Keisuke Ohta Profile
iViolin,Zeta MIDI Violin, Cornet Violin, Voice etc.
)
Born in Kumamoto, Japan in 1956.
Started playing the violin at the age of 5.
Majored in Chemistry at Kagoshima University.
Moved to Tokyo to start his career as a composer/arranger in 1983.
He played for various occasions, for TV commercials, movie sound track,
dramas, fashion shows, planetariums, etc.
As a violinist, he is known for ethnic music (Turkish, Arabic, Indian,
Eastern European, and Irish) and improvisation. At studios and lives, he
can play any genre of music, which is a talent not many artists are granted.
He is also known for his distinctive voice. It can be heard in station
breaks of WOWOW and Tokyo FM. He also plays a character in "Phantasmagoria"
CD-ROM, and TV commercials.
On top of that, he often shows up in performing arts.
He is a member of: NAZO and
Shin-Okubo Gentlemen
which were founded by Kazutoki Umezu
, oud player Yuji Tsunemi's Arabindia, clarinet player
Wataru Okuma's CICALA-MVTA, "Hyper-transnational Music Union"
JAZICO, guitarist Jun-ichi Takagi's MASARA, and
TOY which Ohta established with bassist Yasuhiko Tachibana
and percussionist Yasuhiro Yoshigaki.
Ohta has a talk show called "do SHOW"(means, "What shall I do?"
in Japanese) with tabla player Masaki Yoshimi. The show is now a
famous event of Shibuya Jean-Jean.
Ohta worked with many well-known artists such as : Yosuke Yamashita
, Takeshi Shibuya, Fumio
Itabashi
, Kiyohiko Senba
, Koichi Makigami
, Yukihiro Isso, Leonard Eto
, Chikuyo Takahashi (Chikuzan the 2nd.), Masato Tomobe
, Shizuru Ohtaka, Kantaro Uchida,
Yoshiro Nakamura
, Masumi Hara, Toshiaki Chiku, Kazko Takemoto(dance),
Joelle Leandre, Loren Newton, Hamza El-din, Zakir
Hussain.
In June 1995, he debuted as a singer with his writing piece in
"SONGS" album (BIOSPHERE)
, a compilation album produced by Tomohiko Kira of
Zabadak
.
In the summer of 1995, Ohta played a Jewish violist in Tamiya Kuriyama
's "Ghetto", which was awarded Yomiuri drama award and Mainichi
art award.
He also participated in Kiyoshiro Imawano's national tour, including
Budokan.
He now supports hi-posi
and Soul Flower Union
with their lives and recordings. In February 1997, he took part in
Leonard Eto's India tour and Kazutoki Umezu's Asia tour.
In June 1997, STOY, a band which Ohta founded with
Masahiko Sato
, Yuji Tsunemi, and Masaki Yoshimi, released their first
CD.
Ohta played a mysterious violinist in Toshiyuki Mizutani's upcoming
movie "Ningen-Isu (Human Chair)" (original story by Ranpo Edogawa).
In August, Ohta formed "Keisuke Ohta unit" in
John Zorn's "COBRA (Tokyo mission)".
Ohta founded a new band called "The Electric Nomad" with
Taizo Sakai (guitar), Kenji Sato (base), and Yasuo Sano
(drums). Its aggressive rock sound with gentle mind is unforgettable to
many of the listners.
In 1998, his regular units; TOY, Shin-Okubo Gentlemen
, CICALA-MVTA, and Arabindia, will release their first
albums one after another. Besides, he played in many albums of musicians
such as : Kendi Ohtsuki, ARB COVERS, Miho Asahi,
Mieko Hirota , Leonard Eto, Kantaro Uchida.
pix by TOSHIYA SUZUKI
back to Keisuke Ohta Homepage
Born in Kumamoto, Japan in 1956.