Profile
Kyoto RAG Music Academy Bass Instructor / Professional Bassist
Hasegawa Akira
Born in Nagoya in 1971.
Based in Kyoto.
He started playing guitar in junior high school and, influenced by the eclectic musical environment of the mid-1980s, switched to bass upon entering high school.
He moved to Kyoto when he entered university.
In 1992, he joined Doshisha University’s The Third Herd Orchestra and received the TBS Radio Award at the Yamano Big Band Contest that same year.
Largely self-taught, he began his professional career as a musician in the mid-1990s.
His playing spans a wide range of genres, including rock, jazz, funk, crossover, modern gospel, Brazilian pop, and African rock.
As a member of the original jazz band Vermilion Field, he released the third album “Feira” in 2015 on Victor.
As a member of SAKAKI MANGO & LIMBA TRAIN SOUND SYSTEM, which develops a unique musical style rooted in African music, he performed at Bush Fire, the largest festival in the Southern Hemisphere, held in Eswatini in 2012.
He is active in many settings, including regular support for Everlasting Joy, one of the leading gospel choirs in Kansai, support for numerous other gospel choirs, work with his own band Play Ground, and backing and sessions for vocalists.
As a composer, he wrote “Taiyo no Ki” (Tree of the Sun), the official anthem of the Sumida Street Jazz Festival.
He also organizes Amateur Night in Kyoto, which has surpassed 30 editions, and has long been involved in mentoring younger musicians.
He has an extensive record of performances with renowned artists such as Narada Michael Walden, Masahiro Kuwana, and Fusanosuke Kondo, underpinning the Kansai music scene from the low end.
Website:https://rag-gijuku.kyoto/
Facebook : akirahasegawabass/
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