Yuto Kanazawa is a genre-blending Japanese jazz guitarist based in NYC. Born in Tokyo in 1986, his musical journey began at age three with Yamaha Music School, where he studied basic reading/rhtyhms and keyboards. His next-door neighbor, flamenco guitar luthier Mr. Sato, would occasioanlly tune guitars late at night—mysterious sounds that would later shape Yuto’s path.

At age ten, Yuto’s family moved to Fukushima. There, he discovered his father’s classical guitar in the attic and began playing Japanese pop and rock, eventually delving into heavy metal during his teenage years. In the absence of local guitar teachers, he taught himself through tablature, VHS tapes, and DVDs.

After high school, Yuto attended the Koyo Conservatory in Kobe, studying jazz—particularly under guitarist Hiroshi Tsuchino and pianist the late Masako Hamamura—and taking masterclasses with guitarists Mike Stern and Allen Hinds. He soon began gigging regularly, performing with a variety of groups, including a jazz band with now-renowned ambient pianist Hideyuki Hashimoto, a Beatles cover band, jazz duos, and organ trios.

In 2007, Yuto moved to the United States to attend Berklee College of Music, where he was mentored by guitarists Mick Goodrick, Tim Miller, and trombonists Hal Crook and Phil Wilson. While there, he formed a band with bassist Zwelakhe Duma Bell le Pere and drummer Jonathan Pinson, performing regularly at a local bowling lounge. In 2012, they recorded his debut album Earthwards with Norwegian clarinetist Felix Peikli, Puerto Rican saxophonist Mario Castro, and Grammy-winning vocalist Kurt Elling, released on Interrobang Records.

Since then, Yuto has released more than ten albums as a leader/co-leader, won the International Songwriting Competition in the Jazz category, and been a finalist in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest. He has signed with Universal Music Group’s UNXT (now under Virgin Music Group) as well as Japanese label Apollo Sounds.

During the pandemic, Yuto returned to classical guitar and rekindled his passion for flamenco, now performing with Barcelona-born flamenco dancer and actress Paloma de Vega. He also began releasing bolero solo guitar recordings on Spotify, where his music has been streamed over three million times worldwide. In parallel, he became a prominent jazz guitar influencer, building an Instagram following of over 100,000.

Yuto has toured internationally in Japan, Korea, the U.S., Mexico, and Guatemala, and performed at iconic NYC venues such as Blue Note, B.B. King’s Blues Club, Fat Cat, Cleopatra’s Needle, Bar Next Door, Red Lion, Smalls Jazz Club, Arthur’s Tavern and Ornithology Jazz Club. He currently co-leads the Woodsiders Collective and hosts a weekly jam session at Chowk NYC.

Other current projects include No Day But Today, a duo with Japanese vocalist Jun Izumi covering Pat Metheny songs; a weekly solo guitar residency at the Marriott Vacation Hotel; In the Future, a cutting-edge jazz/post-punk–infused band with keyboardist Andrew McGowan and vocalist Melanie Giselle; and regular performances with the Kyoko Oyobe Band at Cellar Dog NYC.

Over the years, Yuto has also recorded with Grammy-winning bassist Lonnie Plaxico, Kaleta (Fela Kuti’s Egypt 80), Mike Mitchell, Takeshi Ohbayashi, Chris Parker, Lafayette Harris, Bikki Gurung, Myungsup Shin, Hoo Kim, KyuMin Shim, Hironori Momoi, Ilya Dynov, Ai Ichikawa, Goro Katano, Rina Komai, Takafumi Nikaido, Yuto Mitomi, Luis Sigüenza, Justus Heher, Diego Diaz and Sunnyside Electric band, and has performed with acclaimed artists including Kuni Mikami, Ruben Rodriguez, Steve Davis, Stacy Dillard, Ed Cherry, Tomoko Ohmura, Takuya Kuroda, Petros Klampanis, Julian Shore, Jonathan Barber, Rogério Boccato, Ron McClure, Mike Whitfield Jr., Roberto Giaquinto, Gregg Errico and Jerry Martini (Sly & The Family Stone), Randy Jackson (Zebra), and Tony Machine (New York Dolls) to name a few.