Stomu YamashtaStomu Yamashta (born Yamashita Tsutomu, 15 March 1947) is a Japanese percussionist, keyboardist and composer. He is sometimes credited as Stomu Yamash'ta. His father was the band director Kiyoharu Yamashita (1907–1991). Stomu Yamashta was born in Kyoto, Japan, and studied music at Kyoto University, Juilliard School of Music, and Berklee College of Music, and has also lectured in music. In 1972, he brought the Red Buddha Theatre company from Japan to Europe, acting as their director, producer and composer, writing and performing in the multi-media event "The Man From The East", with Morris Pert's Come To The Edge providing the musical backing. He was the leader of the supergroup The Go with Steve Winwood, Al Di Meola, Klaus Schulze, and Michael Shrieve. He has composed for the British Royal Ballet, and wrote pieces for the David Bowie film The Man Who Fell to Earth and performed in Peter Maxwell Davies's score for Ken Russell's The Devils and in John Williams' score for Robert Altman's Images (1972). He has also composed film scores, most notably One by One (1975). His Space Theme was used by the BBC on The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Yamashta has performed and collaborated with numerous artists from around the world, and excerpts of a Stomu Yamashta performance appear in the last episode of Tony Palmer's All You Need is Love: The Story of Popular Music. |