Kaoru Abe

Kaoru Abe 阿部 薫
Born	(1949-05-03)May 3, 1949 Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan
Died	September 9, 1978(1978-09-09) (aged 29) Nakano, Tokyo, Japan
Genres	Free jazz, avant-garde
Occupation	Musician
Instruments	Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Harmonica, Guitar
Labels	DIW

Kaoru Abe (阿部 薫, Abe Kaoru) (May 3, 1949 – September 9, 1978) was a Japanese avant-garde alto saxophonist. Self-taught at a young age, Abe performed with notables such as Motoharu Yoshizawa, Takehisa Kosugi, Yosuke Yamashita, Derek Bailey, and Milford Graves, although he generally performed solo. He was married to the author Izumi Suzuki, and was a nephew of singer Kyu Sakamoto. He was portrayed in Kōji Wakamatsu's film Endless Waltz by novelist and punk rock singer Kō Machida.

Personal life

Abe dropped out of high school in 1967, at 17 years of age, to focus on perfecting his playing, and in 1968, he did his first performance, at a jazz spot named Oleo in Kawasaki. In 1970, he met Masayuki Takayanagi. in 1971, he met Izumi Suzuki, and in 1973, they married. In 1976, they had a daughter. However, in 1977, they divorced.

Career

Abe was prolific, appearing almost every day at jazz spots and concerts. His library consists almost entirely of archival and live recordings, however he did record in a studio.

In his later years, Abe would begin playing different instruments. In 1976-1978 to be specific, were his years of most exploration. However, there were instances of him playing harmonica in 1970-1971. He also played bass clarinet all the way throughout his career.

Death

Abe died from Bromisoval overdose in 1978, causing an acute gastric perforation.

References

• Yuko Morita (ed.). Abe Kaoru march 1980. Tokyo: Bunyusha, 1994 (Japanese)
• Soejima Teruto. Nihon furii jazu shi (日本フリージャズ史, The History of Japanese Free Jazz). Tokyo: Seidosha, 2002 (Japanese)

External links

• Kaoru Abe website, including an English discography
• Abe profile on allmusic.com
• Izumi entry in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction