The Cowboy & The Samurai: Bruce & Akira

A cowboy and a samurai walk into a bar…it could happen! Bruce Forman and Akira Tana team up to explore the archetypes, and their relation to the jazz ethos. Expect thrilling improvisation, storytelling, and tons of fun!

“Bruce Forman is one of the great lights of our age.” Barney Kessel, Jazz Times

A hectic touring schedule; twenty-one recordings as a leader,  countless sideman recordings including Ray Brown, Bobby Hutcherson, Roger Kellaway; soundtrack performances on three of Clint Eastwood’s distinguished films—most notably Academy Award-winning Million Dollar Baby; raconteur, arranger, acclaimed educator, in residence at USC’s Studio/Jazz Guitar Dept., when does Bruce Forman rest?

Born and raised in California, Akira Tana earned degrees from Harvard University and the New Conservatory of Music. Tana has worked with, among others, Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt, Zoot Sims, Hubert Laws, Milt Jackson, Jim Hall, Art Farmer, The Paul Winter Consort, Paquito D’Rivera, James Moody, J.J. Johnson, Lena Horne, The Manhattan Transfer, Ruth Brown, Charles Aznavour, Maurice Hines, and Van Dyke Parks. He has appeared on over 200 recordings.