Kaoru Abe

Who was Kaoru Abe?

Kaoru Abe was an influential Japanese avant-garde alto saxophonist, who is often regarded as having the greatest abrasive saxophone sound. Self-taught at a young age, Abe performed with notables such as Motoharu Yoshizawa, Takehisa Kosugi, Yosuke Yamashita, Derek Bailey, and Milford Graves, although he generally performed solo. He was married to the author Izumi Suzuki, and a cousin to singer Kyu Sakamoto. He also appeared in the film Endless Waltz by Kōji Wakamatsu. He is not to be confused with the Japanese actor Kaoru Abe, who is notable for his role as Asuka/AbareBlack in Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger, the 27th installment in the long-running Super Sentai franchise.