Makoto Ozone

About

Makoto Ozone is a Japanese jazz pianist. He was born March 25, 1961 in Kobe. He began to play the piano at five years old and debuted in Japan at the young age of fifteen. In 1980, he entered the Berklee College of Music, located in Boston. He graduated from the school in 1983 and gave a piano recital at Carnegie Hall in New York in June of the same year. At this concert Ozone was discovered by Quincy Jones who offered him an exclusive record contract with CBS Broadcasting, Inc. He was the first Japanese musician ever to sign a this kind of contract with CBS. Afterwards, he released his world debut album, OZONE. Since then, he has been playing actively in a variety of genres worldwide.