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Nakamura Akikazu

中村 明一

Nakamura Akikazu
Shakuhachi & Composer
soundpot@nifty.com

Akikazu Nakamura studied the shakuhachi under Katsuya Yokoyama and several masters of the komuso shakuhachi. He also studied at the NHK school of traditional music. He then went on to study composition and jazz theory at the Berklee College of Music in the United States, graduating summa cum laude. He continued his studies in the United States as a scholarship student at the New England Conservatory, studying composition and third-stream music in the graduate school. He has performed in around 30 countries all over the world under the sponsorship of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Japan Foundation, etc. He has appeared on more than 40 broadcasting stations worldwide. While rooting his activities in the classical field, he has branched out into a wide range of musical genres including rock, jazz, contemporary music, improvisation, and cross-genre collaborations. He has developed his own unique method of circular breathing which enables him to play continuously for long periods of time without a break in the sound flow. He was awarded the 19th Matsuo Performing Arts Prize. His album The World of Zen Music: Saji released by Nippon Columbia in 1999 was awarded the Prize for Excellence in the Record Category of the 1999 Arts Festival sponsored by the Agency for Cultural Affairs together with the Columbia Golden Disc Special Prize.

As a composer and arranger, Akikazu Nakamura has received commissions from German national radio (WDR), from the Jan Sibelius String Quartet in Finland and from many others. He was awarded the 18th Encouragement Prize for Creative Work in the Stage Arts by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. He is a member of the Japanese Society for Contemporary Music.

Teachers

Students

Albums

Moon - Kokoo Moon - Kokoo

Original compositions. Shakuhachi, two koto and voice.

Neutral Point - Forest Neutral Point - Forest

Original compositions. Shakuhachi honkyoku. The band Forest includes shakuhachi, keyboards and 5-string silent bass. This album also uses koto, sitar, guitar, percussion and voice.

Sun - Moon Sun - Moon

Music inspired by the planets and earthly elements. Composed by Satoh Somei.

Super-nova - Kokoo Super-nova - Kokoo

Shakuhachi & two kotos playing Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie and others. The boundaries are stretched and broken on this recording.

World of Zen Music, The - Saji World of Zen Music, The - Saji

Shakuhachi honkyoku.

World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Kyushu World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Kyushu

Honkyoku from Kyushu and Itchoken.

World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Tsugaru, Nezasa-ha Kinpu-ryu World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Tsugaru, Nezasa-ha Kinpu-ryu

Nezasa-ha Kinpu-ryu honkyoku.

Zoom - Kokoo Zoom - Kokoo

Shakuhachi & two kotos playing traditional and "new" music that rushes past conventional boundaries.

Tracks Recorded

Pieces KanjiLengthAlbumInstrument
Azuma no Kyoku (Itchoken) 吾妻の曲 03'08 World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Kyushu Shakuhachi
Banshiki (Itchoken) 盤渉 07'23 World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Kyushu Shakuhachi
Play Button Blue - Flowing Sand 06'43 Neutral Point - Forest Shakuhachi
Dai-Bosatsu 大菩薩 11'02 World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Kyushu Shakuhachi
Play Button Eschatological Fantasy 11'17 Neutral Point - Forest Shakuhachi
Play Button Fairy Tale 04'42 Neutral Point - Forest Shakuhachi
Fuku kyōsō kyoku 複協奏曲 19'13 Nihon no Hibiki Shakuhachi
Play Button Hachigaeshi (Nezasa Ha) 鉢返 (根笹) 04'38 World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Tsugaru, Nezasa-ha Kinpu-ryu Shakuhachi
Play Button Hon Shirabe 本調 03'44 World of Zen Music, The - Saji Shakuhachi
Play Button Kadozuke (Nezasa Ha) 門附 (根笹) 03'26 World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Tsugaru, Nezasa-ha Kinpu-ryu Shakuhachi
Kaze no Kyoku 風の曲 10'25 Sun - Moon Shakuhachi
Kogetsu 皎月 14'22 Sun - Moon Shakuhachi
Kokû (Itchoken) 虚空 07'37 World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Kyushu Shakuhachi
Play Button Kokû (Nezasa Ha) 虚空 (根笹) 11'50 World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Tsugaru, Nezasa-ha Kinpu-ryu Shakuhachi
Kumoi Jishi 雲井獅子 03'53 World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Kyushu Shakuhachi
Play Button Matsukaze (Nezasa Ha) 松風 (根笹) 06'32 World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Tsugaru, Nezasa-ha Kinpu-ryu Shakuhachi
Play Button Matsukaze no Shirabe 松風の調 03'37 World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Tsugaru, Nezasa-ha Kinpu-ryu Shakuhachi
Play Button Murasaki Reibo 紫鈴慕 03'41 World of Zen Music, The - Saji Shakuhachi
Play Button Nagashi Reibo 流鈴慕 08'04 World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Tsugaru, Nezasa-ha Kinpu-ryu Shakuhachi
Play Button Photone 08'22 Neutral Point - Forest Shakuhachi
Play Button Return to Sunda スンダへの回帰 05'06 Neutral Point - Forest Shakuhachi
Play Button Sagari Ha (Nezasa Ha) 下り葉 (根笹) 03'32 World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Tsugaru, Nezasa-ha Kinpu-ryu Shakuhachi
Play Button Saji 薩慈 07'28 World of Zen Music, The - Saji Shakuhachi
Saji 薩慈 07'46 World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Kyushu Shakuhachi
Play Button San'an 産安 08'46 World of Zen Music, The - Saji Shakuhachi
Play Button San'ya Seiran 三谷清攬 12'39 World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Tsugaru, Nezasa-ha Kinpu-ryu Shakuhachi
Sanyo 燦陽 17'14 Sun - Moon Shakuhachi
Play Button Shika no Tōne (Kinko Ryū) 鹿の遠音 10'07 World of Zen Music, The - Saji Shakuhachi
Play Button Shingetsu 心月 05'49 World of Zen Music, The - Saji Shakuhachi
Play Button Shirabe (Nezasa Ha) 調 (根笹) 03'36 World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Tsugaru, Nezasa-ha Kinpu-ryu Shakuhachi
Play Button Shishi 獅子 07'43 World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Tsugaru, Nezasa-ha Kinpu-ryu Shakuhachi
Play Button Snow that Falls on Vancouver ヴァンクーヴァーに降る雪 05'04 Neutral Point - Forest Shakuhachi
Toppiki 04'10 World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Kyushu Shakuhachi
Play Button Tōri 通里 02'51 World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Tsugaru, Nezasa-ha Kinpu-ryu Shakuhachi
Play Button Tsuru no Sugomori (Don't know which version) 鶴の巣籠 07'13 Neutral Point - Forest Shakuhachi
Play Button Tsuru no Sugomori (Don't know which version) 鶴の巣籠 07'18 World of Zen Music, The - Saji Shakuhachi
Yamagoe (aka Reiho) 鈴法 03'58 World of Zen Music, The - Shakuhachi Music from Kyushu Shakuhachi

Composed or Arranged

Shakuhachi Compositions
Title Kanji Year Alternate Title
Photone