Fumio Yasuda
born 1953 in Tokyo, graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Composition major. Starts composing at the age of 17, soon finds his interest in improvisational music and performs together with one of the most known improvisers in Japan, guitarist Masayuki Takayanagi as a pianist. From 1995, he starts his musical collaboration with the photographer Nobuyoshi Araki. The main compositions performed from Araki's projects are, "Tokyo Comedy" (1997 in Wien), "Shijo" (1998 in Hamburg), "1999 Taipei - Summer" (1999 in Taipei) and the latest project was performed in Prato, Italy in 2000. Fumio Yasuda has recorded the albums »Kakyoku«, »Charmed with Verdi«, »Schumann's Bar Music«, »Heavenly Blue« and »Las Vegas Rhapsody«, »Berlin – Songs of love and war, peace and exile«, »Schumann's Favored Bar Songs« and »Mother Goose's Melodies« for Winter & Winter.

Already the album »Kakyoku« represents the fruits of Yasuda's ongoing collaboration with Japan's most famous photographer, Nobuyoshi Araki. In contrast to the atonality and often-challenging tenor of much of today's classical music, Yasuda's scores are remarkably accessible. At times recalling the Impressionism of post-romantic composers such as Debussy. As Araki comments, "Yasuda's music is sometimes sentimental and sometimes almost insane. It has a way of getting under one's skin and touching both body and soul."