Fumi Tomita

Fumi Tomita is currently Associate Professor of Jazz at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He was active in the New York jazz scene for over fifteen years.  His 2019 recording, The Elephant Vanishes: Jazz Interpretations of the Short Stories of Haruki Murakami, was released to critical acclaim by Origin Arts records and was listed in the top ten records of 2019 by Jazziz.  He plays ontenor saxophonist David Detweiler’s latest recording, There Used To Be Rain, part of a continued collaboration that extends to 2020’s Celebrating Bird: The Music of Charlie Parker.  The pair have performed at venues and conferences in Florida, New York, and Massachusetts.  The new record will be released by Centaur Records on May 5, 2023. 

He has presented his research at the International Society of Bassists Conference, Issues in Contemporary Jazz, Jazz Education Network, International Society for Improvised Music, BassEurope, Massachusetts Music Educators Association, and the National Association for Music Education.  His article “As Long as There’s Music: Spirituality in Charlie Haden’s Performance and Solo on “Irene”” was published in Jazz Perspectives in the fall of 2019.  His book, The Jazz Rhythm Section, was published by Rowman & Littlefield in conjunction with the National Association for Music Education in 2019.  Additionally, he has published articles in Bass world, Jazz Perspectives, and the Massachusetts Music Educators’ Journal.  His newest book, Early Jazz: A Concise Introduction, will be published by the State University of New York press in early 2024.

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