Noriaki Kumagai (熊谷 徳明, Kumagai Noriaki; born March 18, 1970) is a Japanese drummer, composer, and arranger. He is a former member of Casiopea, one of Japan's leading fusion bands. As of 2021, he is the leader of TRIX. His blood type is B. He is affiliated with King Records. He supported Maki Ohguro from her debut until she suspended activities, and subsequently supported TUBE for approximately one year.
Bands
- Casiopea - former member
Credited On
No disc here credits them by name - the catalogue holds 1 release by Casiopea, credited to the band.
Biography
Translated from the ja.wikipedia article 熊谷徳明 (CC BY-SA 4.0), revision 110569152.
Kumagai was born in Sapporo, Hokkaido, in 1970.
From 1988, he served as a Yamaha drum instructor. In 1989, he won the Berklee College of Music in Japan summer seminar and received a scholarship. In 1990, he entered Berklee College of Music, later becoming a member of Tigers Baku.
In 1992, after returning to Japan, he joined Casiopea. In addition to his technical skill as a drummer, his compositional ability was highly regarded by the other members, and albums released during his tenure always included compositions by Kumagai alongside those of principal songwriters Minoru Mukaiya and Issei Noro.
In 1996, he left Casiopea, having participated in six original albums. In 1997, he formed XL with Akihito Tokunaga and Terumon Onishi. The group later made its debut on ZAIN RECORDS. He left XL in 1999.
In 2001, he formed the fusion band TRIX. His 2015 album Chinese Zodiac incorporated a great deal of his own playful spirit.
In 2016, it was announced on his official website that he would slow the pace of TRIX's activities due to focal dystonia in his right foot.
On July 7, 2018, he opened the official YouTube channel “NORIAKI KUMAGAI”. In 2019, he relocated his official website.
Sources
- Wikidata entity Q7051213.
- ja.wikipedia, 熊谷徳明 (revision 110569152), CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photograph: Noriaki Kumagai, 2016.png on Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0, by Hai Kuo Musical Instrument.
