Isao Suzuki was a Japanese jazz double bassist born on January 2, 1933, in Tokyo. He received musical training on United States military bases after being inspired by a 1953 performance by musician Milt Hinton. Suzuki began his professional career performing with musicians Shotaro Moriyasu, Hidehiko Matsumoto, and Sadao Watanabe. He led his own ensemble in Tokyo from 1965 to 1969. Suzuki relocated to New York City in 1969 after being recruited by musician Art Blakey to join the ensemble The Jazz Messengers. During his professional career in New York, he performed and recorded with musicians including Ron Carter, Ella Fitzgerald, Charles Mingus, and Thelonious Monk. After returning to Japan, he co-founded the Japanese Bass Players Club. His recording career included the debut solo studio recording Blow Up (1973) which reached professional recognition when it received the Japan Jazz Prize. He subsequently released the studio recordings Blue City (1974) and All Right (1974) followed by the studio recordings Touch (1975) and Black Orpheus (1976). Suzuki reached wider visibility for his work on the cello and piccolo bass. In 1987, he established a jazz club in Osaka. He reached professional recognition in 2009 when he received the Fumio Nanri Prize. Suzuki died on March 8, 2022, in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, of pneumonia caused by COVID-19.
