“Dude, you sound like the Legolas of woodwinds. You actually sound like Legolas and it’s not just the hair.”
Jasper Shogo Dutz is a distinguished multi-woodwind instrumentalist based in New York City, originally hailing from Los Angeles. In addition to playing freelance gigs in the NYC area, Jasper is the lead alto saxophonist in the Grammy-winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra directed by Arturo O'Farrill. He also leads his own quartet that blends Japanese folk influences with jazz, combining both his creative background and his heritage. In 2023, Jasper founded the J-Pop/Jazz cover band Catbus Collective, where he showcases his virtuosity on various woodwind instruments alongside several colleagues in a modular configuration. Beyond performing, he serves as the artistic director for VGM Jam Sessions NYC, a role he has held since 2021. A graduate of the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, where he attended on a full tuition scholarship, Jasper has collaborated with renowned artists such as Nels Cline, Joel Ross, Lenny Pickett, Jon Batiste, and Ron Carter.
Jasper aims to project and promote creative sincerity not only in music, but in all mediums of art. As a performer, he seeks to push the boundaries of all his instruments and speak with a unique voice that can be identified as his own in any setting regardless of genre. As a composer, he chooses to write music that conveys stories that evoke feelings of nostalgia and mysticism. Outside of music, Jasper is an avid video gamer and self-proclaimed nerd who finds inspiration in aquatic wildlife, and the lore of fictitious universes (eg. Lord of the Rings, Pokémon, Star Wars). A few of his creative influences include; Hayao Miyazaki, Björk, Junichi Masuda, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Stan Lee.
Jasper attended the Los Angeles County High School for the arts where he had the opportunity of learning from and performing alongside many acclaimed jazz artists including; Herbie Hancock, Barry Manilow, Diane Reeves and Christian McBride. He then graduated from the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music on a full tuition scholarship where he studied with legends such as Lee Konitz, Reggie Workman and Jane Ira-Bloom. He has since performed at many of NYC’s top jazz venues and regularly tours throughout the United States, the Middle East and East Asia.
“Every age has its storytelling form, and video gaming is a huge part of our culture. You can ignore or embrace video games and imbue them with the best artistic quality. People are enthralled with video games in the same way as other people love the cinema or theatre.”