Sawada Shungo was a Japanese jazz guitarist.

Born in Yawatahama, Nishiuwa-gun , Ehime Prefecture on February 10, 1930. He says that when he was a boy, he saw the 1944 American film " Sisters and a Sailor " and was fascinated by the guitar playing in the film, which led him to start playing the guitar.

After World War II, he moved to Tokyo and began to play jazz guitar seriously, and began touring American military camps.

In 1954, he participated in the Mocambo Sessions held at the Mocambo Club in Isezakicho, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, along with Hana Hajime, Hitoshi Ueki, and Shōtarō Moriyasu.

In 1957, he became an apprentice to Dempsey Wright, guitarist for the Chico Hamilton Band, and learned authentic jazz guitar techniques.

He also worked as a composer, leaving behind a number of works, including composing the background music and theme song for the television drama " Monday Man " on the Tokyo Broadcasting System (now TBS Television).

As a jazz guitarist, he led his own band and participated in bands with fellow musicians such as Norio Maeda, and was involved in a wide range of activities. In 1975, he opened a music school called "Roots Music Academy" to train jazz musicians, and served as its first principal, mentoring the next generation of jazz musicians.

He passed away on August 28, 2006 due to hepatocellular carcinoma. He was 76 years old. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.