DISCOVER: TAKUYA KURODA
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It’s a rainy January day in Brooklyn, and Takuya Kuroda has been afforded a brief respite from his packed schedule. With space to think, he gets to reminiscing. “It’s funny: I’ll still get DMs saying ‘I love your song! It’s so fresh!’” the trumpeter says, referring to the version of Roy Ayers Ubiquity track “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” that he reimagined alongside vocalist Jose James. “I’m like ‘It’s not my song! … It’s amazing that my arrangement of that song can open so many doors for people.”
Kuroda is far from nostalgic. Miles Davis, one of his significant trumpet influences alongside Clifford Brown and Freddie Hubbard, once said, “If anyone wants to keep creating, they have to be about change.” That mindset has also been at the forefront of Kuroda’s creative output over his nearly two-decade career as a bandleader, composer, side man and more.
But on this occasion, he’s got good reason to reflect. 2024 marks the 10th anniversary of Rising Son, the 2014 album he released on Blue Note that garnered him vast notoriety in the jazz world and made him the first-ever Japanese artist to cut a record for the label. It’s also being reissued on vinyl for the first time since its original pressing (which now goes for upwards of $500 on Discogs), as he regained the rights to the album after Blue Note’s 10-year exclusivity period on it expired.
Across the eight-track project, which includes the aforementioned “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” cover, Kuroda established himself as a force to be reckoned with. He expertly stirs his various influences, from growing up as a jazz-obsessed teen in Ashiya, Japan to his move to New York City for jazz studies at The New School – a period eventually landing him in both James’ band and the Brooklyn Afrobeat collective Akoya. His crisp, light-but-not-airy trumpet playing both soars above and weaves itself through everything, including the sizzling hip-hop drums of “Piri Piri,” the sweet, soulful feel of “Green and Gold” (a second Ayers cover) and the Afrobeat-inflicted rhythms of “Afro Blue.”
The record hit #1 on Japan’s jazz charts upon release, and “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” has since become an algorithm darling, currently sitting at almost 23 million plays on Spotify and 15 million views on YouTube. It’s even been remixed as a bonus track for Rising Son‘s anniversary edition, with Joe Armon-Jones of Ezra Collective fame putting his twist on it, alongside drum patterns from Morgan Simpson. “I’m immensely proud to have been asked to do this remix,” Armon-Jones told Hypebeast. “Takuya is a legend, and he and Jose’s take on this track is an absolute classic.”
A lot’s changed for Kuroda, both personally and professionally, since Rising Son debuted. He’s released three more albums (2016’s Zigzagger, 2020’s Fly Moon Die Soon and 2022’s Midnight Crisp), served as the lead trumpeter for DJ Premier’s Badder Band, and composed, produced and written arrangements for many other artists. Though he’s always looking ahead — just like Miles — Kuroda wasn’t opposed to pausing his pursuit of new sounds to reflect on Rising Son, its influence and impact, and his winding creative path since then. “The [musical] journey is never an easy one, but the easy path usually isn’t worth walking,” he says.
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