Profile No. JA-08
Yosuke Yamashita
Piano — Japanese — B: February 26, 1942, Tokyo, Japan
Yosuke Yamashita, Tokyo, 2001 CC BY-SA 2.0 — Wikimedia Commons — photographer Manel Armengol
Yosuke Yamashita started on violin at nine, switched to piano as a teenager, and was working professionally by 17. In the early 1960s he was part of a circle of young musicians, including trumpeter Terumasa Hino and pianist Masabumi Kikuchi, who met most nights at a Tokyo jazz club called Ginparis to play and argue about the music. He studied classical composition at Kunitachi College of Music from 1962 to 1967, the same years he was cutting his teeth at Ginparis, and his first recording came out in 1963.
In 1969 he formed the Yosuke Yamashita Trio. By 1974, with Akira Sakata on alto sax and Takeo Moriyama on drums, the trio was touring Europe, a run that produced the live album Chiasma, recorded at the Heidelberger Jazztage in Germany and released on MPS. The trio's driving, fully committed free-jazz sound built Yamashita's reputation well beyond Japan before the group disbanded in 1983.
In 1973, graphic designer and filmmaker Kiyoshi Awazu asked Yamashita to sit at a piano and play it while it burned, for a short film. Yamashita later described the experience as feeling less like a musician and more like an object inside someone else's artwork. The performance became one of the most widely circulated images in Japanese avant-garde music; in 2008, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa had him repeat it on a beach in Ishikawa, 35 years later.
By the 1980s Yamashita had formed a New York-based trio with bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Pheeroan akLaff, frequently joined by saxophonist Joe Lovano. That group signed to Verve Records and recorded a run of albums through the 1990s and 2000s, including Sakura (1990), Dazzling Days (1993), and Fragments 1999 (1999). In 1994 the trio's standing in that world led to an invitation to perform at Verve's 50th-anniversary concert at Carnegie Hall.
Recognition at home followed the international touring. In 2003, the Japanese government awarded Yamashita the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon for his contributions to the arts. In 2010 he returned to Kunitachi College of Music, his own alma mater, as a visiting professor of jazz.
Yamashita has continued recording and touring past 80. He scored the film Dr. Akagi, winning Best Film Score at the 1999 Mainichi Film Concours, composed classical works including two piano concertos for Avex Classics, and has kept releasing albums into the 2020s, among them Quiet Memories (2020) and Fuushi: Unforgettable Men (2021). At 84, he's still performing, most recently with a newer trio, Lotus Position, alongside drummer Him Horikoshi and shakuhachi player Akihito Obama.
Yamashita's piano style draws on free jazz, modal jazz, and soul jazz, built around a physically forceful, percussive attack that made him one of the defining voices of Japan's avant-garde jazz scene from the late 1960s onward. Critic Marc Moses, writing in The Japan Times in 1990, credited him as "probably more responsible than any other individual for broadening the horizon of the creative Japanese jazz scene." His catalog moves between that free-jazz extreme (the original Yosuke Yamashita Trio years) and a more standards-literate, lyrical register in the McBee/akLaff New York Trio records and his solo-piano and classical-composition work, without ever fully settling into either mode.
Key Recordings
- Chiasma (1976, MPS) - Live at the Heidelberger Jazztage with Akira Sakata and Takeo Moriyama, the record that carried the original trio's reputation into Europe. Spotify - Chiasma Listen
- Banslikana (1976) - Studio trio session from the same peak period as Chiasma. Spotify - Banslikana Listen · Buy
- Sakura (1990, Verve) - Debut recording of the New York Trio with Cecil McBee and Pheeroan akLaff, recorded in Manhattan in May 1990. YouTube - Sakura Listen · Buy
- Quiet Memories (2020, JamRice) - Recent-era release, evidence the catalog is still growing past 80. Spotify - Quiet Memories Listen · Buy
Full Discography
Yosuke Yamashita (山下洋輔) — Full Discography
Source: Discogs.
Leader
Yamashita's own discography under his name, his named trios/quartets, or duos billed to him directly.
| Album | Year | Label | Notes | Listen | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Piano Duo (with Masahiko Sato) | 1974 | - | Two-piano duo session | not found | Amazon search |
| Yosuke Alone | 1974 | - | Solo piano | not found | Amazon search |
| Distant Thunder (with Manfred Schoof, Akira Sakata, Takeo Moriyama) | 1975 | - | European collaboration | not found | Amazon search |
| Breath Take | 1975 | - | Solo-piano collection | not found | Amazon search |
| Ie (with novelist Yasutaka Tsutsui) | 1976 | - | Spoken-word/music collaboration | not found | Amazon search |
| Chiasma (Yosuke Yamashita Trio) | 1976 | MPS | Live at Heidelberger Jazztage, Germany. Akira Sakata (alto sax), Takeo Moriyama (drums). Side A: Yamashita compositions; Side B: Moriyama compositions | Spotify | Amazon search |
| Banslikana | 1976 | - | Trio studio date | Spotify | Amazon search |
| Inner Space (with Adelhard Roidinger) | 1977 | - | Solo-piano collection / duo | not found | Amazon search |
| Wave Song (Duo and Trio featuring Adelhard Roidinger) | 1977 | - | not found | Amazon search | |
| Amazing 3 (Tsutsui highlight disc) | 1978 | Victor | Promo 7" | not found | Amazon search |
| Exchange (with Haruna Miyake) | 1979 | Victor | LP | not found | Amazon search |
| Invitation / Yosuke in the Gallery | 1979 | - | not found | Amazon search | |
| First Time | 1979 | - | not found | Amazon search | |
| A Tribute to Mal Waldron (Yosuke Yamashita Trio) | 1980 | - | Katsuo Kuninaka (bass), Shota Koyama (drums) | not found | Amazon search |
| Mina's Second Theme (Yosuke Yamashita Trio) | 1980 | - | not found | Amazon search | |
| Jugemu: A Figure of Yosuke Yamashita Vol. 1 | 1981 | - | not found | Amazon search | |
| Jugemu: A Figure of Yosuke Yamashita Vol. 2 | 1981 | - | not found | Amazon search | |
| Rikidozan (soundtrack single, with Harry) | 1983 | Columbia | Promo 7" | not found | Amazon search |
| Live, and Then... Picasso | 1983 | - | Spotify | Amazon search | |
| Washi no Pan ja!! | 1983 | - | not found | Amazon search | |
| Breath (with Hozan Yamamoto, shakuhachi; Masahiko Togashi, drums) | 1984 | - | not found | Amazon search | |
| It Don't Mean a Thing | 1984 | - | not found | Amazon search | |
| Winter Music (various artists incl. Yamashita) | 1985 | Locus Solus | LP | not found | Amazon search |
| Sentimental | 1985 | - | not found | Amazon search | |
| Jazz Daimyo Sound Revue (with Yasutaka Tsutsui) | 1986 | - | not found | Amazon search | |
| In Live (Kodo vs. Yosuke Yamashita) | 1986 | - | With taiko drum ensemble Kodo | Spotify | Amazon search |
| Piano Duo Live at Pit Inn (with Mal Waldron) | 1986 | - | not found | Amazon search | |
| Rhapsody in Blue | 1986 | - | not found | Amazon search | |
| Bolero (with Hozan Yamamoto) | 1986 | - | not found | Amazon search | |
| Brilliant Corners (Bennie Wallace with Yosuke Yamashita) | 1988 | - | not found | Amazon search | |
| Plays Gershwin | 1989 | - | not found | Amazon search | |
| Crescendo: Live at Sweet Basil | 1989 | - | not found | Amazon search | |
| Sakura | 1990 | Verve | New York Trio: Cecil McBee (bass), Pheeroan akLaff (drums). Recorded Clinton Recording Studios, NYC, May 1-3, 1990 | YouTube | Amazon search |
| Kurdish Dance | 1992 | Verve | New York Trio featuring Joe Lovano (sax) | not found | Amazon search |
| Playground | 1993 | Verve Records | CD | not found | Amazon search |
| Asian Games (with Bill Laswell, Ryuichi Sakamoto) | 1993 | - | Cross-genre collaboration | not found | Amazon search |
| Ways of Time | 1994 | - | New York Trio | not found | Amazon search |
| Nights in New York (with Cecil McBee, Pheeroan akLaff) | 1996 | Kitty Records | CD | not found | Amazon search |
| Standards (with Cecil McBee, Pheeroan akLaff) | 1996 | Kitty Records | CD | not found | Amazon search |
| Canvas in Quiet: Homage to Morio Matsui | 1996 | - | not found | Amazon search | |
| Yamashita Yosuke Presents! Hayashi Eiichi Plays Standards: Mona Lisa | 1997 | Omagatoki | CD | not found | Amazon search |
| Stone Flower: Homage to A.C. Jobim | 1997 | - | Yosuke Yamashita Meets Brazilian Friends | not found | Amazon search |
| Dr. Kanzo Original Soundtrack / Yosuke Yamashita on Cinema | 1998 | - | Won Best Film Score, Mainichi Film Concours, 1999 (for related film "Dr. Akagi") | not found | Amazon search |
| The Complete Frasco Recordings | 1998 | - | not found | Amazon search | |
| Resonant Memories | 2000 | - | not found | Amazon search | |
| Chamber Ensemble "Hakkohzan" | 2002 | Shiosai ZiZO | CD, with Shigeharu Mukai, Tomohiro Yahiro | not found | Amazon search |
| Ken-Kon (Eitetsu Hayashi meets Yosuke Yamashita) | 2003 | Avex Io | CD | not found | Amazon search |
| Graceful Illusion | 2004 | Universal Music (Taiwan) | CD + DVD | not found | Amazon search |
| Encounter (Yutaka Sado x Yosuke Yamashita) | 2007 | Avex-classics | CD. Piano Concerto No.1 "Encounter for Improviser" | not found | Amazon search |
| Explorer: Sudden Fiction (Yutaka Sado x Yosuke Yamashita) | 2008 | - | Piano Concerto No.3 "Explorer" | not found | Amazon search |
| My Wonderful Life: Togashi Masahiko Ballad Collection | 2009 | - | Various-artists tribute to Masahiko Togashi, also featuring Sadao Watanabe, Terumasa Hino, Kohsuke Mine, Masahiko Sato | Spotify (My Wonderful Life - Yosuke Yamashita ver.) | Amazon search |
| Jugemu: A Figure of Yosuke Yamashita Vol. 1 & 2 (reissue) | 2009 | - | Combined reissue of the 1981 two-volume set | not found | Amazon search |
| Sparkling Memories | 2012 | - | not found | Amazon search | |
| Piano Concerto "Jazz" & "Finland", Marimba Concerto (Toshi Ichiyanagi, feat. Yamashita) | 2013 | Camerata | CD, with Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra | not found | Amazon search |
| Yosuke Yamashita x Suga Dairo | 2014 | Velvetsun Products | CD, two-piano duo | not found | Amazon search |
| Rhapsody in Blue (with Yutaka Sado & Siena Wind Orchestra) | 2014 | Avex-classics | CD | not found | Amazon search |
| Bolero / Pictures at an Exhibition (Yosuke Yamashita Special Big Band) | 2014 | JamRice | CD | not found | Amazon search |
| Lotus Position | 2016 | Waternet Sound | CD. Earlier lineup of the trio Yamashita is still touring under this name as of 2026 | not found | Amazon search |
| 2.26 Birthday Live 30th Anniversary (with Sachi Hayasaka) | 2016 | Nbagi Record | CD. Yamashita's birthday, Feb 26, is a recurring live-date theme across several Sachi Hayasaka collaborations | not found | Amazon search |
| From the New World (Yosuke Yamashita Special Big Band) | 2016 | JamRice | CD | not found | Amazon search |
| Quiet Memories | 2020 | JamRice | CD | Spotify | Amazon search |
| Fuushi: Unforgettable Men (with Shinji Akita) | 2021 | Ratspack Records | CD | Spotify | Amazon search |
| Old and New Dreams: Chapter 2 (with Otomo Yoshihide, Hiroshi Yamazaki) | 2025 | DIW | CD, most recent studio release found | not found | Amazon search |
| Field of Grooves (The Yosuke Yamashita Big Band featuring Joe Lovano) | year unresolved | - | Discogs lists no year for this master | not found | Amazon search |
Producer credits (chronological)
Releases where Yamashita is credited as producer, distinct from his own performing discography above.
- 1974 - Bang! (Kan Mikami) - Discogs
- 1976 - Jam Rice Relaxin' (Jam Rice Sextet) - Discogs
- 1977 - Arashi (Yosuke Yamashita Trio, Gerald Ohshita, Dairakudakan) - Discogs
- 1979 - Hot Menu (Yosuke Yamashita Trio) - Discogs
- 1979 - Gentle November (Kazunori Takeda) - Discogs
- 1979 - Warm Current (Katsuo Kuninaka) - Discogs
- 1980 - Golden Live Stage (Katsuo Kuninaka) - Discogs
- 1982 - Kidnaping Blues (Kidnaping Blues Band) - Discogs
- 1991 - Concert in New Jazz (Yosuke Yamashita Trio) - Discogs
- 1991 - Sakura Live at Sweet Basil, 1991 (New York Trio) - Discogs
- 1992 - Kurdish Dance (New York Trio feat. Joe Lovano) - Discogs
- 1993 - Dazzling Days (New York Trio) - Discogs
- 1994 - Ways of Time (New York Trio) - Discogs
- 1995 - Spider (New York Trio) - Discogs
- 1996 - Canvas in Vigor (New York Trio) - Discogs
- 1997 - Wind of the Age (New York Trio) - Discogs / reissue
- 1998 - Live in Warehouse (Duo, with Eitetsu Hayashi) - Discogs
- 1999 - Fragments 1999 (New York Trio) - Discogs
- 2003 - Pacific Crossing (New York Trio feat. Meisho Tosha, Kiyohiko Semba) - Discogs
- 2006 - Mystic Layers (New York Trio feat. Tetsuro Kawashima) - Discogs
- 2008 - Triple Cats (New York Trio) - Discogs
- 2009 - Mitchu!! (A.G.E) - Discogs
- 2011 - Delightful Contrast (New York Trio with Asuka Strings) - Discogs
Appearance / guest / compilation credits (chronological)
Titles worth calling out: the 1970-72 entries document the Ginparis/early-trio circuit (Summer Jazz in Tokyo, '70 Jazz Festival in Nemu alongside Terumasa Hino's and Sadao Watanabe's own groups, Ginparis Session); the 2009 "My Wonderful Life" tribute reunites Yamashita with Terumasa Hino, Sadao Watanabe, and Kohsuke Mine, all three already covered on this subreddit.
- 1969 - Concert in New Jazz - Discogs
- 1970 - Summer Jazz in Tokyo - Discogs
- 1970 - '70 Jazz Festival in Nemu (also feat. Terumasa Hino Quintet, Sadao Watanabe Quartet) - Discogs
- 1970 - Trio by Trio + 1 - Discogs
- 1970 - Mokujiki - Discogs
- 1970 - Mina's Second Theme (early version) - Discogs / alt
- 1970 - Jazz in Tokyo '69 - Discogs
- 1971 - Dancing Kojiki - Discogs
- 1971 - Ginparis Session (Masayuki Takayanagi & New Century Music Institute) - Discogs
- 1971 - Introducing Takeo Moriyama (Yosuke Yamashita Trio with Brass 12) - Discogs
- 1972 - April Fool: Coming Muhammad Ali - Discogs
- 1972 - Blue Spirit Blues (Maki Asakawa) - Discogs
- 1973 - Nemu Jazz Inn - Discogs
- 1973 - Hoi! (Kan Mikami) - Discogs
- 1973 - Penisu Gorira Africa ni Arawaru! - Discogs
- 1973 - Yamashita, Yosuke Trio (self-titled) - Discogs
- 1973 - Inspiration & Power 14 Free Jazz Festival 1 - Discogs
- 1973 - Urumado (Maki Asakawa) - Discogs
- 1974 - Ongaku no Gakko / Ongaku no Gekijo - Discogs
- 1974 - Clay - Discogs (Spotify)
- 1974 - Maki VI (Maki Asakawa) - Discogs
- 1975 - 15th International Jazz Festival, Ljubljana '74 - Discogs
- 1975 - Up-to-Date: Yosuke Yamashita Trio Live '75 4.28 - Discogs
- 1975 - Frozen Days - Discogs
- 1976 - Chiasma (Appearance-listed duplicate of the Leader entry above) - Discogs
- 1976 - Jam Rice Relaxin' - Discogs
- 1976 - Montreux Afterglow - Discogs
- 1977 - Jazz Jamboree 77 Vol. 1 - Discogs
- 1977 - A Day in Munich (Yosuke Yamashita-Adelhard Roidinger Duo) - Discogs
- 1977 - Arashi (feat. Gerald Ohshita, Dairakudakan) - Discogs
- 1978 - Tsutsui Yasutaka Bunmei - Discogs
- 1978 - Sunayama - Discogs
- 1978 - Umbrella Dance - Discogs
- 1978 - Sabishii Hibi (Maki Asakawa) - Discogs
- 1978 - Live Yoru (Maki Asakawa) - Discogs
- 1978 - Peking (Akira Sakata Trio) - Discogs
- 1979 - Hot Menu (Appearance-listed duplicate of the Producer entry above) - Discogs
- 1979 - Gentle November (Kazunori Takeda) - Discogs
- 1979 - Warm Current (Katsuo Kuninaka) - Discogs
- 1980 - NHK Transcription Programme No. 181: Trend-Setters in Japanese Jazz - Discogs
- 1980 - 12,617.4 km: Ryojiro Furusawa's World Live - Discogs
- 1980 - A Tribute to Mal Waldron (Appearance-listed duplicate) - Discogs
- 1980 - Kizashi (Togashi-Yamashita Duo) - Discogs
- 1980 - One (Maki Asakawa) - Discogs
- 1980 - Golden Live Stage (Katsuo Kuninaka) - Discogs
- 1981 - Kizashi Live (Togashi-Yamashita Duo) - Discogs
- 1981 - The Collection! Ventures Forever (The Ventures) - Discogs
- 1982 - Torimidashi no Bigaku (Seiichi Nakamura) - Discogs
- 1982 - Kidnaping Blues (duplicate) - Discogs
- 1982 - My Man (Maki Asakawa) - Discogs
- 1983 - Rikidozan Original Soundtrack - Discogs
- 1983 - In Europe 1983 (Yosuke Yamashita Trio + 1) - Discogs
- 1984 - Jazzbuhne Berlin '83 - Discogs
- 1985 - The Inner Space of Yasutaka Tsutsui - Discogs
- 1986 - CD Best Now (Maki Asakawa) - Discogs
- 1987 - Hidehiko Matsumoto: 40 Years Anniversary - Discogs
- 1987 - Razor Sharp (Kiyoshiro Imawano) - Discogs
- 1988 - Happy Heads / Live in Japan (Kiyoshiro Imawano & The Razor Sharps) - Discogs
- 1989 - Yoru no Carnival (Maki Asakawa) - Discogs
- 1989 - Stranger's Touch (Maki Asakawa) - Discogs
- 1990 - Jazzbuhne Berlin '83 (reissue, Yosuke Yamashita-Quartet) - Discogs
- 1990 - Mazuru (Eiichi Hayashi & Mazuru) - Discogs
- 1990 - Tablatura 3 - Discogs
- 1990 - Shima Shoka (Aki Takase) - Discogs
- 1991 - Shakuhachi (Hozan Yamamoto) - Discogs
- 1991 - It's So Isso (Yukihiro Isso) - Discogs
- 1991 - Gathering (Kodo) - Discogs
- 1991 - Sakura Live at Sweet Basil, 1991 (duplicate) - Discogs
- 1992 - Kurdish Dance (duplicate) - Discogs
- 1993 - PolyGram Jazz: Hottest Jazz, North Sea Jazz Festival Guide - Discogs
- 1993 - Black Roots (Kim Dae Hwan) - Discogs
- 1993 - Dazzling Days (duplicate) - Discogs
- 1994 - Ways of Time (duplicate) - Discogs
- 1994 - Smoke Stack (Andrew Hill) - Discogs
- 1994 - 2.26 (Sachi Hayasaka & Stir Up!) - Discogs
- 1994 - The Carnegie Hall Salutes the Jazz Masters (Verve 50th anniversary concert) - Discogs
- 1994 - Oyatsu (Kazumi Watanabe) - Discogs
- 1994 - Kuroi Kukan (Maki Asakawa) - Discogs
- 1995 - Spider (duplicate) - Discogs
- 1996 - Canvas in Vigor (duplicate) - Discogs
- 1997 - Wind of the Age (duplicate) - Discogs / Discogs
- 1998 - Ballads for You (Masahiko Togashi Trio) - Discogs
- 1998 - Live in Warehouse (duplicate) - Discogs
- 1998 - Jazz Age (Gershwin Song Book) I & II (Yuki Maeda) - Discogs / Discogs
- 1998 - Welcome to My Life (Shuichi "Pon-ta" Murakami) - Discogs
- 1999 - Golden Circle "6" (Masahiko Togashi & Friends) - Discogs
- 1999 - Yosuke Yamashita Suite (Daisuke Mogi with Winds) - Discogs
- 1999 - Black Out! 226 Live! with Yosuke Yamashita (Sachi Hayasaka) - Discogs
- 1999 - Fragments 1999 (duplicate) - Discogs
- 2000 - Memories of Bill Evans (A Tribute) - Discogs
- 2001 - Otozanmai I: Duo Shu (Shota Koyama) - Discogs
- 2001 - Friendly Games (Neko Saito Quartet) - Discogs
- 2001 - Passionate Age (Keizo Inoue) - Discogs
- 2001 - Field of Grooves (The Yosuke Yamashita Big Band feat. Joe Lovano, Appearance-listed duplicate of the unresolved-year Leader entry) - Discogs
- 2002 - V (United Future Organization) - Discogs
- 2002 - Listen Love (United Future Organization) - Discogs
- 2003 - While I'm Sleeping (Phonolite) - Discogs
- 2003 - Live 1973 (Yosuke Yamashita Trio) - Discogs
- 2003 - Pacific Crossing (duplicate) - Discogs
- 2004 - Like a Dew Also Like a Thunder (Kim Dae-Hwan) - Discogs
- 2004 - Live at Koln (Masahiko Togashi Trio) - Discogs
- 2004 - San Francisco Jazz Festival CD Sampler Vol. IX 2004 - Discogs
- 2004 - New York Uncovered (Hiroko Kokubu) - Discogs
- 2005 - Chocoripeyes (Vidoll) - Discogs
- 2005 - Shutdown (Vidoll) - Discogs
- 2005 - Never Rebellion (Phantasmagoria) - Discogs
- 2005 - Mukashi Natsukashi Soshuhen + Omake-tsuki (Vidoll) - Discogs
- 2005 - Ethno Jazz: Suoni da Tutto il Mondo - Discogs
- 2006 - Action Jazz (The Thing) - Discogs
- 2006 - Akatsuka Fujio no Manga No. 1 - Discogs
- 2006 - Mystic Layers (duplicate) - Discogs
- 2007 - Miya's Book: Music for Seven Days (Miya) - Discogs
- 2007 - Live in Hatoya (Fujio Akatsuka & Zennihon Manzoku Mondai Kenkyukai) - Discogs
- 2008 - Triple Cats (duplicate) - Discogs
- 2008 - Tenshi no Kokotsu (Koji Wakamatsu, Yosuke Yamashita Trio) - Discogs
- 2009 - Nihon no Uta Dai-san-shu - Discogs
- 2010 - DigiStyling (Dios/Signal P) - Discogs
- 2010 - Obsidian (Nao Takeuchi) - Discogs
- 2010 - Requiem: Hibari on My Mind (Nobuyasu Okabayashi) - Discogs
- 2011 - Delightful Contrast (duplicate) - Discogs
- 2011 - Blues 4 Us (Shinnosuke Takahashi) - Discogs
- 2011 - Live recording, Jokyo Gekijo troupe - Discogs
- 2012 - Sora wo Tobu! (Akira Sakata & Chikamorachi) - Discogs
- 2012 - Nikyoku: T-Square Plays T & the Square Special - Discogs
- 2013 - Evangelion PianoForte #1 (Shiro Sagisu) - Discogs
- 2013 - Getz/Gilberto +50 (Goro Ito) - Discogs
- 2014 - Bolero / Pictures at an Exhibition (Appearance-listed duplicate of the Leader entry above) - Discogs
- 2014 - Sings: Bedtime Stories (Saki Takaoka) - Discogs
- 2014 - Ready For... (Last May Jaguar) - Discogs
- 2014 - Ignite (Eir Aoi) - Discogs
- 2015 - The First Years in Europe (Aki Takase) - Discogs
- 2016 - From the New World (Appearance-listed duplicate of the Leader entry above) - Discogs
- 2017 - Tenshi no Kokotsu (single, with Rie Yokoyama) - Discogs
- 2017 - New Jazz Festival Balver Hohle (New Jazz 1976 & 1977) - Discogs
- 2017 - Smile (Mai Kuraki) - Discogs
- 2017 - My Wonderful Life: Togashi Masahiko Ballad Collection (duplicate) - Discogs
- 2017 - Sings: Daydream Bossa (Saki Takaoka) - Discogs
- 2018 - Year Book 1985-1989 (Ryuichi Sakamoto) - Discogs
- 2018 - Tokiotome (Dokidoki Sendenbu) - Discogs
- 2018 - Memories (Minami) - Discogs
- 2019 - Zombieland Saga Franchouchou: The Best - Discogs
- 2019 - Jazz 100 Nen Part 4: Jazz Masterpiece Collection 11, Jazz of Japan Now & Then - Discogs
- 2020 - 2.26 Live feat. Yosuke Yamashita & Takeo Moriyama (Sachi Hayasaka) - Discogs
- 2020 - Dadalogue (No Lie-Sense) - Discogs
- 2021 - Oar (Manami Kakudo) - Discogs
- 2022 - Maki Asakawa no Sekai 2: Live Selection Box - Discogs
- 2023 - Intimate (Ichiro Suzuki) - Discogs
- 2023 - Haruki Murakami Presents Yosuke Yamashita Trio Live: The 2nd Jazz Attack - Discogs
- 2024 - Decade: Sings Cinematic (Saki Takaoka) - Discogs
- 2024 - Live at Cafe Oto (Masahiko Sato & Takeo Moriyama feat. Leon Brichard, Idris Rahman) - Discogs
- 2025 - The Happy Ride with Baymax, Summer Cool-Off Special Version (Tokyo Disneyland) - Discogs
- Year unresolved - ENJA-Special - Discogs
Track appearance credits (chronological, compilations/samplers)
Compilation or sampler appearances rather than dedicated releases.
- 1979 - Warm Current (Katsuo Kuninaka) - Discogs
- 1988 - Denon Jazz Sampler Volume 3 - Discogs
- 1990 - Taiko Zenkyokushu - Discogs
- 1991 - Nihon no Hibiki: Wadaiko - Discogs
- 1993 - PolyGram Jazz: North Sea Jazz Festival 1993 Guide - Discogs
- 1993 - The Best Jazz Is Played with Verve - Discogs
- 1993 - Movin' Jazz - Discogs
- 1993 - PolyGram Classics & Jazz New Releases, April 1993 - Discogs
- 1994 - Verve New Releases, May 1994 - Discogs
- 1995 - Polygram Jazz World - Discogs
- 1997 - Jazz Linkx - Discogs
- 1999 - Memories of Bill Evans (A Tribute) - Discogs
- 2001 - Sampler, February 2001 - Discogs
- 2005 - Ethno Jazz: Suoni da Tutto il Mondo - Discogs
- 2007 - This Is Bossa Nova from Tokyo - Discogs
- 2008 - Cool Bossa de Jazz - Discogs
- 2009 - Nihon no Uta Dai-san-shu - Discogs
- 2014 - Oldies but Goodies - Discogs
- 2018 - Year Book 1985-1989 (Ryuichi Sakamoto) - Discogs
- 2019 - Jazz 100 Nen Part 4, Vol. 11 - Discogs
- 2022 - Japanese Jazz Spectacle Vol. I: Deep, Heavy & Beautiful Jazz from Japan 1968-1984 - Discogs
Unofficial releases (bootlegs, flagged as such by Discogs, not part of the official catalog)
- 1990 - Ghosts by Albert Ayler (Yosuke Yamashita Trio) - West Wind - Discogs
- 1999 - Live at All Souls' Day Jazz Festival '77 (Yosuke Yamashita Trio) - OlkMen Records, limited/numbered CDr - Discogs
- Year unresolved - Asian Games (Yosuke Yamashita + Bill Laswell, Ryuichi Sakamoto) - Discogs
Notes
- Field of Grooves (The Yosuke Yamashita Big Band featuring Joe Lovano): no year given.
- Bolero / Pictures at an Exhibition (2014) and From the New World (2016) are Yamashita's own leader recordings, billed to his "Special Big Band," and are included in the Leader table above.
Personnel & Collaborations
- Yosuke Yamashita Trio (original) - Akira Sakata (alto sax), Takeo Moriyama (drums); active 1969-1983, the lineup behind Chiasma and the 1974 European tours.
- New York Trio - Cecil McBee (bass), Pheeroan akLaff (drums), frequently joined by Joe Lovano (saxophone); active 1980s-2011, signed to Verve Records.
- Adelhard Roidinger - Austrian bassist, duo and trio collaborator on Inner Space (1977) and A Day in Munich (1977).
- Mal Waldron - piano duo collaborator, Piano Duo Live at Pit Inn (1986).
- Masahiko Togashi - drummer, longtime collaborator across the Togashi-Yamashita Duo (Kizashi, 1980) and Masahiko Togashi Trio credits.
- Hozan Yamamoto - shakuhachi player, collaborator on Breath (1984, with Togashi) and Bolero (1986).
- Kodo - the taiko drum ensemble, collaborator on In Live (1986).
- Yutaka Sado - conductor, collaborator on Yamashita's classical piano concertos, Encounter (2007) and Explorer (2008), and the 2014 Rhapsody in Blue with Siena Wind Orchestra.
- Lotus Position - current trio (2016-present) with Him Horikoshi (drums) and Akihito Obama (shakuhachi).
Linked Profiles
Terumasa Hino
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Sadao Watanabe
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Kohsuke Mine
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Masahiko Togashi
Not yet profiled
Links & Sources