# Mark Izu > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mark_Izu > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mark_Izu.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Izu > Source revision: 1298967254 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American jazz musician (1954–2025)}} '''Mark Izu''' (September 30, 1954 – January 12, 2025) was an American jazz [double bass](/source/double_bass) player and composer. He was of [sansei](/source/sansei) (third-generation) Japanese ancestry and frequently combined jazz with Asian traditional musics (particularly the ancient Japanese court music known as ''[gagaku](/source/gagaku)'') in his compositions. He performed with [Anthony Brown](/source/Anthony_Brown_(jazz_musician)) and [Jon Jang](/source/Jon_Jang). Izu was a seminal leader in the [Asian American jazz](/source/Asian_American_jazz) movement. His compositions include works for symphony orchestra, film, theater, dance, and jazz. The principal curator of the original Asian American Jazz Festival held at the [Asian Art Museum](/source/Asian_Art_Museum_of_San_Francisco) in San Francisco’s [Golden Gate Park](/source/Golden_Gate_Park) for nearly two decades, he helped establish the genre. In addition to the double bass, he also played the Japanese ''[shō](/source/Sh%C5%8D_(instrument))'' and Chinese ''[sheng](/source/sheng_(instrument))'' (both free-reed [mouth organ](/source/mouth_organ)s). ==Life and career== Izu was born in [Vallejo, California](/source/Vallejo%2C_California), on September 30, 1954. He grew up in [Seattle, Washington](/source/Seattle%2C_Washington) and [Sunnyvale, California](/source/Sunnyvale%2C_California). The second of three brothers, he studied music at [San Francisco State University](/source/San_Francisco_State_University). He lived in San Francisco, California, with his wife, playwright and performer [Brenda Wong Aoki](/source/Brenda_Wong_Aoki), and son (Kai Kāne Aoki Izu). Mark Izu received a Northern California Regional Emmy Award for outstanding Musical Composition/Arrangement for his score for ''[Bolinao 52](/source/Bolinao_52)'', a film about the [Vietnamese boat people](/source/Vietnamese_boat_people), which also received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary. Izu died of colon cancer in San Francisco, on January 12, 2025, at the age of 70.{{cite news |last1=Gilbert |first1=Andrew |title=Mark Izu, bassist and composer at the center of the Asian American arts movement, dies at 70 |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/mark-izu-obit-20034770.php |access-date=16 January 2025 |publisher=San Francisco Chronicle |date=15 January 2025}} ==Discography== ===As leader=== *''Circle of Fire'', Mark Izu & Circle of Fire (1992) *''Last Dance'' (2002) *''Threading Time'' (2007) *''Mermaid Meat'' (2007) *''Dragon Painter'' (2007) *''Navarasa: Duets for Shakuhachi & Contrabass'' (2010) *''Legend of Morning Glory'' (2010) ===As sideman=== *''Cat Chat'', Tokyo Broadcast System (1999) TBS CD ROM *''Duke Ellington’s Far East Suite'', Asian American Orchestra (1999) *''The Queen’s Garden'', Brenda Wong Aoki (1998) *''Dreams & Illusions: Tales of the Pacific Rim'', with Brenda Aoki *''San Francisco Jazz Festival 96'' *''Tiananmen'', Jon Jang & The Pan Asian Arkestra Soul Note *''Quest'', Michael West *''Live in Berlin'', United Front *''What Is the Difference Between Stripping and Playing the Violin?'' with Miya Masaoka *''Family'', Anthony Brown *''Big Bands Behind Bared Wire'', Asian American Jazz Orchestra (1998) *''Jang'', Jon Jang *''Song for Manong'', Fred Houn *''Never Give Up'', Jon Jang & The Pan Asian Arkestra *''Self Defense!'', Jon Jang & The Pan Asian Arkestra Soul Note *''Francis Wong'', Francis Wong & the Great Wall Ensemble *''Crystalization of the Mind'', Jason Michaels *''In Xinjiang Time'', Phoenix Spring Ensemble, Betty Wong OWR *''Travel of a Zen Baptist'', Mark Izu/Lewis Jordan *''Are You Chinese or Charlie Chan?'', Jon Jang *''Ohm: Unit of Resistance'', United Front *''Of Blues Myself & I'', Ray Collins *''Path with a Heart'', United Front *''Monk'', Anthony Brown's Asian American Orchestra *''Russel Hisashi Baba'', Russel Baba ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * {{Official website|www.brendawongaoki.com/about-mark/}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20051218081916/http://www.firstvoice.org/mark_izu.html Mark Izu page] * [https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/mark-izu-obit-20034770.php Mark Izu obituary] * {{imdb name|0412807}} * {{discogs artist|Mark Izu}} ==See also== * [Asian American jazz](/source/Asian_American_jazz) {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Izu, Mark}} Category:1954 births Category:2025 deaths Category:American jazz double-bassists Category:American male double-bassists Category:American jazz composers Category:American male jazz composers Category:American musicians of Japanese descent Category:Shō players Category:Jazz musicians from California Category:21st-century American double-bassists Category:21st-century American male musicians Category:Deaths from colorectal cancer in California Category:People from Vallejo, California Category:Jazz musicians from San Francisco Category:Composers from San Francisco {{US-jazz-musician-stub}} {{Double-bassist-stub}} --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mark Izu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Izu) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Izu?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.