Gary G. Vercelli

Jazz harpist Motoshi Kosako can perhaps best be described as a Renaissance man of modern music. At age 55, he divides his time between refining his craft as a musician and tending to the fifteen-acre ranch he runs with his wife Terra in Oregon House, 68 miles north of Sacramento. As a young man in his native Japan, Kosako walked away from a lucrative promising medical career to become a jazz guitarist. His parents weren’t pleased with his decision, but Motoshi felt he had to follow his heart.

In 1968, drummer Elvin Jones, who had recently left the legendary John Coltrane quartet, formed a pianoless trio to record a classic date for Blue Note records called “Puttin’ It Together.” Jones, a master of polyrhythms, unleashed a powerful statement of fertile improvisation along with saxophonist Joe Farrell and bassist Jimmy Garrison. A decade earlier, saxophone colossus Sonny Rollins, along with Jones, explored the same paired down trio format live at The Village Vanguard.

As a veteran composer, record producer and film scorer, Todd Cochran has collaborated on projects with Maya Angelou, Burt Bacharach and Neil Diamond. He’s produced and composed for jazz giants Freddie Hubbard and Bobby Hutcherson. His concert at SFJAZZ on May 18 will be a homecoming, in that Cochran was born and raised in San Francisco. He spoke with CapRadio’s Gary G. Vercelli about growing up in San Francisco , performing live and his creative process.