Naoki's Music Page!

This page will always be under construction!



Tagline: I'm a multi-instrumentalist (saxophone, bass clarinet, flute, guitar, acoustic/electric bass, and drums) mainly playing jazz.

Introduction: I started learning to play the organ when I was 7 years old. Upon entering junior high, I switched to classical guitar, and played in a classical guitar orchestra, mainly Baroque music (Bach, Vivaldi, ...). Around the same time, I also got interested in rock (Beatles, Deep Purple, King Crimson, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen, ...). Finally, in college, I started listening, playing, and composing jazz, and also started playing drums. More recently, I learned how to play both upright bass and fretless electric bass. Currently, I am spending more time to play tenor and soprano saxophones as well as bass clarinet and flute. I also regularly play in our band Mercurial Mind consisting of David Kyle (keyboards), Bart Wise (bass), Jon Chengary (drums), and myself (miscellaneous instruments).

My musical heroes (in alphabetical order):
  • Burt Bacharach
  • Jeff Beck
  • Larry Carlton
  • John Coltrane
  • The Crusaders
  • Miles Davis
  • Eric Dolphy
  • Earth, Wind & Fire
  • Jay Graydon
  • Herbie Hancock
  • Donny Hathaway
  • Allan Holdsworth
  • Bill LaBounty
  • Michael McDonald
  • Mike Mainieri
  • Jaco Pastorius
  • Chris Potter
  • Jeff Porcaro
  • Dianne Reeves
  • Boz Scaggs
  • Maria Schneider
  • Wayne Shorter
  • Steely Dan
  • David T. Walker
  • Weather Report
  • Stevie Wonder


  • Please email me if you have any comments or questions!
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