Biography

Yoshifumi Nihonmatsu was born in Fukushima, Japan. Since his mother is a singer and a music educator, classical music and musical instruments surrounded Yoshi at home. He began formal lessons on piano at the age of three. He started playing drums and classical percussion when he was a junior high school student.

In 1994, Yoshi won Gold (1st) prize in the All Japan Ensemble Competition. After winning 1st prize, he did a concert tour in Australia. He was presented Canberra Honorary Citizenship in the field of music from Canberra, Australia. He enrolled in Senzoku Gakuen Junior College to study Jazz with the top musicians in Japan in 1997. There he studied the drums with Masahiko Osaka. Yoshi has performed several venues all over Japan, since he began his studies at the college. In 2001, he received numerous scholarships to attend Berklee College of Music, where he had studied with George Garzone, Jamey Haddad, Joe Hunt, Jon Hazilla, Ed Kaspik, Dave Santoro, Casey Scheuerell and so on. In May 2003, he appeared on SIRIUS Satellite Radio in their State-of-The-Art studios at Rockefeller Center. The program was heard across the U.S. He has also performed at Blue Note New York, as a member of Berklee Scholarship Jazz Ensemble, which consists of some of the top instrumentalists at Berklee.

Since arriving in New York, he has been in high demanded as a freelance drummer, performing in famous clubs such as Blue Note New York, 55 Bar, Fat Cat, Smoke, Cleopatra's Needle. He has also led his own group YNT (Yoshi Nihonmatsu Trio) in several venues in and around the city.