New York based multi-instrumentalist Masaru Koga, or Mas, as most would call him, developed his worldview at an early age. Soon after his birth in Chiba Japan, his family relocated to the US due to his father’s work, and spent this adolescent years moving around multiple times. By the time he graduated high school, he had lived in three different countries and nine different cities.
Mas took interest in music as a young child; especially in jazz music. At 11 years old he started learning the trumpet and joined the school band. Before long, he was listening to old recordings by Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, and others. But a few years later, after another move to Munich Germany, he had a chance to borrow an alto saxophone from his sister’s friend. This, ultimately changed his life. With a magazine cutout of a fingering chart and CDs and cassettes of his favorite music, he began teaching himself. He was 15 years old.
With an international upbringing, it was fitting that he found himself at San Jose State University majoring in “Improvised Music Studies”, where he intensively studied and explored musical tradition from around the world. With the guidance from his mentors Dwight Cannon, Hafez Modirzadeh, royal hartigan, Mas earned his BA in IMS in 1995.
Fueled with a passion for cultural experiences, Mas started to incorporate the Japanese shakuhachi into his music, and began his apprenticeship with master shakuhachi artist Masayuki Koga. And in addition to wind instruments, Mas fell in love with the sound of Brazilian Samba and immersed himself in Brazilian drumming, studying with the masters and playing with the rich Brazilian Samba community in the bay area. From 2006 to 2011 he served as the artistic director for SambAsia San Francisco, an award winning escole de samba founded by renowned percussionist Jimmy Biala.
As a performing artist, Mas has had the privilege of performing and recording with luminaries such as Brenda Wong Aoki, Mark Izu, Akira Tana, Fred Ho, Anthony Brown, Wayne Wallace, Kenny Endo, and his mentors Hafez Modirzadeh and royal hartigan. In 2010, he received “The Latin Jazz Corner Best of 2010 Awards” in the “Latin Jazz Flautist of the Year” category for his performance on vocalist Kat Parra’s album “Dos Amantes”.
Mas’s sound encompasses the many cultural traditions he’s been touched by, and the worldview developed though diverse life experiences. He aims to create music that respects traditions and goes beyond styles and idioms, and ultimately help diminish all forms of social boundaries.