About
Fabio Rambelli is an academic and a musician active in Italy, Japan, and the US. He plays the shō and the rare u (Japanese mouthorgans), as well as the saxophone and the flute. He specializes in contemporary music, avant jazz and improvisatory contexts. In his playing, he is deeply aware and respectful of the history of the instrument, but he also tries to expand its possibilities in a dialogue with other music traditions, especially in terms of improvisation. He has released several CDs (world jazz, experimental, deep ambient, contemporary art music, free jazz) with various units (Listen here). He is now working on multiple projects with musicians from different countries.
On the academic side, Fabio Rambelli is Distinguished Professor of Japanese Religions and Cultural History at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He works on the cultural dimension of Japan religions (Buddhism, Shinto, Confucianism). His major books include Buddhist Materiality (2007), A Buddhist Theory of Semiotics (2013), The Sea and the Sacred in Japan (2018), and Gagaku: The Cultural Impact of Japanese Ceremonial Music (2025). For more information, see:
