/.about_me/
Multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and composer Toshio Alan Mana

Based in Philadelphia, PA, Toshio is active as a session musician, sideman, teacher, and even - on occasion - a solo artist.

Active from a young age as something of a composer he graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory where he first studied music composition before dedicating himself more to a life of performance. In addition to the curriculum of Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart, he enjoyed studying and performing contemporary music - Xenakis, Crumb, Stockhausen, Cage. It was also there that he formed his first two bands: Fen and tattered hat - the latter a primarily studio-based venture.

Since graduating he has been highly active in the northeast as a sideman - performing with a number of independent artists such as Daniel Cartier, Freddy Freeman, Allison Tartalia, and Michael West. He's even been flown to other parts of the country including Seattle and Nashville to lend his chops in support of fellow musicians.

As a studio musician he appears on a number of albums from a variety of artists such as folk/brazilian artist John Raymond Pollard, blues and folk singer Matthew Temple, pop singer John Fkiaras, in addition to a number of broadway and musical demos. In the classical field he appears on a recording of John Luther Adams' "In the white silence" and a collection of Mozart concertos called "Mozart for Modulation".

Some of his other exploits include: participating in the Color Music Orchestra - a piece utilizing color and shapes to express musical ideas; the Ego<is>him project - a spoken word/bass duo with poet Jhon Valdes; and appearing on the VH1/LOGO reality show "Can't Get A Date" as the guitarist for James Bradford with whom he still performs with.

He is currently primarily employed at the Settlement Music School where he teaches double bass and electric bass. It is there that he recently co-instructed a workshop on using free improvisation to develop leadership skills.