Kazunori Sugiyama

(b. 1950)

Producer, recordist. Active in New York City 1977 through 2020.

Kazunori Sugiyama’s lasting work documenting the New York avant-garde has manifested in two episodes. The earliest part of his coverage generated concert photography and location recordings capturing the end of the 1970s loft-era. Against the backdrop of the 1970s do-it-yourself ethos, Sugiyama’s recordings stand out for their attention to detail and ambitious perfectionism.

Sugiyama’s subsequent contributions as a recordist and producer established him as a powerful force in producing New York talent for the label and shaping its identity. Through his work for independent labels as well as his own Bellows imprint, Sugiyama came to the attention of DIW in 1984 during a period of ascendancy for the label and later to the Japanese Toshiba/EMI interest Somethin’ Else in 1989. Throughout this period, he also developed and maintained a close working relationship with saxophonist John Zorn, finding himself essential to the launch and continuity of the Avant and Tzadik labels.

To date, Kazunori Sugiyama has been involved in the production of nearly a thousand released records. With his return to Japan in 2020, Sugiyama has trusted the archives of his meticulous music documentation to Crossing Tones.