Takuya Kuroda

Born in Ashiya in Hyogo Prefecture, Takuya Kuroda began playing the trumpet in middle school, progressed through his university big bands in Japan, and moved to New York in 2003 to study jazz at The New School, graduating in 2006. Settled in Brooklyn, Kuroda developed a musical language in which the jazz trumpet converses with funk, soul, hip‑hop, gospel and Latin colors, in a supple, highly rhythmic approach that emphasizes grooves and collective arrangements. During his early years in New York he multiplied live projects and grew close to singer José James, notably collaborating on the album Blackmagic in 2010. His discography under his own name opens with Bitter and High (2010), followed by Edge (2011) and Six Aces (2013). In 2014 he signed to Blue Note and released Rising Son, produced by José James, before issuing ZIGZAGGER in 2016 on Concord. Alongside his albums, Kuroda works as a musician and arranger for other artists and takes part in the J‑Squad project, heard for example on the theme "Starting Five" from the Japanese program Hōdō Station.