Born: February 26, 1942, Tokyo, Japan.
Internationally renowned pianist, Yosuke Yamashita is a household celebrity in Japan with over 40 albums. He has toured throughout Europe since 1974, and has made annual appearance at the club Sweet Basil since 1988. Yamashita's explosive playing style was hailed by Jon Pareles in the New York Times after his 1985 New York debut at Sweet Basil. "He could slip in and out of stride rhythms or be-bop filigree at will - aggressive playing tempered with just enough melodic finesse".
A pianist since childhood, he has been playing professionally since he was a high school student. After a short stint with Japanese saxophonist Sadao Watanabe, he formed his own bassless trio in 1969, stirring up the conservative Japanese jazz scene for more than two decades. His trio toured Europe in 1974, performing at the Berlin Jazz Festival. Since then, he returns to Europe annually performing at many famous jazz festivals including Montreux. In 1979, he was an overwhelming success in his U.S. debut at the Newport Jazz Festival, and also recorded with members of the Art Ensemble of Chicago. In 1981, he was awarded the celebrated Japan Jazzist Award by the Swing Journal magazine.
After 14 years playing in a trio format, Yamashita disbanded his own trio in 1983 and began to expand his horizons. Along with frequent solo piano concerts, he has been performing in sessions of various genres of music, like with the Japanese percussion group "Kodo", with the Korean percussion group "Samul-Nori", or with the wadaiko (Japanese percussion) player Eitetsu Hayashi, as well as with various international jazz artists like Bill Laswell, Lester Bowie, Elvin Jones, Mal Waldron, Max Roach, etc.
Yamashita has also widened his repertoire to include renditions of classical compositions, taking them as the material upon which to construct his own individual world of music. He has performed Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" and several Bach concerts with complete orchestral backing many times. He is also experimenting with improvisations and providing exciting interpretations on solo piano for Ravel's "Bolero", Dvorak's "Humoresque" and other well-known pieces.
In 1988, Yamashita has formed his New York Trio with bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Pheeroan AkLaff, and it has been appearing at Sweet Basil, a famous jazz club in New York annually. His trio has released six CDs titled Crescendo, Plays Gershwin (Kitty Records), Sakura, Sakura Live, Kurdish Dance and Dazzling Days (Verve/Polydor) in Japan. Sakura, Kurdish Dance and Dazzling Days are available Verve/Polygram Records all over the world.
In 1990 he formed a working band called New Trio with two young Japanese musicians. In October 1990 he made a concert with the Toronto Symphony conducted by Michiyoshi Inoue in Toronto, Canada. In May 1991, he performed with guitarist Kazumi Watanabe in Houston, and appeared at the Chicago Jazz Festival as a solo piano in September. In April 1992 Yamashita made concerts with Kodo at Kammermusiksaal in Berlin, which resulted in great success. In December 1992 as a mission of the Japan Foundation, leading his own group he made a concert tour to Latin America including Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. In February 1993 Yamashita released a CD titled Playground (Polydor/Verve) with his New Trio. From March to October his trio is doing "88 places survival tour" all over Japan. In 1993 he was chosen as a grantee from the Marantz Music Foundation for his international activities for three years. In July 1993, the New York Trio made Europe tour including Montreux Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival and several European cities. In December he made joint concerts with Oakland based Turtle Island String Quartet in New York. In April 1994, as only one artist from Asian area Yamashita was invited to perform at Verve 50th anniversary concert held at Carnegie Hall in New York, where he played a tribute tune to Bud Powell by solo piano.
Yosuke Yamashita keeps up the challenge for better music by having sessions and collaborations in which he mingles with other types of musicians and with other styles of artistic expression. He is constantly trying to enlarge and enrich his domain of jazz music. In addition to the concert performances, Yamashita is also a popular essayist with over 10 books to his name.
And finally, Yamashita continues to be the role model and spiritual support for many ambitious young Japanese jazz and rock musicians who seek to play internationally.

Biography courtesy of Saudades Tourneen.