Welcome to the website of jazz bassist, composer, educator, and author Fumi Tomita
Update July 19, 2024
Busy times. The biggest news is all of the reviews for ‘Early Jazz’ coming in. Click here to read them. I will add more as they come in. The softcover copy is available on August 2nd.
I've also been traveling having gone down to be a guest adjudicator at Texas A&M Kingsville in March and to present my current research on Horace Silver at the Rhythm Changes conference in Graz, Austria in April. This is just for work! My wife and I also went to Geneva, Paris, and San Francisco in June! Fortunately for my sleep schedule I should be staying in the NE for the forseeable future.
Currently finishing up at Jazz in July, a great summer camp I've been teaching at since I came to UMASS. Concert is tonight! The camp features an all-star cast featuring Sheila Jordan, Winard Harper, Avery Sharpe, Steve Johns, Steve Davis, Dominique Eade, Earl McDonald, Jeff Holmes, Felipe Salles and many others that I am proud to be a part of.
January 18-23: Georgia tour with the David Detweiler Quartet, with Bill Peterson (piano) and Benjamin Adkins (drums)
Do i know anyone in Georgia? Come on out and say hi if you're close by. Should be a good time, we'll be playing music from David's latest release There Used to be Rain from Centaur records.
January 5, 2024
Performance at the 2024 Jazz Education Network Conference at the Hyatt Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana
with Leon Anderson, David Detweiler, and Oscar Rossignoli (left to right)
I felt elated after playing. The crowd was great and responsive and I am thankful to JEN for inviting me to perform. It was 50 minute set and we were just getting warmed up, but everyone sounded and it was a good concert. David and I along with pianist Bill Peterson and drummer Benjamin Adkins will be going on tour in Georgia from January 18-23. See the schedule for dates. Much more coming soon...
Photo below courtesy of JEN
November 17: Upcoming appearances in New Orleans, Georgia, Texas, and Graz, Austria
It's been busy here but I've got new dates including a short tour of Georgia In January with David Detweiler, Bill Peterson and Ben Adkins. I'm also performing at the Jazz Education Network conference in January, on Friday the 5th at noon, location TBA, and will be with David Detweiler, Leon Anderson, and Oscar Rossignoli. I'm also going to be a guest adjudicator down in Texas A&M University down in Kingsville, Texas at the end of March. Finally, I'll be presenting my latest research at the Rhythm Changes conference in Graz, Austria; the title is “Music to Ease your Disease: The Wellness of Horace Silver.” More details on the “schedule” page.
Over here in Amherst, Thomas Giampietro and I recently accompanied Jeff Holmes, my colleague and the director of the Jazz and African American Music program here at UMASS. who was invited to present for the Chancellor's Lecture Series. Besides all the travel, I'm currently planning to record sometime in the spring or summer of next year and there will be some surprises, so stay tuned. Thanks.
July 16: New book!
Coming out in early 2024
Early Jazz: A Concise introduction from its beginnings through 1929
Besides being a performer and educator, I'm passionate about jazz history. It led me to write a much needed update of the early jazz era. The final draft of the cover came in and I'd like to share it with you. I've been working on this book for two years and I'm very excited as it nears completion. It is being published by SUNY Press and they've been great to work with. Currently scheduled to be available in early 2024. Stay tuned for more!
Performance and clinic at the International Society of Bassists Conference
Next week, I'll be heading to Ann Arbor, Michigan to attend the ISB conference. A bit of a dream come true for me to perform there and I'm grateful for the opportunity. I'll be performing Wednesday June 7 at 5pm at the Miller Theater on the University of Michigan campus. I will be joined by David Detweiler on tenor saxophone, Ellen Rowe on piano, and Jesse Kramer on drums. We'll be playing music from the Bird cd from 2020. Earlier that day at 2pm I will be hosting a masterclass on jazz bass technique.
Celebrating Bird concert, October 6, 2021
My faculty recital at UMass Amherst on Wednesday October 6 was live-streamed and available on the video page. With Jeff Holmes (drums), Thomas Giampietro (drums) and special guest David Detweiler (tenor saxophone)