, Osaka Japan |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, producer, arranger, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Labels |
Vermillion Records Favored Nations |
| Associated acts |
B'z TMG |
| Website | Official B’z website |
| Notable instruments | |
| Gibson Tak Matsumoto Signature Model Double Cutaway Tak Matsumoto signature Gibson Les Paul |
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Takahiro "Tak" Matsumoto (松本 孝弘 Matsumoto Takahiro?, born on March 27, 1961 in Toyonaka, Osaka) is a Grammy Award-winning Japanese guitarist, producer, arranger, composer, singer and songwriter. In addition to being the guitarist and lead composer for the hard rock duo B'z, he has also had a successful solo career. He ranked first in a 2011 poll on who the Japanese people thought was the best guitarist to represent Japan.
Tak's formal education in jazz was minimal, but when he started working as a session musician, and supporting tours like TM Network, his musicianship was cemented. His exposure to a myriad of styles helped him to meld his own unique blend, incorporating elements of his jazz training, blues (his incorporation of the style known as "Kansai Blues" is well known), classical, metal, rock, and ska.
Tak continued his session work throughout the early and mid-1980s with acts such as Mari Hamada until deciding to jump on the emerging solo instrumental trend catching on in Japan at that time. He recorded "Thousand Wave" and working with future globe headliner Tetsuya Komuro. "99", a simple instrumental incorporating some blistering fretwork, is considered one of his finest works.
After the solo album he decided to try his hand at starting his own band. With his session work behind him, and a burgeoning production career, he started to search for a singer. After being presented with a tape from an unknown session singer known as Koshi Inaba, Tak was blown away. Their first recorded session was a rendition of "Let It Be" of the Beatles fame, and even though the amp blew out, Tak knew he had his new singer. Tak and Koshi formed the band B'z and debuted in September 1988. B'z has continued to be one of the most successful bands in the history of Japanese music, helped by the pairing of two very different musical directions. Tak always drew his tastes from blues, classical, and jazz, while Koshi preferred rock music. Tak has ongoing friendships with musicians such as Barry Sparks, Marty Friedman, Billy Sheehan, Eddie Van Halen, Eric Martin, Jack Blades, Joe Perry, Pat Torpey, Steven Tyler, and Steve Vai, with whom Tak and Koshi recorded the song "Asian Sky" from the 1999 album, The Ultra Zone. Billy Sheehan recorded tracks for 1999's Brotherhood album, as well as touring (along with Shane Gaalaas) as support musicians for 2002's Green Live-Gym Tour.
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Wikipedia