© Cristina Marx
Born in Osaka and currently based in Berlin, Kazuhisa Uchihashi is a guitarist, saxophonist, composer, arranger and producer. Since the 1980s, he has devoted his work largely to improvised music, collaborating with a wide range of musicians across Japan and around the world. His work extends beyond live performance to include music for film and theatre. Notably, he served as the music director for the Ishinha theatre company for over three decades, until the passing of its founder and director, Yukichi Matsumoto.
During this time, he collaborated extensively with numerous dancers and choreographers, including Kazuo Ohno, Akaji Maro, Yoko Higashino, Yukio Suzuki, Megumi Nakamura, Yuko Kaseki and Kota Yamazaki. He has also created pieces for music theatre with directors Amon Miyamoto and Masahiko Kawahara. In recent years, he has composed music for all European productions by the playwright Toshiki Okada (chelfitsch). In 2026, their third collaborative Noh production at the Kanagawa Arts Theatre received widespread critical acclaim.
Initially recognised worldwide as an improvising musician, he has appeared at hundreds of international music festivals and released more than 100 albums. He has performed with numerous musicians, including Fred Frith, Derek Bailey, Christian Marclay, Hans Reichel, Chris Cutler, Ned Rothenberg, Dagmar Krause and many others.
In addition, he has engaged in song-based music, collaborating with artists such as UA, Haruomi Hosono, Ichiko Aoba and Salyu.
A consistent thread running through his work is the attempt to dissolve the boundary between improvisation and composition, thereby pursuing a form of musical expression that extends beyond conventional guitar performance.
With the play DER LAUBBLÄSER, Kazuhisa Uchihashi’s music will be heard at Schauspielhaus Zürich for the first time in the 2026/27 season.
