Having begun to learn classical piano in early childhood, Takashi Kako
studied composition at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music,
and took its graduate course before going on to the Paris National Conservatory
of Music. While pursuing his direction as a composer of contemporary music
under Olivier Messiaen, he also discovered and became devoted to so-called
'free jazz (i.e. improvisation)' during this Paris period. These experiences
combined, constitute the basis of his musical creation.
"Beautiful melody and harmony rooted in classical music", "the
novel sensitivities of contemporary music" and "the rhythms and
improvisations of jazz" --― Embracing all of these, Kako has established
his own unique style, which transcends accepted musical genre.
The interpretations of this "poet on piano", as he has been called,
appear deserving of all such descriptions as radiant, mystic, warm, tender,
extraordinary, daring, elaborately structured, calm, melancholic, romantic...
