Tadataka Unno, Born in Tokyo in 1980.
Started playing piano at the age of 4, and Jazz piano at the age of 9. He began his career as a musician at the age of 18 while a student at Tokyo University of the Arts. He has performed with leading jazz artists in Japan including Yoshio Suzuki, Kimiko Ito, Masahiko Osaka, and has been a standard-bearer for the younger generation.
In 2008, he moved to New York City to further explore the roots and culture of jazz. As he started his career from scratch, Unno was soon recognized by top musicians in his new home. Two pivotal opportunities arose in 2010, when Unno was selected as a participant in the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program at the Kennedy Center (where he met his mentor, pianist George Cables) and then recommended for a spot in Chicago’s Lavinia Institute by legendary saxophonist Nathan Davis and trombone legend Curtis Fuller.
Unno has since been welcomed as an important new addition to the lineage of jazz. As his mentor Jimmy Cobb said, “I was a backbone for Miles (Davis) when I was with Miles, but now Tadataka is a backbone for me.” A remarkable number of jazz legends have mentored Unno and entrusted him with continuing their work, including the late Japanese jazz legend pianist Yuzuru Sera, the master of jazz piano Hank Jones, and the master of tenor saxophone and flute Frank Wess.
In addition to playing in bands such as Clifton Anderson, Winard Harper, John Pizzarelli, Jazzmeia Horn, he performs with his own trio, Danton Boller, Jerome Jennings, and in Japan with Yutaka Yoshida, and Shunsuke Umino..
In 2013, he was the first Japanese pianist to perform with the Jimmy Cobb Trio at the Village Vanguard. The one-week performance wowed the late Lorraine Gordon, owner of the renowned venue, as well as other discerning local jazz fans, and he joined the ranks of established New York musicians.
In 2014, he was honored by longtime fans when he was asked to be the pianist for a tribute concert to the late, beloved jazz pianist, Dick Morgan. Since then, he has performed with former members of Dick Morgan's band in and around Washington, D.C.
In June 2016, he visited the legendary Van Gelder Studios to record with the Jimmy Cobb Trio, where he had the chance to meet pioneering recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder. Mr. Van Gelder, who passed away just two months later at the age of 91, praised Unno’s talent, and Unno became the last recording pianist in Van Gelder's life. In October of the same year, he became as the first Japanese regular member of the Roy Hargrove Quintet, a prestigious group that has produced many musicians who are prominent in the contemporary music world, and toured around the world for two years until Roy's death.
On September 27, 2020, Tadataka was attacked and seriously injured during a wave of Asian hate crimes in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic. The unthinkable incident was reported widely in the U.S. media, including the New York Times and CBS, and after friends and musicians in both Japan and the U.S. launched a crowd-funding campaign to support his recovery, support poured in from all over the world.
After emergency surgery, he temporarily returned to Japan, and after about six months of treatment, Unno made the decision to return to New York in 2021 to resume his artistic activities. He was able to resume his robust schedule, performing with John Pizzarelli Trio at the Blue Note New York and returning to Japan for a "Miracle Revival Tour," which culminated at the Blue Note Tokyo.
Unno’s refusal to give in to discrimination and violence, and the way music sustained him during these chaotic times, was featured in the NHK special “What A Wonderful World: The Struggle of Jazz Against Divisions," which received a great response and the program was nominated for a 2022 International Emmy Award.
In March 2022, he released his return album "Get My Mojo Back" on the Verve label and it became the top-selling new jazz album in Japan. He received wide recognition across many genres, and made media appearances on J-pop music king Gen Hoshino's "All Night Nippon" as well as Nippon Television’s live morning show “Sukkiri”.
In November and December, performed with trio members Danton Boller and Jerome Jennings at the Blue Note Tokyo, Cotton Club, and Sapporo City Jazz Club to great acclaim.
In May 2023, he released "I Am, Because You Are" on the Verve label.
In 2025, Jeff Hamilton invited him to join his trio.
He has performed with so many greats such as: Roy Hargrove, Jimmy Cobb, Jeff Hamilton, John Pizzarelli, Winard Harper, Frank Wess, Sadao Watanabe, Clifton Anderson, Joe Wilder, Jimmy Heath, George Coleman, Houston Person, Slide Hampton, Eddie Henderson, Wallace Roney, Scott Hamilton, Harry Allen, Al Foster, George Mraz, Ray Drummond, Steve Jordan, Steve Williams, Chuck Redd, Chuck Riggs, Ralph Moore, Donald Harrison, Vincent Herring, Javon Jackson, Antoine Roney, Eric Alexander, Bob Cranshaw, Buster Williams, David Williams, Curtis Lundy, Hassan J.J. Shakur, Essiet Okon Essiet, Jim Cammack, Gerald Cannon, John Webber, Willie Jones III, Victor See Yuen, Tony Middleton, Annie Ross, Mary Stallings, Roberta Gambarini, Jazzmeia Horn, Dave Pike, Steve Nelson, Nicki Parrott, Yoshiaki Masuo, Steve Abshire, Russell Malone, Peter Bernstein, Eddie Allen, Patrick O'Leary, Peter Washington, Kenny Washington, Johnathan Blake, Danton Boller, David Wong, Yasushi Nakamura, Jerome Jennings, Dezron Douglas, Jovan Alexander, Jonathan Barber, Ben Solomon, Kojo Roney and others.
Unno continues to be nourished and inspired by this ongoing exchange with generations of artists. These impressions are lasting - Tadataka was with his mentor Hank Jones in 2010 at the end of his 91-year life and endeavors to fulfill his duty by following in his mentor's footsteps and pursuing his own music.