Ryo Kawasaki

Jazz fusion guitarist Ryo Kawasaki was born in Toyko, Japan, on February 25, 1947. Although he originally planned on becoming a scientist, Kawasaki put an end to his studies early on and concentrated solely on guitar, playing with a variety of Japanese jazz groups throughout the '60s. During the early '70s, Kawasaki had relocated to the United States (New York, to be exact), where he played regularly with such jazz notables as Gil Evans, Elvin Jones, Chico Hamilton, and JoAnne Brackeen, and issued such solo releases as Juice, Ring Toss, and Nature's Revenge. Although he would issue several albums during the '80s (Little Touree, Ryo, Lucky Lady, etc.), Kawasaki had turned his back on musical performance and concentrated solely on penning music software programs for computers. Kawasaki also formed his own record label, Satellites Records, as he produced techno dance singles, but eventually returned back to his first love, releasing a steady stream of jazz releases once more, starting in the early to mid-'90s (Love Within the Universe, Sweet Life, Cosmic Rhythm, Reval, etc.).