About Me
I was born on July 17, 1974 in Miyagi, Japan. And, I began playing guitar at the age of 15, and quickly became fascinated by the blues.
I moved to Tokyo in 1994 and started playing with a variety of blues, soul, funk, and rock bands.
In 1999, I moved to Harlem in New York City to work with Floyd Lee (a.k.a. Ted Williams) and the FLOYD LEE BLUES BAND (http://www.floydlee.com/) for three and half years. We played all over New York City, at such major venues as the B. B. King Blues Club & Grill, the Apollo Theater, and Silvia’s;
as part of the "MUSIC UNDER NEW YORK" program presented by New York’s subway company; street festivals; clubs; and parties.
In 2001, I produced and recorded the album "BLUES: Mississippi -- Harlem -- Tokyo" with Floyd Lee and Clara E. It's on sale now.
Meanwhile, I was studying jazz under guitarist Michael of Dizzy Gillespie fame at "Jazz Mobile" in Harlem, while playing shows with many musicians around New York.
I also co-founded the band AND SUN SUI CHIE with Tetsuya “Dorian†Sukegawa and played clubs around New York City.
At the end of 2002, I returned to Japan, and in January 2003, I had a Broadway-like show at Theater X in Tokyo with Floyd Lee and Clara E, called "REAL DELTA BLUES -- The Floyd Lee Story†about a Japanese musician who was fascinated by “black music†in NY’s Harlem. We collaborated with several artists and expressed the true meaning of blues through music, acting, and visual arts. We were extremely well-received by audiences and were written up in several magazines.
Meanwhile, I had played with AND SUN SUI CHIE at clubs all over Japan, and the band recorded its first album, "SUN", which was released in July of 2003.
I'm currently working on my latest idea, the DELTA BLUES PROJECT. I'm mixing blues, soul, and the samurai spirit to create a new kind of music. I recorded the first album "DELTA BLUES PROJECT Vol.1" in March of 2004. It's released on October 28th 2004 at CD stores, such as, HMV, TOWER RECORDS, Virgin MEGASTORE located at all over JAPAN.
In 2006, my essay "Street style of MITSU" has been published for music magazin called "MYUJIN" every two month. (Publishing company is YAMAHA)
In 2007, I'm started to work with NHK TV program called "TSUNAGARU TV @ human"(It's broadcasting every sunday 11pm) . I'm composing and playing music for them every week, now.
Of course, I keep on playing BLUES at club in JAPAN, too !!
