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Akikazu Nakamura
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Somei Satoh
Sun Moon
When Akikazu Nakamura steps on stage, whether at the National Theatre in Tokyo or at the Blue Note in New York City, it immediately becomes clear why he is a treasured musical possession to Japanese audiences and is fast becoming one of the "word of mouth" performers of the 90s. With the stylistic versatility on his instrument of a Herbie Hancock or a Ry Cooder, this master of the shakuhachi, a traditional Japanese end-blown bamboo flute, is a musician's musician. Nakamura's unique ability to cross lines of musical style, tradition, nationality and ethnicity combined with his fluid, saxophone-like phrasing has enabled him to re-define the capabilities of the shakuhachi. In so doing, he has applied his skills not only to the traditional repertoire of that instrument but also to avant-garde classical music, computer music, contemporary shakuhachi composition, rock and world music, as well as avant-garde and contemporary jazz.
The desire to be so eclectic actually stems from Nakamura's first musical inspiration, the elecric guitar and the sounds of progressive rock groups such as King Crimson. After being exposed to the spiritual and mysterious shakuhachi tradition in 1974, he gave up the guitar in order to devote himself to becoming a master of the shakuhachi. Nonetheless, Nakamura's love of the musical forms he once played on the guitar has grown rather than dwindled since he began performing professionally in 1980. As Nakamura himself explains it, his goal is to perform a "Japanese tradition which is living in the urban atmosphere."
Naturally, it takes more than one performing ensemble to serve as an outlet for these various styles. With koto virtuoso Michiyo Yagi, Nakamura performs a program which shows the historical progression of the shakuhachi-koto instrumental combination: from traditional music to contemporary shakuhachi-koto compositions by Japanese composers, to improvisational, world and avant-garde music pieces penned by Nakamura and using taped music, koto and shakuhachi.
As a full-time outlet for his jazz/world music tastes, Nakamura formed an eight-piece ensemble called FOREST which has released a CD entitled "Neutral Point" on JVC Records and performed in Japan and the USA.
Akikazu Nakamura has performed in collaboration with world renowned guitarist Kazumi Watanabe, jazz legend Elvin Jones, avant-gardists Douglas Ewart (AACM), Joseph Jarman (AEC) and Ned Rothenberg as well as world percussion masters Mino Cinelu, Glen Velez and YAZ-KAZ. He has performed the works of contemporary Japanese composer Somei Satoh as well as with contemporary composer/violinist Paul Zukofsky.
Since the start of his career, Mr. Nakamura performed internationally, having toured both the United States and Japan with the Tokyo Kid Brothers in 1981. he has performed at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Asia Society, the Joyce Theater, the Blue Note and the Five Spot in New York City; the National Theatre in Japan, the Asian International Music Festival, the Macon Cherry Blossom Festival and the Sapporo Snow Festival. He has also toured Australia, Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Germany, Russia, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Canada, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Akikazu Nakamura studied shakuhachi with Katsuya Yokayama from 1975 to 1978, when he was certified as a master himself. He attended the Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory and has taught at the Tokyo College of Music, Nihon University and Yokohama National University. He currently heads his own music school in Tokyo.
Akikazu Nakamura's website is located at http://www.j-music.com/aki/.
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