Masayuki Hiizumi

Lore & Background

Hiizumi joined the jazz instrumental band Pe'z in 1999. The band debuted in 2001 with the self-titled EP Pe'z, followed by Hayato and Okokoroire that same year. Their major debut with Toshiba EMI, Akatsuki, was released in 2002. In 2003, Hiizumi joined musician Ringo Sheena as a tour musician for her 10-date Sugoroku Tour. This tour band, Tokyo Jihen, debuted as a fully fledged act in 2004 with the single 'Gunjō Biyori,' which was composed by Ringo Sheena. The band's debut album Kyōiku was released in November 2004, featuring his songs 'Genjitsu ni Oite' and 'Service.' After the Dynamite tour in early 2005, Hiizumi left Tokyo Jihen on July 1, 2005, to focus on Pe'z.

Reader's Guide

Masayuki Hiizumi's significance lies in his dual role as a key member of two influential Japanese acts: the jazz instrumental band Pe'z and Ringo Sheena's Tokyo Jihen. His compositions for Tokyo Jihen, including the debut single 'Gunjō Biyori,' helped shape the band's early sound. His solo debut in 2007 as H Zett M marked a new creative direction. Later collaborations, such as the jazz trio H Zettrio (formed in 2013 with Pe'z members Masahiro Nirehara and Kou) and the unit Chazz with singer Roco, expanded his musical range into children's music reinterpreted in jazz style. His use of multiple stage names—including H Zett M, H Zetto M, and Hiizumimasayu-KI—reflects his varied projects. His legacy is that of a versatile keyboardist and composer who bridged jazz, pop, and experimental music in Japan.

Did You Know?

• Hiizumi did not compose Tokyo Jihen's debut single 'Gunjō Biyori'; it was composed by Ringo Sheena.
• He left Tokyo Jihen on July 1, 2005, to focus on Pe'z.
• His solo debut album as H Zett M was titled 5+2=11, released in 2008.
• In 2013, he formed the jazz trio H Zettrio with Pe'z members Masahiro Nirehara and Kou.

Career Arc & Band Memberships

Masayuki Hiizumi, born on February 12, 1978, is a Japanese keyboardist and producer whose career has been shaped by a series of high-profile band affiliations. He first entered the music scene in 1999 when he joined the jazz instrumental group Pe'z, a band that would remain a central pillar of his professional life. Pe'z made their initial mark in 2001 with a self-titled extended play, quickly followed by two additional releases that same year, Hayato and Okokoroire. Their breakthrough came in 2002 with Akatsuki, their major-label debut issued through Toshiba EMI. Hiizumi's path then intersected with the pop world when he was brought in as a touring musician for Ringo Sheena's ten-date Sugoroku Tour in 2003, a role that evolved into the full-fledged project Tokyo Jihen the following year. After the band's Dynamite tour concluded in early 2005, Hiizumi chose to step away from Tokyo Jihen so he could redirect his creative energy toward Pe'z, a decision he publicly announced on July 1 of that year. By 2007, he was ready to step into the spotlight on his own terms, launching a solo career under the stylized name H Zett M.

The Tokyo Jihen Chapter

Hiizumi's involvement with Ringo Sheena's project Tokyo Jihen represents one of the most concentrated creative bursts of his career. The connection began in 2003 when he was recruited as a touring keyboardist for Sheena's ten-concert Sugoroku Tour. The chemistry proved so strong that the touring lineup was formalized into a permanent act the following year. Tokyo Jihen's official debut single, "Gunjō Biyori," was composed by Hiizumi himself, establishing his role not merely as a performer but as a songwriter within the group. The band's debut album, Kyōiku, arrived in November 2004 and featured two additional Hiizumi compositions, "Genjitsu ni Oite" and "Service," further cementing his compositional voice in the project. The group followed the album with the Dynamite tour in early 2005. After that run of shows wrapped, Hiizumi made the deliberate choice to leave Tokyo Jihen, explaining that he wanted to refocus his attention on his ongoing work with Pe'z. He made the announcement on July 1, 2005, bringing a clean close to what had been a brief but musically significant chapter.

Solo Ventures & Collaborative Side-Projects

Once Hiizumi settled into his solo identity as H Zett M in 2007, he demonstrated a remarkable appetite for cross-genre collaboration. His solo debut album, 5+2=11, marked the starting point of a phase in which he simultaneously pursued multiple creative threads. That same year he contributed to Pe'zmoku, a musical partnership between his longtime band Pe'z and folk singer Suzumoku, and he also performed "Gallop," the ending theme for the anime series Bleach. Looking further ahead, in 2013 he reunited with two fellow Pe'z members, Masahiro Nirehara and Kou, to form the jazz trio H Zettrio. The group released their album Mitsuboshi on December 4, 2013, showcasing a tighter, more improvisational musical language than either Pe'z or his solo work. H Zettrio then expanded its creative circle by joining forces with jazz singer-songwriter Roco to create the unit Chazz. Their album, Chazz: Smile Music Life, took well-known children's songs and reimagined them in a jazz idiom with entirely new lyrics, illustrating Hiizumi's willingness to push familiar material into unexpected musical territory.

A Chameleon of Stage Names

One of the most distinctive aspects of Hiizumi's public identity is the sheer variety of stage names he has adopted across his different musical projects. The Japanese copyright agency JASRAC records his early Pe'z composition credits under the kanji name 樋泉昌之, yet within the band itself he is listed with the stylized reading ヒイズミマサユ機. When he first joined Ringo Sheena's Sugoroku Tour in 2003, his credit appeared as ヒーズミマサユ季. After Tokyo Jihen became an official act in 2004, the name shifted again to H是都M. For his 2007 solo debut, he settled on the romanized H Zett M, which has since become his most widely recognized moniker. Even in the 2014 Ringo Sheena live film, Ringo Haku '14: Toshionna no Gyakushū, he appears under yet another variation: Hiizumimasayu-KI. This pattern of shifting names, each subtly altering kanji, katakana, or romanization, suggests a deliberate artistic strategy, allowing each project to carry its own visual and phonetic identity while remaining traceable back to the same musician.