Genzo Okabe: “In the ‘Okabe Family’ project, including this album, I have been creating music by relying only on my own sensibilities for about 10 years, without being caught up in what is authentic or what is progress. Whether it’s real jazz or not, it’s not a problem at all from my personal point of view. Create something voluntarily and throw it into a global platform.
Then, if someone somewhere in the world reacts in any way, a new movement will come out. I hope that localization will bring artists to make new communities in the sense of musical interest rather than national or geographic framework, and a variety of music as many dialects enrich our entire society.”
Born in Tokyo, Genzo moved to Italy at the age of twenty, where he studied classical saxophone at the Conservatorio di Musica di Perugia and jazz saxophone at the Conservatorio di Musica “Santa Cecilia” di Roma. Moving to the Netherlands, he founded the Okabe Family in 2009. In his first album as a leader, Okabe Family (OAP Records, 2013), he demonstrated his insights in composition and arrangements as well as his creativity. His polished skill of performance was presented both in the Netherlands and through the Band’s first Japan tour. In 2014 Genzo accomplished his master’s degree in Jazz Saxophone at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague.
