Japanese Drummer Kozo Suganuma Has Died, He Was 62

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Kozo Suganuma, a drummer who has collaborated with many musicians in a wide range of music genres such as jazz and rock, died of colon cancer on the 8th, he was 62 years old. On the 9th, Mr. Suganuma’s daughter and drummer SATOKO announced his passing.

On Mr. Suganuma’s official website, Mr. SATOKO reported with the title “Notice of the death of his father Kozo Suganuma”. “The other day, my father, Kozo Suganuma, announced that he would be suspended for treatment due to stage 4 cancer, but yesterday, on November 8, 3rd year of Reiwa, he was surrounded by his family and was carefully watched over with a smile.

Kozo Suganuma was born in Osaka, Japan, and started playing drums at the age of eight. He became a professional drummer at the age of 15 and completed many studio recordings, concert tours and conferences. Kozo Suganuma Drum Dojo is located in six locations that Kozo operates in Japan.

He continues to publish various techniques, books and instructional DVDs on how to write drums and percussion. He worked passionately as a clinician and participated in drum and jazz festivals and clinics in Japan and many other countries.

Kozo has worked with David Garibaldi, Billy Cobham, Dave Weckel, Sonny Emory, Steve Jordan, Gerald “Jerry” Brown, Simon Phillips, Benny Grebe, Tommy Eagle, Peter Erskine, Russ Miller and other top drummers have collaborated. In 2014, he performed at “Montreux Jazz Festival 2014”, one of the world’s largest jazz festivals in Switzerland. In 2014, he performed at the “2014 Drum Music Summit” at the Beijing Drummer Festival.