Toku (styled TOKU) is a Japanese jazz musician from Niigata Prefecture, Japan. In addition to being one of the few professional jazz vocalists and flugelhorn players in Japan, he is known for promoting jazz in Japan and bringing elements of the genre into J-pop through collaborations with other artists. He has worked with clammbon, Miki Imai, Maki Oguro, Yuji Ohno, Mariko Takahashi, Ken Hirai, DOUBLE, m-flo, and Exile. Toku was born on February 20, 1973, in Niigata Prefecture. Under his father's influence, Toku grew up enjoying all kinds of music. During junior high school Toku began to learn to play the cornet, and in the following years he picked up the trumpet and flugel horn as well. In high school, Toku was in a cover band, playing mainly rock and pop songs, which he continued to be a part of into college. At a campus festival, a jazz drummer heard Toku play Miles Davis' version of If I Were a Bell. He was later invited to a jam session with the drummer where he became inspired to pursue jazz. In his junior year of college, he moved to the United States to learn English at Tokyo International University in Oregon. There, Toku played in a band with his roommate, a jazz pianist. More information...
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