JAZZPROFILES lives in the music 1,765 Jazz Artists fully Profiled! Hajime Yoshizawa
Last updated October 21, 2026
Hajime Yoshizawa on the cover of Japan (Village Again, 2008). Album artwork, shown for identification; not Creative Commons. Standard copyright, all rights reserved, held by Village Again Association Co., Ltd. This is not a Creative Commons or public-domain image; it is an album cover shown as an honestly disclosed editorial identification image. — https://music.apple.com/jp/album/japan/286253148
Hajime Yoshizawa (吉澤はじめ) is a Tokyo-born pianist and keyboardist whose career runs on two tracks that rarely meet in one musician's catalogue. He is an acoustic jazz pianist who made his first record in New York with a rhythm section of the highest rank, and he is one of the producers and players who shaped Japan's club-jazz sound of the late 1990s and 2000s. This profile covers both, because a large part of his output is dance-floor and studio work rather than straight-ahead jazz, and a reader should know that going in.
He was born in 1965. Japanese Wikipedia lists his mother as the former voice actress Nobuko Maki, his brother Koichi as a playwright and director and his sister Kyoko as a pianist, and it names the American drummer Peter Erskine as his uncle. His NTS Radio biography says he began working as a jazz pianist at 18.
The first record is the clearest statement of the jazz side. Hajime was recorded on September 21, 1990, at Skyline Studios in New York, with Marc Johnson on bass, Erskine on drums and as producer, John Abercrombie on guitar and Bob Mintzer on tenor saxophone. Its eleven tracks mix originals with "Yesterdays," "Stardust" and "Autumn in New York." It came out in 1991 on the Ah Um label and was reissued by Village Again in 2006; Discogs files it under Post Bop and contemporary jazz.
Back in Tokyo he moved into the city's club scene. In 1993 he became an early member of Mondo Grosso, the club-music project led by Shinichi Osawa, and Discogs credits him on piano, Rhodes and clavinet on the 1993 album Marble. Through the mid-1990s he played keyboards on records by the singer Monday Michiru, from Jazz Brat (1995) to Yellow Bird (1999), and in 1997 he produced the singer ACO and the pop singer Yoko Oginome. After leaving Mondo Grosso he joined Cosmic Village in 1997, a group that included Shuya Okino, whose Especial Records would release much of Yoshizawa's club-era work. Japanese Wikipedia adds production work for the singer Bird and music for television commercials for Morinaga Milk's Cafe Latte and for Parco.
In 2000 he made Violet Lounge, his first club-era album under his own name, playing piano, keyboards and vocals, producing it himself and recording it with the bassist Yasushi Yoneki and the drummer Cecil Monroe. He formed the quartet Sleep Walker with the saxophonist Masato Nakamura, the bassist Kiyoshi Ikeda and the drummer Nobuaki Fujii; the group's first 12 inch came out in 2000, and Tower Records Japan's 2003 profile of the band dates its formation to 1997. Sleep Walker played acoustic, modal, spiritual-jazz-influenced music for dance floors and jazz rooms alike. Their first album appeared on Especial in 2003, followed in 2006 by The Voyage, which the group's biography says won Domestic Club/Dance Album of the Year at the ADLIB Awards, and in 2007 by Works. The same biography says they played four nights at the Jazz Cafe in London with Pharoah Sanders in 2003, and the 2004 single "The Voyage" is billed as featuring Sanders. A Japanese blog review from June 2007 called the Sanders track the standout of The Voyage and said the band, despite the club label, sounds like straightforward jazz without heavy dance rhythms. The quartet was listed on the programme of the North Sea Jazz Festival on July 15, 2007.
His own records in these years leaned electronic. "I Am With You" (Especial, 2002) became a Japanese club hit featured in a prominent advertisement, and its parent album Hajime Yoshizawa (Universal, 2002) gathered his Especial singles with new material. Music From The Edge Of The Universe (Geneon, 2005) is a sixteen-track set of vocal and instrumental future jazz with singers including Akiko, Nina Miranda, Vanessa Freeman and Bird, and with Jason Yarde on saxophone on "Waltz For Jason"; the remix album Echo From Another Side Of The Universe followed in 2006 with reworkings by Da Lata, Domu, DJ Kawasaki, Kyoto Jazz Massive and Calm. During the same years he also worked with the producer Nicola Conte, adding Fender Rhodes to the Kyoto Jazz Massive remix of Conte's "The In Samba" (2000), and he arranged, produced and played on four tracks of Akiko's Mood Indigo (2004).
The acoustic side returned on record in 2008. Japan (Village Again, August 2008) is a thirteen-track album that Discogs tags modal jazz, with guest vocals from Navasha Daya, Shanti and Akiko. Innocent Nocturne was recorded on February 28 and 29, 2008, and released that December: a piano trio session with Peter Erskine on drums and as co-producer and Dave Carpenter on bass, produced by Yoshizawa, with Shuya Okino and Takeshi Matamura as executive producers. Inner Illusions (2014) went back to jazz-dance and broken-beat territory.
In 2017 he released two records that sit squarely in jazz. 8∞8 (Infini-eighty) is described by Japanese Wikipedia as his first solo piano album, and its sleeve says "solo piano"; Apple Music lists it as 43 pieces running 2 hours 23 minutes. Double Moon, recorded in August 2016 for Village Again, is an acoustic quintet date with the veteran tenor saxophonist Takao Uematsu and the tenor saxophonist Tomoki Sanders, with the bassist Yoshihito "P" Koizumi and the drummer Masanori Amakura. Its repertoire reaches for the spiritual-jazz songbook that Sleep Walker had loved: "My Favorite Things," the Pharoah Sanders and Leon Thomas piece "The Creator Has a Master Plan," a track called "The Voyage" (the name of Sleep Walker's 2004 single and 2006 album) and Uematsu's "White Fire." Sora (2021) is filed by Apple Music as electronic.
After Sleep Walker, Japanese Wikipedia says, he worked in a group called 世界逸産 with three other musicians and led his own trio, BOOT. It adds that he formed another band in 2018 which is still active.
Yoshizawa is a borderline case on the question of what he is, and he is best taken on those terms. On one side are the 1990 New York session, the piano trio of Innocent Nocturne, the solo piano of 8∞8 and the quintet of Double Moon, which Discogs tags as Post Bop, Modal and Jazz. On the other are club productions, remixes, advertising music and electronic albums that Discogs tags as Future Jazz, Broken Beat and Jazzdance, and that account for most of his roughly 300 Discogs credits. He belongs to the Japanese nu-jazz and club-jazz movement around Kyoto Jazz Massive and Especial Records, in which jazz harmony and improvisation sit inside dance-floor grooves, and Sleep Walker is the group where the two halves meet most directly.
Sleep Walker's own biography describes its sound as fat bass, heavy percussion, a saxophone influenced by spiritual jazz and free piano improvisation, and Discogs tags its records Modal, Soul-Jazz and Fusion. On The Voyage Yoshizawa is credited as composer, pianist and Mini-Moog player, and on Works he adds Fender Rhodes, which is the thread that links his club work to his piano records. The repertoire of Double Moon names its sources directly: a Coltrane-associated standard and Pharoah Sanders's own writing.
- Hajime (1991, Ah Um; reissued by Village Again, 2006) - Recorded in New York in September 1990 with Marc Johnson, Peter Erskine, John Abercrombie and Bob Mintzer. Apple Music - Hajime (2006 reissue) · YouTube - full album Listen · Buy
- Sleepwalker (2003, Especial, as Sleep Walker) - The quartet's debut. YouTube - Ai-No-Kawa Listen
- Music From The Edge Of The Universe (2005, Geneon) - A sixteen-track club-jazz album with vocal guests including Akiko, Nina Miranda and Vanessa Freeman. YouTube - full album (fan upload) Listen · Buy
- The Voyage (2006, as Sleep Walker) - Quartet album; the title track features Pharoah Sanders. Apple Music - The Voyage · YouTube - The Voyage feat. Pharoah Sanders Listen
- Japan (2008, Village Again) - Thirteen tracks with vocal guests. Apple Music - Japan · YouTube - Seeds of Spring feat. Akiko Listen · Buy
- Innocent Nocturne (2008, Village Again) - Piano trio with Peter Erskine and Dave Carpenter. Apple Music - Innocent Nocturne · YouTube - full album (fan upload) Listen · Buy
- 8∞8 (Infini-eighty) (2017) - Solo piano. Apple Music - 8∞8 · YouTube - Tiny Poetry Listen · Buy
- Double Moon (2017, Village Again) - Acoustic quintet with Takao Uematsu. Apple Music - Double Moon · YouTube - Double Moon Listen · Buy
Hajime Yoshizawa (吉澤はじめ) - Full Discography
Japanese pianist and keyboardist, born 1965 in Tokyo. Discogs artist 8183. Jazz leader releases are listed first, then club-era and electronic releases, co-billed and group releases, and a chronological list of sideman, production and remix credits.
Name variations on record: Hajime, H. Yoshizawa, Yoshizawa Hajime, Hajime Yoshizawa (Cosmic Village), Hajime Yoshizawa (Sleep Walker), 吉澤はじめ, 吉沢 朔. Birth name Saku Yoshizawa (吉澤 朔).
Aliases and groups: Electric Sheep, Bossa Free, fjo, Botchan; Sleep Walker, Cosmic Village, Big Wrong, The Paradox Band, The Namamida Brothers, Mantasa. Japanese Wikipedia also lists Mondo Grosso (from 1993), 世界逸産 and the trio BOOT.
Leader (own-name albums)
| Album | Year | Label | Personnel | Notes | Listen | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hajime | 1991 | Ah Um, ah um 008 (CD); Village Again, VIA-0045 (reissue, 8 November 2006) | Hajime Yoshizawa (piano), Marc Johnson (bass), Peter Erskine (drums, producer), John Abercrombie (guitar), Bob Mintzer (tenor saxophone) | Eleven tracks: "Bless Me With Your Breath," "Beyond Twilight," "Yesterdays," "Snake Dance," "Stardust," "Love Letters," "September Air," "Tropic Of Cancer," "Voyage," "Peatan's Blues," "Autumn In New York + Spring Cadenza." Recorded 21 September 1990 at Skyline Studios, New York; engineer James Farber. | Apple Music (2006 reissue) · YouTube, full album | Amazon |
| Violet Lounge | 2000 | Imperial Records, TECI-1011 (Japan, 22 November 2000); Solaria (CD and LP, 2001) | Hajime Yoshizawa (piano, keyboards, vocals, producer), Yasushi Yoneki (bass), Cecil Monroe (drums), Tomomi Ito (vocals) | Eleven tracks from "Siesta" to "White Dawn," including "Time Worn (Tribute To Tamio Kawabata)." Discogs files it as electronic and jazz (fusion, future jazz). | not found | Amazon |
| Hajime Yoshizawa | 2002 | Universal, UICZ-3010 | Hajime Yoshizawa | Fifteen tracks gathering his Especial 12-inch singles ("I Am With You," "Endless Bow," "Secret Flight," "Shadow Man") with new material. Liner notes by Minoru Wakasugi and Mitsuru Ogawa. Discogs: future jazz, jazzdance. | not found | Amazon |
| Music From The Edge Of The Universe | 2005 | Geneon, GNCL-1028 (7 September 2005) | Hajime Yoshizawa with vocal guests Akiko ("Rise Me Up"), Nina Miranda, Vanessa Freeman, Bird, Face, Catia, Amadori and Ria, and Jason Yarde (saxophone, "Waltz For Jason") | Sixteen tracks. A 12-inch sampler followed on Especial Records. Discogs: electronic, future jazz, broken beat. | YouTube, full album (fan upload) | Amazon |
| Echo From Another Side Of The Universe | 2006 | Geneon, GNCL-1065 (7 June 2006) | Remixes by Da Lata, Yukihiro Fukutomi, Domu, DJ Kawasaki, Kyoto Jazz Massive and Calm | Remix album of the 2005 record, ten tracks, with an Especial 12-inch sampler. | not found | Amazon |
| Japan | 2008 | Village Again, VIA-0070 (13 August 2008) | Hajime Yoshizawa (piano); vocal guests Navasha Daya, Shanti and Akiko | Thirteen tracks: "Open Door," "Time," "Yoake-Dawn," "Home," "Aska," "Eastern Step," "Celebration," "Satellite Dancer," "Rain...," "May," "The Seeds Of Spring," "Bristlecone Pine," "The Color Of Peace." Discogs: jazz (modal). | Apple Music · YouTube, Seeds of Spring feat. Akiko | Amazon |
| Innocent Nocturne | 2008 | Village Again, VIA-0073 (10 December 2008) | Hajime Yoshizawa (piano, producer), Dave Carpenter (bass), Peter Erskine (drums, co-producer) | Nine tracks: "Song To Remember," "May," "Jekyll & Hyde," "Eastern Step," "Siesta," "Thursday," "Cat Chat Poh," "Summer Backyard," "Shukaku No Toki." Recorded 28 and 29 February 2008; engineer Rich Breen; executive producers Shuya Okino and Takeshi Matamura; liner notes by Mitsuru Ogawa. | Apple Music · YouTube, full album (fan upload) | Amazon |
| Inner Illusions | 2014 | Village Again, ZLCP 0178 (17 September 2014) | Hajime Yoshizawa | Fifteen tracks from "Tower Of Water" to "Aozora." Discogs: electronic and jazz (modal, future jazz, jazzdance, broken beat). | Apple Music · YouTube, Tower of Water | Amazon |
| 8∞8 (Infini-eighty) | 2017 | VAA (Village Again Association), released 26 July 2017 | Hajime Yoshizawa (solo piano) | 43 pieces, 2 hours 23 minutes; the sleeve reads "solo piano." Japanese Wikipedia calls it his first solo piano album. | Apple Music · YouTube, Tiny Poetry | Amazon |
| Double Moon | 2017 | Village Again Association, ZLCP-0318 (Apple Music release date 18 October 2017) | Hajime Yoshizawa (piano, percussion, producer), Takao Uematsu (tenor saxophone, tracks 1, 3, 4, 5), Tomoki Sanders (tenor saxophone, percussion), Yoshihito "P" Koizumi (bass), Masanori Amakura (drums) | Six tracks: "The Voyage," "My Favorite Things," "Double Moon," "White Fire," "The Creator Has A Master Plan," "Minna No Jazz." Recorded August 2016. Discogs: jazz (post bop, contemporary jazz, future jazz). | Apple Music · YouTube, Double Moon | Amazon |
| Sora | 2021 | Self-released (rights held by the artist), released 27 December 2021 | Hajime Yoshizawa | Fourteen tracks, 1 hour 1 minute. Apple Music files it as electronic. | Apple Music | not found |
Singles, EPs and samplers under his own name
| Release | Year | Label | Notes | Listen | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Endless Bow (12-inch) | 2001 | Especial Records | Also issued as a split acetate with Oba Funke ("Buttamilk / Endless Bow"). | not found | not found |
| Secret Flight (12-inch) | 2001 | Especial Records, ESP-002 (January 2001) | Original Mix, West Tokyo Mix and two remixes by Pavel Kostiuck. | not found | not found |
| I Am With You (12-inch) | 2002 | Especial Records, ESP-004 (May 2002) | Main Mix, "Shadow Man" and Radio Edit. A CD single followed on Universal Music K.K. and a remix 12-inch credited with Chris Franck and Nina Miranda. Discogs release notes call it a major Japanese hit featured in a prominent advertisement. | not found | not found |
| Verao No Ar (12-inch and CD maxi-single) | 2004 | Especial Records; Extra Freedom (CD) | Discogs also lists a separate "European Edition Volume 1" 12-inch from the same year. | not found | not found |
| Music From The Edge Of The Universe Sampler (12-inch) | 2005 | Especial Records | EP sampler for the 2005 album. | not found | not found |
| Waltz For Jason (promo CD single) | 2005 | Geneon Entertainment | Limited edition promotional single. | not found | not found |
| Echo From The Other Side Of The Universe Sampler (12-inch) | 2006 | Especial Records | Sampler for the 2006 remix album. | not found | not found |
| Sweet Way (Moog Solo Version) (promo CD) | 2006 | Geneon | Promotional sampler. | not found | not found |
| Japan Album Sampler EP (12-inch) | 2008 | Especial Records | Sampler for Japan. | not found | not found |
| Special Sampler (CDr) | 2008 | Self-released | Promotional CDr. | not found | not found |
Co-leader and split releases
| Release | Year | Label | Co-billed with | Notes | Listen | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 深海伝説マーメノイド オリジナル・サウンドトラック (An Animation Film Meremanoid Original Soundtrack) | 1998 | Sony Records | Tatsuya Murayama | Film soundtrack, CD. | not found | not found |
| Banana Connection 1 (12-inch) | 2003 | Rambling Records | GoRo | Split 12-inch. | not found | not found |
| Buttamilk / Endless Bow (acetate) | undated | Not on label | Oba Funke | 10-inch acetate. | not found | not found |
Sleep Walker (group releases)
Group members on record: Masato Nakamura (saxophone, flute), Hajime Yoshizawa (piano, keyboards), Kiyoshi Ikeda and Tomokazu Sugimoto (bass), Nobuaki Fujii (drums). Discogs group entity 5494.
| Release | Year | Label | Notes | Listen | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep Walker EP (12-inch, promo) | 1998 | Especial Records | Earliest Discogs listing for the group. | not found | not found |
| Ai-No-Kawa (12-inch) | 2000 | Especial Records | The 12-inch pairs a Sleep Walker track with a Yoshizawa solo track; Discogs describes both as straight jazz. | YouTube, Ai-No-Kawa | not found |
| Sleepwalker (LP) | 2003 | Especial Records, ESP-007 (February 2003) | Eight tracks: "Ai-No-Kawa," "Five," "Ai-No-Umi," "Time Voyager," "Ressurection," "Nomadic Tribe," "Life Is Theatre," "Elina." Executive producer Shuya Okino; produced by Kyoto Jazz Massive and Sleep Walker. Discogs: jazz (contemporary, fusion, future jazz, modal, soul-jazz). | YouTube, Ai-No-Kawa | Amazon |
| The Voyage / Into The Sun (12-inch) | 2004 | Especial Records, ESP-010 (July 2004) | The single billed with Pharoah Sanders on "The Voyage." | YouTube, The Voyage feat. Pharoah Sanders | not found |
| River Of Love (12-inch) | 2005 | Especial Records | Vocal by Bembe Segue (the sleeve of Works credits Yukimi Nagano in error, per Discogs). | not found | not found |
| The Voyage (album) | 2006 | Especial Records, ESP-023 (LP); Village Again (CD, 19 July 2006 on Apple Music) | LP tracks: "Ai-No-Tabi," "Kaze," "Afloat," "The Southern Cross," "Lost In Blue." Yoshizawa credited on piano, Mini-Moog and as writer; Kiyoshi Ikeda (bass), Nobuaki Fujii (drums), Masato Nakamura (tenor and soprano saxophone, flute). Discogs: jazz (soul-jazz, modal, fusion). | Apple Music · YouTube, The Voyage feat. Pharoah Sanders | Amazon |
| Works (album) | 2007 | Village Again, VIA-0060 (6 June 2007) | Nine tracks, including "Wind" with Yukimi Nagano, "River Of Love" with Bembe Segue and remixes. Yoshizawa on piano, Fender Rhodes and keyboards. Executive producer Takeshi Matamura; producers Shuya Okino and Sleep Walker. | Apple Music · YouTube, Wind | Amazon |
| "United Legends" Replayed By Sleep Walker (2CD) | 2007 | Geneon | Credited to Shuya Okino and Sleep Walker; an EP followed with vocalist Navasha. | not found | not found |
| Brotherhood (12-inch) | 2008 | Jazzmin Records | not found | not found | |
| Into The Sun / Wind (7-inch) | 2023 | Kawasaki Records / Especial Records | Reissue single. | not found | not found |
Sideman, production, remix and compilation credits
Chronological list of the other credits Discogs attaches to Hajime Yoshizawa. Credits confirmed at track or release level in the release credits are marked with the role. All others are "credited appearance," meaning the release credits or track list names him but gives no instrument or role.
- undated - Kyoto Jazz Massive - Spiridom (Not On Label) - credited appearance
- undated - Various - Blue Note Revisited (Blue Note, Capitol Records) - credited appearance
- 1993 - Clémentine - Long Courrier - credited appearance
- 1993 - Mondo Grosso - Marble - piano, electric piano (Rhodes), clavinet (Mondo Grosso, Marble)
- 1993 - Mondo Grosso - Mondo Grosso Etc. - credited appearance
- 1994 - Various - Brownswood Workshop: Multidirection - producer, credited appearance
- 1994 - Various - Kyoto Jazz Massive - producer, credited appearance
- 1994 - Various - The Rebirth Of Cool Volume 2 - credited appearance
- 1994 - Various - Totally Wired Eleven - credited appearance
- 1995 - Monday Michiru - Jazz Brat - keyboards (tracks 1 and 6)
- 1995 - Monday Michiru - Sunshine After The Rain - keyboards (track 4)
- 1995 - Mondo Grosso - Born Free - credited appearance
- 1995 - Mondo Grosso - Invisible Man - credited appearance
- 1995 - Mondo Grosso - Pieces From The Editing Floor - credited appearance
- 1995 - Mondo Grosso - Souffles H - credited appearance
- 1995 - Mondo Grosso - The European Expedition - credited appearance
- 1995 - Yasuko Matsuyuki - Pray (Polydor) - credited appearance
- 1996 - Clémentine - À Suivre...
The Very Best Of Clémentine- credited appearance - 1996 - House Foundation - Step Into My Life (Love Lite) - credited appearance
- 1996 - Monday Michiru Featuring The Paradox Band - Delicious Poison - keyboards
- 1996 - Mondo Grosso - Diggin' Into The Real - credited appearance
- 1996 - Mondo Grosso - Do You See What I See - credited appearance
- 1996 - Sakai Shun* And The NAmAMIDA Brothers - Kaimono Boogie (SS Label) - credited appearance
- 1997 - ACO - 揺れる体温 - producer, arranger, sound producer (A1, TYO Mix)
- 1997 - Chara - Junior Sweet - credited appearance
- 1997 - Mondo Grosso - Closer - co-producer, credited appearance
- 1997 - Yoko Oginome - Chains - producer (Yoko Oginome, Chains)
- 1997 - Yoko Oginome - Make It On My Own - credited appearance
- 1998 - ACO - Lady Soul
Limited Edition(Ki/oon) - producer - 1998 - Aco - やわらかい肌 (Ki/oon) - credited appearance
- 1998 - Cosmic Village - Rydeen (Club Edge Limited Mix) (Alfa) - producer, credited appearance
- 1998 - Monday Michiru - Double Image - electric piano (tracks 1 and 2)
- 1998 - Sleep Walker - Sleep Walker EP (Especial Records) - credited appearance
- 1998 - SR Smoothy - Inside Of You - credited appearance
- 1998 - United Future Organization - Now And Then - Years Of Lightning, Day Of Drums 1990-1997 - remix, credited appearance
- 1999 - Crue-L Grand Orchestra / SR Smoothy - Time & Days / Inside Of You (Disorient) - credited appearance
- 1999 - Monday Michiru - Yellow Bird - electric piano (Rhodes) and piano (track 2)
- 1999 - Sandra Cross - Dreamix Vol.1 - credited appearance
- 1999 - Various - Blue (Deejays Cool Cuts) (Fabulous Records, Blue Note) - credited appearance
- 1999 - Various - Blue (Deejays Cool Cuts) - credited appearance
- 1999 - Various - Bossa Mundo (...When Brazil Meets The World.) - credited appearance
- 1999 - Various - Bossa Très... Jazz (When Japan Meets Europe) - credited appearance
- 1999 - Yasushi Ide Presents Lonesome Echo Strings - Afro Blue - Purple Noon "Black & Blue" Remixes (House / Drum'N Bass... Selection) - credited appearance
- 2000 - ACO - The Other Side Of Absolute Ego - credited appearance
- 2000 - Friends From Rio - Misturada 4 - credited appearance
- 2000 - Kyoto Jazz Massive - Crossbreed - A Collection Of Futuristic Fusion - remix
- 2000 - Kyoto Jazz Massive - Eclipse / Silent Messenger - credited appearance
- 2000 - Kyoto Jazz Massive - Nacer Do Sol - credited appearance
- 2000 - Les Gammas - Guauanco (Remixes) - credited appearance
- 2000 - Mondo Grosso - Best Remixes - credited appearance
- 2000 - Nicola Conte - Bossa Per Due / The In Samba - Fender Rhodes (track B)
- 2000 - Shinichi Osawa - Sakurahills Disco 3000 - credited appearance
- 2000 - Sleep Walker - Ai-No-Kawa (Especial Records) - credited appearance
- 2000 - Two Faith - Two Faith (Faith Records) - credited appearance
- 2000 - Various - Glücklich IV (A Collection Of Brazilian Flavours From The Past And The Present) - co-producer, credited appearance
- 2000 - Various - More Bossa... Remix Album - credited appearance
- 2000 - Various - Musikexpress 47 - Compost Records - credited appearance
- 2000 - Various - Off-Centre: A Riot On Old Street - mixing
- 2000 - Various - Paradisiac 2 - credited appearance
- 2000 - Various - Warp Factor 3 (The Final Frontier) - credited appearance
- 2000 - Yasushi Ide Presents Lonesome Echo Strings - Meets The World - credited appearance
- 2001 - Akiko - Upstream - remix, additional piano, programming and mixing (track 3, "Lupin The Third")
- 2001 - Ananda Project* - :Re-Release - credited appearance
- 2001 - Ananda Project* - Bahia / Expand Your Mind (Nite Grooves) - credited appearance
- 2001 - Cosmic Village - Mixt Generations - credited appearance
- 2001 - Cosmic Village - T.B.D. (For Life Records) - credited appearance
- 2001 - Cosmic Village - T.B.D. / WYG² - credited appearance
- 2001 - Fauna Flash - Confusion (The Fusion Mixes) - credited appearance
- 2001 - Jazzanova - Reworks From Japan - credited appearance
- 2001 - Kyoto Jazz Massive - K.J.M. E.P. - co-producer, credited appearance
- 2001 - Kyoto Jazz Massive - Substream - co-producer, credited appearance
- 2001 - Minus 8 - Science Fiction Jazz Volume Six - credited appearance, track appearance, unofficial release
- 2001 - OrganLanguage* - OrganLanguage EP1 - credited appearance
- 2001 - Soul Bossa Trio - Best Remixes 1993-2000: Time And Tide (Wildjumbo, Tokuma Japan Communications) - credited appearance
- 2001 - Square One - Mugshot - remix, credited appearance
- 2001 - Various - Bar Lounge Classics (Volume 1) - credited appearance
- 2001 - Various - Compost One Hundred - producer, credited appearance
- 2001 - Various - Dig It One (Compost Records, Jazzanova Compost Records (JCR)) - credited appearance
- 2001 - Various - Free Ways (Le Shop Paris, Gratitude Recordings) - remix
- 2001 - Various - Soul Scramble: Tribute Collaboration Album - credited appearance
- 2001 - Various - Transatlantic Audio Volume 2 (Dynamite Joint Recordings) - track appearance
- 2002 - Big Bang - Arriving Soon - credited appearance
- 2002 - Da Lata - Golden (Palm Pictures) - credited appearance
- 2002 - Dad D - Определенная Эстетика - Downtempo & Lounge Essentials (H8records) - track appearance
- 2002 - DJ Spinna - Fueled For The Future - co-producer
- 2002 - Electric Sheep - Tio Pepe Presents Electric Sheep (Tio Pepe) - producer
- 2002 - Jazzanova - In Between - credited appearance, unofficial release
- 2002 - Kankawa 122 - Greatful Remixers - mixing
- 2002 - Kyoto Jazz Massive - Mind Expansions EP - credited appearance
- 2002 - Kyoto Jazz Massive - Spirit Of The Sun - co-producer, credited appearance
- 2002 - Kyoto Jazz Massive - The Brightness Of These Days (Compost Records) - credited appearance
- 2002 - Miguel Migs - Nude Tempo One - track appearance, unofficial release
- 2002 - Momoe Shimano - Guest Re-control (DNA, Pony Canyon) - mixing
- 2002 - Nicola Conte - Jet Sounds Revisited - Fender Rhodes and Korg Triton (track 8)
- 2002 - Organ Language, Calm - Organ Language (Revirth) - credited appearance
- 2002 - OrganLanguage* - OrganLanguage - credited appearance
- 2002 - OrganLanguage* - OrganLanguage Plays Outer Tone - credited appearance
- 2002 - OrganLanguage* - OrganLanguage Re-Presents Calm's "East West" - credited appearance
- 2002 - Patrick Forge - PF02 - Eclectic (Trust The DJ) - track appearance
- 2002 - Various - Banana Connection (Rambling Records) - track appearance
- 2002 - Various - Elemental Chill - Volume 4: Water (Kriztal Entertainment) - credited appearance
- 2002 - Various - Groove Sanctuary - track appearance
- 2002 - Various - Music & Movement One - credited appearance, track appearance
- 2002 - Various - Music & Movement Two - credited appearance
- 2002 - Various - Other-Worldly Fusions (Hardware) - track appearance
- 2002 - Various - Phuturesole (Sole Music) - track appearance
- 2002 - Various - Phuturesole Ni (Sole Music) - track appearance
- 2002 - Various - Playlist (Dance And Urban) (HMV) - credited appearance
- 2002 - Various - Pure 3 (Be Natural) (Universal) - track appearance
- 2002 - Various - Rio Lounge - Bossa Nova & New Brazilian Vibes (Sony Music Catalog, Sony Music Catalog, Double Power) - credited appearance
- 2002 - Various - Unreleased Ichi (Disorient) - credited appearance
- 2002 - Various - Yellow Productions (Yellow Productions) - credited appearance
- 2003 - Incognito - Love X Love (Who Needs Love Remixes Part 2) - co-producer
- 2003 - Incognito - Love X Love (Who Needs Love Remixes) - co-producer
- 2003 - Jazzanova - Remixed - credited appearance
- 2003 - Jazzinho - Jazzinho - credited appearance
- 2003 - Jazzinho - Yambou - credited appearance
- 2003 - Kenji Jammer - Hula-Hula Dance 2 - Tokyo Modern Hawaiian (Uutwo Records) - credited appearance
- 2003 - Kenji Jammer - Hula-Hula Dance 2 EP (Uutwo Records) - credited appearance
- 2003 - Makoto - Human Elements - mixing, credited appearance
- 2003 - Makoto Feat. Cleveland Watkiss - Time - mixing, credited appearance
- 2003 - Nik Weston - Sakura Aural Bliss (Kriztal Entertainment) - credited appearance
- 2003 - Riviera - Five Remixes (Philter Records) - credited appearance
- 2003 - Sleep Walker - Sleepwalker - credited appearance
- 2003 - Various - Azul (Universal) - track appearance
- 2003 - Various - Bar Lounge Classics (DeluxEdition) (Sony Music Catalog, Sony Music Catalog) - credited appearance
- 2003 - Various - Bar Lounge Classics (Summer Edition) - credited appearance
- 2003 - Various - Be Arisionable - credited appearance, track appearance
- 2003 - Various - Club Classics (For Life Music Entertainment, Inc.) - credited appearance
- 2003 - Various - Cultures Mix - Culturas Mix 08/2003 (RFI Musique) - track appearance
- 2003 - Various - Fueled For The Future Vol. 1-5 (Compost Records) - credited appearance
- 2003 - Various - Glücklich Sampler - credited appearance
- 2003 - Various - Lounge Story 2 - track appearance
- 2003 - Various - The Room (10th Anniversary) - track appearance
- 2003 - Various - The Room - 10th Anniversary (Brown) (SAR) - credited appearance
- 2003 - Various - The Room - 10th Anniversary (Cream) (SAR) - track appearance
- 2003 - Various - The Room - 10th Anniversary (Olive) (SAR) - credited appearance
- 2003 - Various - Time 1 - Produced By Parliament (E-License) - mixing, credited appearance, track appearance
- 2003 - Various - Yellow Productions: Ten Years Of Music - credited appearance
- 2003 - Wagon Cookin' - Mar Remixes Part 1 - remix
- 2004 - Akiko - Mood Indigo = ムード・インディゴ - arranger, producer, piano and keyboards (tracks 1, 2, 5, 10)
- 2004 - Akiko - Mood Indigo E.P. (Verve Records) - arranger and mastering (B1, B2)
- 2004 - Jimpster - Selected Remixes 2000/2003 (Freerange Records) - track appearance
- 2004 - Mondo Grosso - Mix The Vibe: Street King EP Part 1 (Nite Grooves) - credited appearance
- 2004 - Riviera - Remixes (Philter Records) - credited appearance
- 2004 - Ryukyu Underground - Ryukyu Remixed - credited appearance
- 2004 - Sleepwalker* - The Voyage / Into The Sun - credited appearance
- 2004 - Swell Session & Ste Van B - Playground Vol.009 (From Gonkyburg With Love) - credited appearance, track appearance
- 2004 - Various - American Rag Cie Presents The Wedding Project (American Rag Cie) - credited appearance
- 2004 - Various - At Home In A Fragile State - credited appearance, unofficial release
- 2004 - Various - Blue Note Revisited - credited appearance
- 2004 - Various - European Edition Volume 2 - track appearance
- 2004 - Various - For KJM (Exclusive Tracks) (Quality! Records) - credited appearance
- 2004 - Various - For KJM EP 03 (Especial Distribution) - credited appearance
- 2004 - Various - Freedom Jazz Dance (Schema) - track appearance
- 2004 - Various - Smash Disco - credited appearance, track appearance, unofficial release
- 2004 - Various - Soul Source - Remixed Boogies (Fantasy, Prestige, Concord Records, Victor) - credited appearance
- 2004 - Various - Tokyo Lounge Vol.2 (Crown) - track appearance
- 2004 - Yukihiro Fukutomi - Equality (File Records) - credited appearance
- 2005 - Ananda Project* - Relight (EP 1) (Nite Grooves) - mixing, credited appearance
- 2005 - Fauna Flash - Worx - The Remixes - track appearance
- 2005 - Kyoto Jazz Massive - Special Edit KJM 10th (Quality! Records) - credited appearance
- 2005 - Sleep Walker - River Of Love - credited appearance
- 2005 - Stax Groove - Welcome To Sanctuary Blue (Planetgroove) - credited appearance
- 2005 - Tatsuo Sunaga - World Standard .05 - A Tatsuo Sunaga Live Mix (Flower Records) - track appearance
- 2005 - Toshio Matsuura / Shuya Okino - Hugo Boss: Tokyo (Rambling Records, Hugo Boss) - credited appearance
- 2005 - Various - Ambient Lounge 8 (Globe) - credited appearance
- 2005 - Various - Cafe Latte Presents - Music, Recipes & Wine Matching (Level Two Music) - track appearance
- 2005 - Various - Night Escape @ The Pool "Mai Tai" (Güt, For Life Records) - track appearance
- 2005 - Various - Tokyo Nu-School Of Jazz (Victor) - track appearance
- 2005 - Yukihiro Fukutomi - E.P. 2 - Equality (Pantone Music) - credited appearance
- 2005 - Yukihiro Fukutomi - Equality - credited appearance
- 2005 - Yukihiro Fukutomi - Road To Nowhere / Continuous Function (File Records) - credited appearance
- 2006 - Beni Arashiro - Girl 2 Lady - credited appearance
- 2006 - Big Bang - Essential Selection - credited appearance
- 2006 - Cecil Monroe - Kickin It (Not On Label) - credited appearance
- 2006 - Coco d'Or - Coco d'Or 2 - credited appearance
- 2006 - Coco d'Or, Hiroko Shimabukuro - Coco d'Or 2 (SM Entertainment Group) - credited appearance
- 2006 - Coldfeet - Bodychop (Avex Entertainment) - credited appearance
- 2006 - Coldfeet - Bodypop - credited appearance
- 2006 - Coldfeet - Bodypop / Bodychop (Avex Entertainment) - credited appearance
- 2006 - DJ Mitsu The Beats - The Excellence (Selected Works) (P-Vine Records) - credited appearance
- 2006 - Isabelle Antena - French Riviera - producer, credited appearance
- 2006 - Jazztronik - The Remixes Part: I - credited appearance
- 2006 - Kyoto Jazz Massive - 10th Anniversary - credited appearance, unofficial release
- 2006 - Sleep Walker - The Voyage - credited appearance
- 2006 - Various - Essence Of Especial (Universal Music) - track appearance
- 2006 - Various - Essence Of Especial (Exclusive Tracks EP) (Especial Records) - credited appearance
- 2006 - Various - Grand Gallery Presents Holiday (Grand Gallery) - credited appearance
- 2006 - Various - Home: For Comfortable Time (Village Again) - track appearance
- 2006 - Various - Wicked Jazz Sounds 2 (United Recordings) - credited appearance
- 2007 - Black Finger - From Shibuya With Love (Village Again) - track appearance
- 2007 - DJ Kawasaki - Beautiful Too (Columbia Music Entertainment) - track appearance
- 2007 - Nina Miranda & Chris Franck Present Zeep - Zeep - remix
- 2007 - Shuya Okino / Sleep Walker - "United Legends" Replayed By Sleep Walker (Geneon) - credited appearance
- 2007 - Shuya Okino / Sleep Walker Feat. Navasha Daya / Diviniti / Yukimi Nagano - "United Legends" Replayed By Sleep Walker EP. - credited appearance
- 2007 - Sleep Walker - Wind - credited appearance
- 2007 - Sleep Walker - Works - credited appearance
- 2007 - Tokio Integral Presents Various - Metropolitan Classics (Tokio Integral) - track appearance
- 2007 - Various - Freedom Time Presents Especial House (Columbia Music Entertainment) - track appearance
- 2007 - Various - Grand Gallery Presents: PM 9:00 (Grand Gallery) - track appearance
- 2007 - Various - Nouvelle Vague (Routine Records) - track appearance
- 2007 - Various - The Room Weekender - 15th Anniversary Special Edition (Pony Canyon Inc.) - track appearance
- 2008 - Nujabes - Modal Soul Classics (Hyde Out Productions) - credited appearance
- 2008 - Sleep Walker - Brotherhood (Jazzmin Records) - credited appearance
- 2008 - Sleep Walker - Into The Sun - credited appearance
- 2008 - Studio Apartment - The Rising Sun (Album Sampler) - credited appearance
- 2008 - Studio Apartment Feat. Monique Bingham - Found Him - credited appearance
- 2008 - Various - Departure - House/Crossover Collection (Geneon) - track appearance
- 2008 - Various - Neujazz - track appearance
- 2008 - Various - Quality Covers (Especial Records) - track appearance
- 2009 - Kyoto Jazz Massive - So Especial (Unreleased And Exclusive Tracks) - track appearance
- 2009 - Shuya Okino - Music For Narita Airport - Compiled By Shuya Okino (Kyoto Jazz Massive) (Rambling Records) - credited appearance, track appearance
- 2009 - Various - Whisky Mode - A Collection Of Club Jazz, Crossover, Soulful House Classics (EWE Records) - track appearance
- 2010 - Shanti* - Born To Sing - producer, credited appearance
- 2010 - Studio Apartment - 2010 (New World Records) - credited appearance
- 2010 - Studio Apartment - Echo / M.A.Y. (Nervous Records) - credited appearance
- 2010 - Various - The Best Of The Lounge Area (Sony Music) - credited appearance
- 2012 - Orange Pekoe - Tribute To Elis Regina (Playwright) - credited appearance
- 2012 - Orange Pekoe - Tribute To Elis Regina - credited appearance
- 2012 - Shuya Okino As Black Finger - Queen Never Dies (Selective Records) - track appearance
- 2012 - Various, Shacho - JPJZ－Beautiful－Selected By Shacho (BBQ) - credited appearance
- 2014 - Various - Tokyo Crossover Night 2014 (Selective Records) - track appearance
- 2014 - Yasushi Ide - Laidback (Tartown, Tartown) - track appearance
- 2015 - Kyoto Jazz Sextet - Mission - credited appearance
- 2016 - Louie Vega - Louie Vega Starring...XXVIII - credited appearance
- 2016 - Louie Vega Starring Anané - Heaven Knows - mixing, credited appearance
- 2016 - Yosa - Manhattan Records Presents: City Hip Pop Mix (Manhattan Records) - credited appearance
- 2017 - Issei Igarashi - Ballads Of A Sullen Horn Man (Village Again) - credited appearance
- 2019 - Ikah Love* - Live 4.24.19 (Not On Label) - track appearance
- 2019 - Various - Modern Jazz Dance Classics Volume One - track appearance
- 2020 - ACO - 揺れる体温 / Inside My Love (Great Tracks) - credited appearance
- 2020 - Alex Attias - The Message (For You) (Visions Recordings) - credited appearance, track appearance
- 2020 - Colin Curtis - Jazz Dance Fusion Volume 2 - producer, credited appearance, track appearance
- 2020 - Joey Negro & Will Fox - Breaking The Beats (A Personal Selection Of West London Sounds) - track appearance
- 2021 - Aramaki Band - Force Of Nature (Owl Wing Record) - credited appearance
- 2021 - Mantasa - Mantasa - credited appearance
- 2021 - Mondo Grosso - Mondo Grosso Official Best - credited appearance
- 2022 - Alex Attias Presents El Mustang* - Two (Visions Recordings) - credited appearance
- 2023 - Mondo Grosso - Family (Hiroshi Fujiwara Remix - Shuya Okino 7"Edit) / Spirit Of Voyage (Shuya Okino 7"Edit) (Kawasaki Records, Extra Freedom, HMV Record Shop) - credited appearance
- 2023 - Re:NO - Dreamer - credited appearance
- 2023 - Sleep Walker - Into The Sun / Wind (Kawasaki Records, Especial Records) - credited appearance
- 2023 - Various - City Music Tokyo (Tremolo) - track appearance
- 2023 - Various - The Room (30th Anniversary Compilation) (VAA, Extra Freedom) - track appearance
- 2023 - Various - The Room (30th Anniversary Compilation) (Extra Freedom) - track appearance
- 2024 - Echoes Of A New Dawn Orchestra - Substream (Mukatsuku Records) - credited appearance
- 2024 - Echoes Of A New Dawn Orchestra / Kyoto Jazz Massive - Substream / This Feeling (Kawasaki Records) - credited appearance
- 2024 - Kyoto Jazz Massive - KJM Covers (30th Anniversary) (Selective Records, Especial Records, Virgin Music Group) - credited appearance
- 2025 - Kyoto Jazz Massive - KJM Covers (30th Anniversary Compilation) (Six Tracks Vinyl Edition) (HMV Record Shop) - credited appearance
249 credits listed.
- Peter Erskine - drummer and producer of Hajime (recorded 1990); drums and co-producer on Innocent Nocturne (2008). Japanese Wikipedia and Discogs both describe him as Yoshizawa's uncle.
- Marc Johnson - bassist on Hajime (1991).
- John Abercrombie and Bob Mintzer - guitarist and tenor saxophonist on Hajime (1991).
- Dave Carpenter - bassist on Innocent Nocturne (2008).
- Takao Uematsu - tenor saxophone on tracks 1, 3, 4 and 5 of Double Moon (recorded 2016), including his own "White Fire."
- Tomoki Sanders, Yoshihito "P" Koizumi and Masanori Amakura - tenor saxophone and percussion, bass and drums on Double Moon.
- Monday Michiru - keyboards (Rhodes, piano or synthesizer, depending on the track) on Jazz Brat (1995), Sunshine After The Rain (1995), Delicious Poison (1996, with The Paradox Band), Double Image (1998) and Yellow Bird (1999).
- Akiko - he arranged, produced and played on four tracks of her Mood Indigo (Verve, 2004), remixed "Lupin The Third" on her Upstream (2001), and she sings "Rise Me Up" on his Music From The Edge Of The Universe.
- Nicola Conte - Yoshizawa plays Fender Rhodes on the Kyoto Jazz Massive remix of Conte's "The In Samba" (2000) and is credited on Rhodes and Korg Triton for "The In Samba" on Jet Sounds Revisited (2002).
- Sleep Walker - Masato Nakamura (saxophone, flute), Kiyoshi Ikeda and Tomokazu Sugimoto (bass) and Nobuaki Fujii (drums), with Shuya Okino and Kyoto Jazz Massive as producers of the first album.
- Pharoah Sanders - billed as a guest on Sleep Walker's "The Voyage," and said in the group's biography to have played with them in London in 2003.
- Mondo Grosso and Cosmic Village - the two club groups he belonged to in 1993 and 1997, per Japanese Wikipedia, with credits on Marble (1993) and Mixt Generations (2001).
- Kyoto Jazz Massive and Shuya Okino - producers and remixers around Especial Records; Yoshizawa also appears on their releases and remixes.
More Nu Jazz Artists
See all 83 Nu Jazz artists →More Japanese Jazz Artists
See all 262 Japanese artists →- Apple Music artist page
- Official YouTube channel
- Official website
- Discogs: Hajime Yoshizawa
- Discogs: Sleep Walker
- Hajime Yoshizawa on JazzProfiles.com
- r/JapaneseJazz
- Wikipedia (Japanese): 吉澤はじめ
- Discogs: Hajime Yoshizawa, artist 8183
- Discogs: Hajime, 1991 (release 712889)
- Discogs: Innocent Nocturne (release 3590969)
- Discogs: Double Moon (release 12199904)
- MusicBrainz: 吉澤はじめ
- Wikidata: Q11413483
- NTS Radio: Hajime Yoshizawa
- Last.fm: Sleep Walker biography
- Value Press: Sleep Walker interview, June 2007
- Basic Soul: Sleepwalker, The Voyage (review)
- ITmedia blog: Sleep Walker, June 2007
- North Sea Jazz Festival 2007: Sleepwalker
- Apple Music: Hajime (2006 reissue)