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