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Roy Futaba

"Roy Futaba is a great craftsman when it comes to playing the tenor sax in the tradition that goes back to the rich history it deserves ! Roy really brings the real tenor sound alive, and very fluid with his choice of notes!" - James Zollar (New York City)

Roy Futaba (Formerly, Ryoju F) is a Japanese saxophonist, instructor based in New York City. Born in Kyoto, Japan, he started learning piano from an early age. As he discovered the saxophone in his school activity in his early teens, encountered Jazz music (cool and hard bop Jazz) simultaneously. He started learning Jazz music vigorously, and was instructed by Yoshiyuki Yamanaka Jazz Academie.

Accordingly, in March 2013, Roy visited San Francisco to participate in the Jazz competition ‘’Jazz Search West 2013’’. He won First Place the following month at the finals. As the prize, he received full tuition to the summer camp ‘’Jazz Camp West 2013’’, he had opportunity to perform in one of the faculty concerts as a guest saxophonist with Elio Villafranca, Allison Miller, Ratzo B. Harris.

In November 2013, Roy moved to the New York City to discipline himself, and study Jazz as a music based on American culture. In 2016, Roy was accepted into CUNY Queens College, Aaron Copland School of Music. While he was studying with John Ellis, Michael Mossman, David Berkman, and Dennis Mackrel, he participated “George Gershwin International Music Competition 2017 in New York”, and won third prize in Winds and Brass category in the competition. He graduated with the degree of Master of Music in Jazz Study in 2018.

Roy has been performing at wide variety music venues and restaurants in the city as well as in New Jersey, such as Swing 46, Ornithology Jazz Club, The Bitter End, The Waterfront Club, Lorena’s, Antique Garage, Hamilton Bar & Kitchen, Groove, Pianos, Tomi Jazz, Brooklyn Bowl, The Plaza Hotel, Gramercy Park Hotel, Shrine, Silvana, and Giando on the Water, Japan Village in Brooklyn.

To initiate the art form of Jazz music to beginners, Roy has been tutoring woodwinds and piano for kids to teenage students as one of energetic instructors of Musika Lessons as well as a private tutoring at Empire Studios in Downtown Brooklyn since 2019.