Yoshitaka Tsuji was born in Osaka, Japan, started piano at five, and fell hard for jazz piano at eighteen. From 2000 to 2010 he played professionally in Japan, Korea, and Spain before moving to New Orleans in May 2010 — where he spent his first weeks busking in Jackson Square.
Watching Tsuji play is a bit like watching Jimi Hendrix, all speed and feeling.
— Country Roads MagazineThrough a Japanese acquaintance, singer Miki Fuji, he met Kermit Ruffins, sat in for a night, then subbed for two weeks while the regular pianist was on vacation. When Ruffins' pianist retired in 2012, Tsuji got the call — he has been the full-time pianist with Kermit Ruffins & the BBQ Swingers ever since, playing the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, French Quarter Fest, and festivals beyond every year.
As a sideman he appears on John Boutté's All About Everything (2012), Ruffins' #imsoneworleans (2015), Cha Wa's Funk'n'nfeathers (2016), and the Basin Street Records 20th-anniversary album (2018). As a leader: Homie (2016), From The Beginning (2020), and Happy Hour (2023) with his trio. He is married to trombonist Haruka Kikuchi.
