Born in
Tokyo,
Japan, Suzuki learned to play bass on
United States military bases, and played early in his career with
Shotaro Moriyasu,
Hidehiko Matsumoto, and
Sadao Watanabe. He led his own ensemble in Tokyo from 1965–1969, also performing with
Hampton Hawes in 1968. He moved to New York City from 1969 to 1971, playing with
Ron Carter,
Paul Desmond,
Ella Fitzgerald,
Jim Hall,
Wynton Kelly,
Charles Mingus,
Thelonious Monk, and
Bobby Timmons. Returning to Japan, he played with
Kenny Burrell and
Mal Waldron in addition to his own ensembles. Later in the 1970s, he began expanding his instrumental repertoire, playing
cello and
piccolo bass. He was a cofounder of the
Japanese Bass Players Club with
Hideto Kanai, and opened a jazz club in
Osaka in 1987. Suzuki played wildly, but pensively. He was awarded the
Fumio Nanri prize in 2008. He died from
COVID-19 in
Kawasaki, Kanagawa, on 8 March 2022, at the age of 89, during the
COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. ==References==