“If it’s possible for a drum kit to ask awkward questions, Toyozumi seems to be doing it” – The Wire.

Sabu Toyozumi is one of the world’s great improvising drummers. During a career spanning five decades he has worked with a huge array of musicians from around the globe, from jazz icon Charles Mingus to Japanese noise maverick Keiji Haino. Emerging in the late ‘60s with other notable pioneers of free music in Japan, Kaoru Abe and Masayuki Takayanagi, Sabu Toyozumi has developed a unique approach to the drum kit. A devotee to the way of Zen master Watazumido, Toyozumi’s playing is equal parts discipline and freedom.

Sabu’s collaborations since the 1970s reads like a who’s-who of free jazz and improvised music: Derek Bailey, Sunny Murray, Peter Brotzmann, Otomo Yoshihide, Alan Silva, John Zorn, Fred Frith, Misha Mengelberg, Evan Parker, John Russell, Peter Kowald, Barre Philips, Arthur Doyle, Fred Van Hove and many others. He has also worked with Japanese underground psych legends Hijokaidan and Les Rallizes Dénudés, and is a regular collaborator with the mysterious master of Japanese free noise, Keiji Haino.

In March, Toyozumi will tour Aotearoa with a quartet featuring Jeff Henderson (saxophone), Tom Callwood (bass) and Daniel Beban (guitar).

Wednesday 15 March, Wine Cellar (Auckland)
Thursday 16 March, Common Room (Hastings)
Friday 17 March, Pyramid Club (Wellington)
Saturday 18 March, Pyramid Club (Wellington)
Wednesday 22 March, None Gallery (Dunedin)
Thursday 23 March, Darkroom (Christchurch)
Friday 24 March, Tim’s Place (Marahau)
Saturday 25 March, Dharma Bum’s Club (Wairau Valley)

Door sales only in Hastings, Marahau and Wairau.
Presale tickets available for Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin and Christchurch from Under The Radar.