Masahide Tokunaga

Masahide Tokunaga (born 1982 in Yamaguchi) is a Japanese alto saxophonist and improviser based in Tokyo. His playing is built on long tones, the lowest notes of the alto and their overtones, worked into slow, concentrated pieces with a strong sense of restraint. He is a regular presence at the Tokyo venue Ftarri, where he often organises concerts. Tokunaga started on a used alto saxophone as a teenager and later studied saxophone and jazz theory with Naruyoshi Kikuchi. In 2003 he appeared on the compilation Improvised Music from Japan Extra 2003.