Early life and career Masato Honda started playing the saxophone in the 3rd grade under the influence of his father, after trying out both the flute and clarinet. During his high school years at the Kochi Prefectural Nakamura High School he participated in a pop band where he played guitar and sang. Afterwards, he went to Kunitachi College of Music, where he studied classical saxophone until he won the 14th Yamano Big Band Jazz Contest in 1983. Afterwards, he turned his focus to jazz and fusion styles. In 1985, he graduated from Kunitachi College of Music at the top of his class and joined
Nobuo Hara's Sharps and Flats. Afterwards, he worked as a session musician, notably working with
Toshiki Kadomatsu, Hiroshi Sato, and the Katsumi Horii Project,
T-Square The 1990 live,
T-Square Live (featuring F1 Grand Prix Theme) was Honda's first time working with T-Square as a session musician. The then-current saxophonist Takeshi Itoh stepped down from the group to pursue a solo career soon after. Honda debuted as an official member in
T-Square Live – "Farewell & Welcome" in 1991, which was Itoh's official send-off from the group. Prior to this, Honda began recording his first studio album with T-Square in January 1991,
New-S, where he composed the opening track,
Megalith. It would release on March 21 that same year. Also in 1991, the group recorded the album
Refreshest, the first album under the name "T-Square and Friends". It was composedly mainly of arrangements of previous songs, one of which was a version of ''It's Magic
. Following the death of racing legend Ayrton Senna in 1994, T-Square released SOLITUDE
, also as T-Square and Friends. Overseas musicians such as David Liebman, Michael Brecker, and Mike Stern joined T-Square and Friends for the album Miss you in New York'' in 1995. After the album
Blue in Red, Honda left T-Square for unknown reasons and pursued a solo career. He participated before leaving T-Square in
Farewell & Welcome Live 1998, which was recorded on April 28, 1998 and released on VHS the following July, and he also participated after leaving T-Square in
Yaon de Asobu – 20th Anniversary Special.
Berklee alum Takahiro Miyazaki replaced him starting with the album
Gravity, however Honda still contributed to it, playing on the song
Japanese Soul Brothers. T-Square's 2022 album
Wish marked his first activity with the band since he contributed a composition in their 2001 album
Brasil, and T-Square's 2022 year-end special live shows saw his return to the band's stage for the first time since he guest performed in 2000.
Other work , 2005. Honda has participated in the works of
Shiro Sagisu,
Ringo Sheena, Hiroshi Sato,
Toshiki Kadomatsu,
L'Arc-en-Ciel,
Kukeiha Club,
FictionJunction,
Kohei Tanaka, Motoaki Furukawa,
SunSet Swish,
Nana Mizuki,
Aiko, Yuji Toriyama,
Masayuki Suzuki,
Yui Makino,
Sumire Uesaka,
Junna, Ryo Takahashi, and
Round Table He has also recorded for the soundtracks of Cowboy Bebop,
Souryuden,
Gunstar Heroes,
Tenchi-Muyo! Ryo-Ohki,
Mega Man X,
Arc the Lad,
F-Zero X,
Shenmue,
Napple Tale,
Gensō Suikogaiden,
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex,
Detective Conan: Strategy Above the Depths,
Detective Conan: The Private Eyes' Requiem,
Angel Heart,
Wild Arms,
Detective Conan: Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure,
Hayate the Combat Butler,
Dengeki Gakuen RPG: Cross of Venus,
Pandora Hearts,
Evangelion Wind Symphony,
One Piece,
Cute High Earth Defense Club Love!,
Cat Planet Cuties,
Negima! Magister Negi Magi,
Heaven's Memo Pad,
Listen to Me, Girls. I Am Your Father!,
Kids on the Slope,
Nyaruko: Crawling with Love,
The Third,
Sound! Euphonium,
Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju,
Wake Up, Girls!,
Prison School,
Active Raid: Special Public Security Fifth Division Third Mobile Assault Eighth Unit,
Journey of Midgard/Michiko Naruke Ragnarok Online,
ACCA 13-ku Kansatsu-ka,
Square Enix Jazz Final Fantasy,
City Hunter: Shinjuku Private Eyes,
Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion Orchestra Concert, and
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest. Honda has been in a number of other fusion acts besides T-Square such as Four of a Kind, which participated in the 2004 JVC Jazz Festival in Seoul, and Voice of Elements, which live-streamed performances because of the
COVID-19 pandemic. In his 2008 solo album,
Across the Groove, he featured jazz keyboardist
Bob James. Also significant is his second solo album,
Carry Out, in which he played every instrument and composed every song on the record. Honda is a visiting professor at Showa University of Music. He was previously employed by Kunitachi College of Music as a professor of saxophone and jazz. His name was removed from the faculty list in 2020. == Instruments ==