Hiroshi Kubota (sometimes referred to as the "No.1 Keyboard player in Japan") is a Japanese musician, known for both composition and programming for the SMPS sound engine in various Mega Drive games. He was born in Obihiro city, Hokkaido. He is sometimes credited under the alias Jimita, presumably to conceal his real identity. This can be seen by looking at the credits for the original Sonic the Hedgehog. Under the influence of his musician father, Kubota started playing the piano when he was 4 years old. During his days as a student, he was captivated by the organ in the rock and jazz music he loved. At the age of 17, he began seriously practicing on the electric organ. He was particularly influenced by Herbie Hancock, to such an extent that he said, "It was my encounter with Herbie's music that made me decide to be a musician." In 1979, he started composing and performing, and in 1981, he released his debut album "The Electric Future". Since then, he has released 11 albums, each one after another. By his sound, with its mixture of thrilling performance, fascinating beat, and melodic ballad, he won high marks as a composer, an arranger, and of course, a player in Japan. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.