who is tak?
Tak Arikushi plays Gypsy-jazz music with a Japanese twist: he fuses the red-hot swing rhythms of Django Reinhardt with rhapsodic Japanese melodies both traditional and contemporary. The music is an exploration of the crossroads of Franco-American jazz and Japanese culture, and the historic exchange between the two. His accolades include sharing the stage with Gypsy-jazz giant Stephane Wrembel, featuring on the soundtrack of top-selling video game Cuphead: Delicious Last Course, and being band of choice for Rush bassist Geddy Lee’s family event. Inventive arrangements with the acoustic string-swing instrumentation are played with virtuosity and passion for a sound that will have you tapping your toe and simultaneously contemplating zen.
Collaborations
In between leading his own projects, Tak keeps busily involved in the Toronto jazz scene and beyond. He is often called upon to accompany swing bands, vocalists, and his many friends in the locale with his infectiously toe-tapping rhythm guitar as well as featuring his fiery lead work. Not one to box himself in any one genre, he also collaborates outside of the jazz idiom. Some of his past and present collaborators include:
- Debi Botos
- Annabelle Chvostek
- Miranda Mulholland
- Drew Jurecka
- Kalya Ramu
- Denielle Bassels
- Kelly Clipperton
- Michael Louis-Johnson and his Red Rhythm
- Mike T. Kerr
- Donovan Locke
- Charlotte McAfee-Brunner
- Karina Muhir
- Chris Bezant
- Taylor Maslin
- Max Simpson
- Paul Callander
- The Savoy Band
- Nathan Beja (Viper's Cloud)
- Corry Ouellette (The Lounge Academy/Sonny Balcones)
- …and many more!
Career highlights
- Markham Jazz Festival (2021)
- Duo performance with Stephane Wrembel (2019)
- Collaboration on Dear Canada, Letters from the Second World War (2022)
- Radio airplay on multiple shows on CBC Radio featuring his single Sakura Swing
- Session musician for soundtrack of best-selling video game Cuphead: Delicious Last Course
- Muskoka Music Festival (2022)