Japanese trumpeter Takuya Kuroda, born in 1980, followed the path of every
gifted jazzman, passing through Boston's Berklee College of Music and New York's
New School Jazz before plunging into the deep end of the stage. After a series
of sessions, he reunited with his former classmate José James, who enlisted him
on two albums, before going out on his own with the albums Edge (2011), Bitter &
High (2012) and Six Aces (2012), credited to the Takuya Kuroda Sextet. His
style, blending hard bop with soul jazz and hip-hop influences, shines on the
2014 album Rising Son .