Jazz Guitar Is Alive And Well In The Midwest, Tetsuya Nishiyama

Jazz Guitar Today contributor Joe Barth catches up with guitarist Tetsuya Nishiyama.

Active in the mid-Nebraska and northern Kansas areas is guitarist Tetsuya Nishiyama. Growing up in Japan, Tetsuya lived and studied in Chicago before moving to Lincoln, Nebraska, to pursue his Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. Tetsuya has been recently featured on organist Mitch Towne’s new album Refuge.

JB:  Growing up in Japan, talk about when you started to play guitar and what inspired you to play jazz guitar.

TN:  My first guitar was a semi-acoustic guitar that my cousin had but no longer needed. I think I was 13 years old at the time. I hadn’t learned any instruments before then. Since I had friends who already were playing the guitar before me, I learned how to play very basic chords from them. 

I truly appreciated American music as a teenager. Then, my dream was to go to the US to play with American musicians. I finally moved to Chicago in 2010. Everything was so inspiring. I met so many great musicians there. I felt as if everyone was better than me.

My jazz guitar journey finally began when I met 2 great guitarists in Chicago.

I met a fantastic Chicago jazz guitarist, Peter Lerner. He encouraged me to study jazz guitar when I took a lesson from him. I really learned what a jazz guitar was supposed to sound like. 

Rob Block was an absolutely amazing guitarist/pianist based in Chicago at that time. Like Peter, he encouraged me to study jazz. He taught me so much about scales, solo guitar, comping, outside playing…etc. He was a fantastic teacher. 

JB:  What did you appreciate most about Northern Illinois University and that era of development?

TN:  This is where I grew in my understanding of jazz and true musicianship. It was truly inspiring to study with my idols Freed Haque and Bobby Broom. 

I studied with Fareed during my undergrad and also studied with one of my biggest idols, Bobby Broom. They taught me so much about jazz guitar. I mean everything. 

Northern Illinois University was an amazing school to learn how to swing. That was the main focus there. I didn’t play much contemporary types of jazz there but instead, the school taught me so much about swing and blues. The experience and things I learned there are definitely a huge part of me as both a player and educator. 

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JB:  To you, in your personal development, what are three of the most influential jazz guitar albums and why?

TN:  This is always a difficult question to answer, but I’d say that my biggest influential jazz guitarists are probably George Benson, Bobby Broom, Pat Martino, Peter Bernstein and Jeff Parker.  

George Benson Tenderly 

I’d say that George Benson was my first jazz guitar hero. I truly fell in love with his sound and feel. Even though at that time I had no idea what he was playing, I still copied lots of his solos and spent a ton of time listening to his music. I learned how swinging jazz guitar is supposed to sound from this album. 

It’s no exaggeration to say that my foundation of jazz guitar playing comes from what I learned from Benson. 

Bobby Broom Song and Dance

Bobby Broom is my former professor at Northern Illinois University. He took the job after Fareed Haque when I was a 2nd year grad student. Even before I met him there, I had checked all his music. I mean EVERYTHING including albums, Interviews, YouTube.etc. 

Song and Dance is one of his albums that I listened to a thousand times. I used to be scared to play “guitar trio” because I felt it’s so empty. However, Bobby makes his trio sound so incredible without playing many chords. This trio has been one of my jazz trio models. I love everything about this album. His tone, lines, 8th notes feel…etc. It’s just so perfect to me. Also, I always love his variety of repertoires from pop music. He makes it so personal.

I really love Jeff Parker’s music and guitar. He’s an incredibly unique artist. He does kinda everything from Free Jazz to hip hop. His music/style had a huge impact on me. I really appreciate his style in that he never overplays like I tend to do. It’s incredible that he says so much without playing too many notes.  I was also obsessed with his feel. He plays behind the beats beautifully. I mean he plays REALLY behind.  His guitar style reminds me of another of my guitar idols, Grant Green. 

I have transcribed lots of Jeff Parker’s solos to get his time feel. 

Jeff Parker’s The Relatives is probably my third choice. I am not sure if this is called a jazz guitar album. However, I have devoted so much time to listening to this album of his. His music has inspired me so much!

JB:  Tell us about your recent album Refuge with organist Mitch Towne. 

TN:  I really can’t thank this man enough! After I left Chicago during the pandemic in 2020, I met Mitch in Omaha. Since then, he has given me so many opportunities to play with him, as well as many other renowned artists. I have learned so much from him, and of course, I am still learning something new from him. I am positive that I wouldn’t have the career I have now without him. 

It’s incredibly honoring for me to be a part of his album. At the same time, I honestly felt some pressure on me because he has been playing with one of the best guitarists in the country like Dave Stryker, Dan Wilson, Scott Hesse, Eric Slaughter…etc. I truly admire all of them and these cats are just so incredible.

Anyway, we had already been playing many of his originals in the album before the recording session. Every time we played, Mitch would make some minor tweaks. That’s how we finalized what we were going to record. 

Mitch and I dig a lot of the same artists, so I could clearly see where his inspiration for his writings were coming from. We recorded most of the tunes 2 – 3 times, then picked the best take. I believe that we played “Wolverine” only once. We all felt like “this is going to be the one!!”

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JB:  What do you find most rewarding and challenging about working in the organ trio?

TN:  As a guitar player, playing with an amazing organist is absolutely exciting any day. When I play with pianists, I always wait and see what they do first. I happily shut up and just listen to the piano unless they tell me to play comp together.  

On the other hand, playing with organists is a completely different experience. I actively participate in their playing.  I have never found any particular challenges with the Organ Trio, but I definitely have learned that I need to work on my comping as I keep playing with Mitch.

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JB:  What do you appreciate most about the guitar that you use?

TN:  I had been using a Gibson ES 335.  I bought this guitar as a new one during the pandemic. Before this guitar, I had been using Ibanez GB-10. GB-10 is a great guitar but I figured that I like the ES-335 works better with Mitch. I miss the sound of archtop guitars sometimes, but I found that semi-acoustic guitars are really easy to play and much more versatile. 

JB:  Talk about the jazz scene in Lincoln and down in Kansas and how you are able to make a living playing music there.

TN:  I am still based in Omaha actually, but I teach at the University of Kansas and Washburn University in KS weekly. So, I am not technically based in Kansas City yet, although I am planning to move. I have been driving quite a bit.

KC jazz scene is absolutely amazing. KC is not a huge city but there are so many great musicians just like Chicago (where I used to live). It’s hard to believe sometimes. There is a lot of work here more than I could imagine.  Also, it is so inspiring to work with world class jazz faculty. I feel that I am very honored to be a part of this amazing jazz program and scene.

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