Mark Izu is an American jazz double bass player and composer. He is of Japanese ancestry and frequently combines jazz with Asian traditional musics (particularly the ancient Japanese court music known as gagaku) in his compositions. He has performed with Anthony Brown and Jon Jang. Mark Izu is a seminal leader in the'Asian American Jazz movement. His compositions include symphony, film, theater, dance and jazz. The principal curator of the original Asian American Jazz Festival held at the 'Asian Art Museum in San Francisco’s 'Golden Gate Park for nearly two decades, he helped establish the genre.
In addition to the double bass, he also plays the Japanese shō and Chinese sheng (both mouth organs).
He lives in San Francisco, California with his wife, playwright and performer Brenda Wong Aoki, and son.
Mark Izu received a Northern California Regional EMMY® Award for outstanding Musical Composition/Arrangement for his score for 'Bolinao 52, a film about the Vietnamese Boat People which also received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary.
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Navarasa: Duets for Shakuhachi & Contrabass (2010)
Legend of Morning Glory (2010)
Threading Time (2007)
Mermaid Meat (2007)
Last Dance (2002)
Dragon Painter (2007)
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
Circle of Fire, Mark Izu & Circle of Fire
San Francisco Jazz Festival 96
Tiananmen, Jon Jang & The Pan Asian Arkestra Soul Note
Quest, Michael West
Live in Berlin, United Front
Whats 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, Phonix Spring Ensemble, Betty Wong OWR
Travel of a Zen Babtist, 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