NOMA presents a series of virtual concerts featuring a range of music’s best and brightest performing from their homes. Assembled by internationally renowned multi-instrumentalist and composer Mahmoud Chouki, enjoy these relaxed and informal music experiences with acclaimed musicians from New Orleans and beyond.
ABOUT HARUKA KIKUCHI AND YOSHITAKA “Z2” TSUJI
Haruka Kikuchi was born in Japan and always had a knack and a love for music, listening to as much of it as she could at a young age as well as picking up instruments like piano and violin. It wasn’t until she heard an old recording of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band that she decided to pick up a trombone, a decision that would predicate her later move to New Orleans.
Since she arrived in the city, she has been playing with Shotgun Jazz Band, Shake’Em Up Jazz Band, Preservation Hall All Stars, Kermit Ruffins, and many others both within and beyond the US at festivals like the North Sea Jazz Festival, Umbria Jazz Festival, and the Edinburgh Jazz Festival. Kikuchi was a nominated member for 61st Grammy Awards, Best Regional Roots Music Album on Cha Wa’s album SpyBoy. In April 2020, a new compilation album from her Japan: New Orleans Collection Series debuted and is now available on online and at the Louisiana Music Factory.
Yoshitaka “Z2” Tsuji was born in Osaka, Japan. He started playing the piano at the age of 5, but his passion for jazz piano really grew when he was 18. From 2000 to 2010, he performed in Japan, Korea, and Spain, among other nations. He moved to New Orleans in May 2010. He currently has his own band and has been a member of Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers since 2012. Each year he performs at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, French Quarter Fest, and other music festivals in New Orleans. He has performed on the albums All About Everything by John Boutte (2012), #imsoneworleans by Kermit Ruffins (2015), Funk’n’nfeathers by Cha Wa (2016), and Basin Street Records Celebrates 20 Years (2018). In 2016, he appeared on a documentary TV program Asian Dreamer broadcasted by NHK World in New York. He released his first album, Homie, in 2016, and released a digital album on the twentieth anniversary of his musical life, From The Beginning, in 2020.
To learn more:
www.harombone.com
@harombone
@z2tsuji
View the full Musicians from Home series
NOMA is committed to uniting, inspiring, and engaging diverse communities and cultures through the arts — now more than ever. Your gift will make a direct and immediate impact as NOMA welcomes our community back to the museum and sculpture garden, plans new exhibitions, and develops virtual and at-home arts education resources for school partners.