RyoFukui was a Japanese jazz pianist based in Sapporo. He played regularly at the "Slowboat" jazz club in Sapporo of which he and his wife Yasuko were the owners. Fukui taught and performed internationally until his death in 2016. His work has seen a spike in popularity after his death, with several reissues of his albums.
Early life and career
1966–1980s
Fukui began his life in music by learning accordion at age 18. At the age of 22 he began to teach himself piano and soon moved to Tokyo. Fukui met occasionally with saxophonist Hidehiko Matsumoto who offered valuable encouragement and guidance to the aspiring pianist. Nonetheless, Fukui was often disheartened, feeling as though he was not making significant improvement in his playing. Six years after moving to Tokyo, in 1976, Fukui released his first album, Scenery, and his second album, Mellow Dream, the year after. He continued improving his skills over the following years in live performance, often appearing in a trio including Satoshi Denpo, Yoshinori Fukui, and himself. The trio would often play at the Shinjuku Pit Inn, Kichijōji "Sometime" jazz club and the "Jazz Inn Lovely" in Nagoya. Fukui also began to perform overseas in France and America as well as beginning to teach jazz piano to students internationally.
1990s–2015
In 1992 during his visit to America Fukui met Barry Harris, an American jazz pianist from Detroit. The two went onto become close friends with Harris becoming a mentor figure to Fukui and helped him develop his technique in bebop. In 1994, a third album, My Favourite Tune, was recorded and released featuring Fukui on solo piano playing several original works as well as renditions of songs such as "My Conception" by Sonny Clark and "After Hours" by Avery Parrish. This album was followed by In New York four years later, in trio with the drummer Leroy Williams and the bassist Lisle Arthur Atkinson. In 1995 Fukui went onto open the Slowboat jazz club which attracted many local jazz players as well as international. He would also go onto offer lessons and workshops to pass on his knowledge of music to others. Fukui's final album, A Letter From Slowboat was released in 2015—recorded live during his time at the Slowboat jazz club.
Death and legacy
Fukui died on March 15, 2016 of lymphoma. After his death, his widow Yasuko Fukui took over the Slowboat jazz club, running its day-to-day operations. Fukui's longtime friend Barry Harris has since been seen playing his song Fukai Aijo and dedicating his performance to Fukui.
Online presence
In recent years, Fukui's music has made its way into popular internet culture as much of his work has been uploaded on to popular streaming platforms such as YouTube and Apple Music. This resurgence in Fukui's work has cultivated a large audience of collectors seeking the vinyl releases and releases of his work.
Accolades
Fukui received the Sapporo Culture Encouragement Prize in 2012.
