Ryo Fukui

Ryo Fukui
Fukui at the piano, performing at "The Glee"
Background information
Birth name	Ryo Fukui (福居良)
Born	(1948-06-01)June 1, 1948 Biratori, Hokkaido, Japan
Died	March 15, 2016(2016-03-15) (aged 67) Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Composer pianist
Instruments	Piano
Years active	1976–2016

Ryo Fukui (福居良, Fukui Ryo, June 1, 1948 – March 15, 2016) was a Japanese jazz pianist based in Sapporo. He played regularly at the "Slowboat" jazz club in Sapporo of which he and his wife Yasuko were the owners.

He began to teach himself the piano at the age of 22, releasing his first album, Scenery, six years later and his second album, Mellow Dream, the year after. He continued improving his skills over the following years in live performance, often appearing in a trio and playing at the Shinjuku Pit Inn, Kichijōji "Sometime" jazz club and the "Jazz Inn Lovely" in Nagoya. A third album, My Favorite Tune, which was recorded and released in 1994. It was followed by In New York four years later, in trio with the drummer Leroy Williams and the bassist Lisle Arthur Atkinson. A Letter From Slowboat is a live album released in 2015 from his time at the "Slowboat" jazz club.

Fukui received the Sapporo Culture Encouragement Prize in 2012.^[1]

Fukui died of lymphoma on March 15, 2016. After his death, his widow Yasuko Fukui has taken over the Slowboat jazz club.

Discography

References

External Links

http://www.jazz-slowboat.jp/ryo-fukui/