Wataru Uchida

Wataru Uchida is a saxophonist and composer. He studied fundamental saxophone technique and jazz composition with Chico Freeman, who was a student of Muhal Richard Abrams, the composer and founder of AACM. In 2001, Wataru worked as a teaching assistant for Rory Stuart's rhythm analysis class at the New School University Jazz & Contemporary Music Program.

Since 2003, Wataru has been leading his jazz projects in New York. He began practicing straight-ahead jazz at his apartment with Terence Conley, former pianist of the Count Basie Orchestra, and performed with the legendary Bill Saxton, former soloist of the Count Basie Orchestra, in 2009.

In 2010, Wataru released his first CD, Blue Morpho, recorded with NY-based Brazilian jazz artists Romero Lubambo, Helio Alves, Nilson Matta, Café Da Silva, and Ze Mauricio. The album, dedicated to the legendary Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell, was produced by Nilson Matta.

In 2015, Wataru recorded his original compositions with the astonishing Brazilian jazz pianist Abelita Mateus, along with Itaiguara Brandão and Vanderlei Pereira. The album, Predawn Shenanigans Club, is an old-school, one-room recording without any computer manipulation.

Besides the artists who joined the recording projects, Wataru has performed with excellent Brazilian jazz artists such as Vitor Gonçalves, Gustavo Amarante, Eduardo Belo, Rogerio Boccato, and Fernando Saci.

Also, Wataru has supported the Tocho Swing Beats Jazz Big Band and performed at renowned venues like Birdland, Jazz Standard, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York.

On May 15, 2010, Wataru performed at the Museum of the City of New York, leading his quintet with selected Japanese jazz performers in New York, as part of events celebrating the 150th anniversary of Japan-U.S. trade.

In 2018, Wataru published a vinyl album, The Heart Intact, featuring eight original jazz compositions. The music was recorded on open reel tapes and mixed from those tapes to stereo tapes, with no computer involvement. It was mastered manually at an acetate cutting factory to create the mother discs. The rhythm section included Noah Haidu, Kenny Davis, and Mark Whitfield Jr.

In 2024, Wataru released the album On a Journey Ailing / Tabi ni Yande, recorded by a unique trio with piano and upright bass, without drums. The album features several odd-meter compositions, along with slow and open pieces. All nine instrumental original tunes are lyrical and story-telling. The amazing pianist Fima Chupakhin, originally from Ukraine, and the excellent bassist Oleg Osenkov, originally from Russia, contributed their Eastern European sensibilities to the creative expression.

The title Tabi ni Yande is the first line of the last haiku ever written by the 17th-century Japanese poet Basho Matsuo.

Awards

New Vision & Voice Craft Award 2014 Best Original Score
Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film & Television Tisch School of the Arts, New York University