13 Facts About Masahiko Satoh

Masahiko Satoh is a Japanese jazz pianist, composer and arranger.

Masahiko Satoh's mother was Setsu and his father, who owned small businesses, was Yoshiaki Satoh.

The house that his family moved into in 1944 contained a piano; Masahiko started playing it at the age of five.

Masahiko Satoh began playing the piano professionally at the age of 17, "accompanying singers, magicians and strippers at a cabaret in the Ginza district".

At the age of 26, Masahiko Satoh moved to the United States to study at the Berklee College of Music.

Masahiko Satoh stayed for two years, during which he read about composing and arranging.

Masahiko Satoh earned money working in a food shop and playing the piano in a hotel.

Masahiko Satoh played at the 1971 Berlin Jazz Festival as part of a trio; he used a then-unusual ring modulator to alter the sound.

Masahiko Satoh wrote the psychedelic music for the 1973 anime film Belladonna of Sadness.

Masahiko Satoh has written arrangements for recordings led by, among others, Merrill, Kimiko Itoh, and Nancy Wilson.

Masahiko Satoh arranged for strings and quartet on Art Farmer's 1983 album Maiden Voyage.

In 1990 Masahiko Satoh formed a large group, named Rantooga, that combined various forms of folk musics from around the world.

Masahiko Satoh has composed for traditional Japanese instruments, including the shakuhachi and biwa.