Kaoru Abe (阿部 薫, Abe Kaoru) was an influential Japanese avant-garde alto saxophonist, who is often regarded as having the greatest abrasive saxophone sound.Self-taught at a young age, Abe performed with notables such as Motoharu Yoshizawa, Takehisa Kosugi, Yosuke Yamashita, Derek Bailey, and Milford Graves, although he generally performed solo. He was married to the author Izumi Suzuki, and a cousin to singer Kyu Sakamoto. He was depicted in the film Endless Waltz by Kōji Wakamatsu.