Sōichi Noriki was born on October 20, 1957, in Kyoto, Japan. He began piano lessons at age four and joined his father's band, the Kyoto Bel-Ami All Stars, in 1974. Moving to Tokyo in 1977, he performed with notable musicians like George Kawaguchi and Toshiyuki Honda. Noriki played in the backing band of jazz singer Anli Sugano in the early 1980s. He released his solo album Noriki in 1983, followed by Dream Cruise in 1984. Throughout his career, he collaborated with artists such as Sadao Watanabe and Randy Crawford, contributing to over 28 recording sessions between 1981 and 2015.
