1962年生まれ寅年、広島県福山市出身、横浜市在住、作曲家、インプロバイザー。チェロ、ノコギリを奏す。ソロ公演、セッション、バンド活動を国内外で展開。エフェクターから工具、鉛筆削りまで、様々なモノを駆使した、他に類を見ないライヴパフォーマンスで知られ、中でもグラインダーでチェロから火花を出す演奏は代名詞ともなっている。2008年大規模野外ソロ公演では演奏中にチェロを燃やすというパフォーマンスを敢行している。バンド「パスカルズ」メンバー。早川義夫、友川カズキ、遠藤ミチロウ、酒井俊、UA、七尾旅人、PIKA☆、北村早樹子、中村達也、川上未映子、荒井良二（絵）、目黒陽介（現代サーカス）、入手杏奈（ダンス）など多種多彩なアーティストとのセッション、共演、サポート多数。一方、劇伴等の音楽制作も精力的に行っている。舞台では、コクーン歌舞伎『盟三五大切』、シスカンパニー『グッドバイ』『抜目のない未亡人』『草枕』『遊侠 沓掛時次郎』『ローゼンクランツとギルデンスターンは死んだ』『黒塚家の娘』『お蘭、登場』『風博士』、鵺的『悪魔を汚せ』『奇想の前提』『バロック』、流山児☆事務所『地球空洞説』『マクベス』『オケハザマ』、舞台『関数ドミノ』、 KERA・MAP『修道女たち』、新国立劇場『誰もいない国』等々。映像では、『緑子／ MIDORI-KO』（監督：黒坂圭太）、『アジア犬肉紀行』（監督：北田直俊）、『きよこのくら』（監督：中村智道）、TBSドラマ『凪のお暇』(「パスカルズ」での制作）等々。音楽ドキュメンタリー映画『We Don’t Care About Music Anyway』（監督：セドリック・デュピール ＆ ガスパール・クエンツ）出演。巻上公一、藤原清登と共に調布市せんがわ劇場「JAZZ ART せんがわ」プロデューサーを務める。
The Cello Shamanist
Hiromichi Sakamoto, now 50 years old and known from a lot of festivals around the world, is after the death of Tom Cora the lonely master of sometimes electronically modified and highly amplified avant-garde Cello playing. At Live concerts he starts often playing very heartwarming romantic music themes, one more beautiful than the other (sometimes using a musical saw). Sakamoto created formally a lot of music for Japanese Underground Tent Theatre Groups. This environment helped certainly to create this beautiful themes, tender and dreamful, but they last never till to the end, becoming gruesome broken and sometimes chaotically. Sakamoto developed also sound possibilities to new performing highs by contact with things nobody expects to be in contact with a Cello: drill machine, grinding machine, adult vibrator etc. He also fills the cello-body with dried beans to make the body of the cello a big maraca. Sometimes it looks like he has to fight with his Cello, a very physic real relationship. It seems Sakamoto is trying to shock his audience, because it appears like an Asian barbarian is trying to destroy a classic instrument and Sakamoto with his Jimi Hendrix-hairstyle seems to fit in that image. But the concept is much more to lead the audience and also the sound of his instrument behind limits. Hiromichi Sakamoto is much more a Jazz-Shamanist, who is playing with everything the modern world gives us in connection with tradition Asian music styles and feelings. There is certainly a lot of humor, maybe irony in his concerts, but it seems not a purpose to entertain the audience with jokes. It is a natural part of the “Jazz Art World of Hiromichi Sakamoto”, a connection of intercultural space and time and an inspiration of freedom, western people do often not expect from a Japanese. An unforgettable concert! A truly master of his unique art.
2012 Written by Peter Gössner (theatre director)