Gerald Oshita

Who was Gerald Oshita?

Gerald Oshita was an American musician, composer, and sound recordist.

Oshita, who was of Japanese ancestry, lived in the San Francisco Bay Area and specialized in unusual wind instruments, particularly those of especially low register. He performed and recorded with straight alto saxophone, tenor and baritone saxophones, contrabass sarrusophone, and Conn-o-sax, and also made shakuhachi.

Oshita's music drew on elements of jazz as well as contemporary classical music, and was often partly or wholly improvised. Among the musicians with whom Oshita frequently worked were Roscoe Mitchell and Thomas Buckner, and this trio released two recordings on the 1750 Arch record label. His work shows the influence of Asian music and philosophy, and he is considered one of the seminal musicians in the development of Asian American jazz.

In 1994, the Gerald Oshita Memorial Fellowship was established in Oshita's memory by an anonymous donor. The fellowship is presented annually to a composer of Asian, African, Latino, or Native American heritage, and supports a residency at the Djerassi Resident Artists Program on the Program's ranch in Woodside, California.