Ryo Kawasaki

Japanese jazz guitarist (1947-2020)

Born: 25 February 1947
Suginami
Died: 13 April 2020
Tallinn
Country: Japan
Active: 1967–2020
Discography: 21 albums

Biography

Ryo Kawasaki was a jazz musician who played guitar. Ryo Kawasaki was born on 25 February 1947 in Suginami and died on 13 April 2020 in Tallinn. The music is usually filed under jazz and jazz fusion. The discography here lists 21 albums, from “Juice” (1976) to “RETROUVÉ” (2021).

Ryo Kawasaki (川崎燎, Kawasaki Ryō; February 25, 1947 – April 13, 2020) was a Japanese jazz fusion guitarist, composer and band leader, best known as one of the first musicians to develop and popularise the fusion genre and for helping to develop the guitar synthesizer in collaboration with Roland Corporation and Korg. His album Ryo Kawasaki and the Golden Dragon Live was one of the first all-digital recordings and he created the Kawasaki Synthesizer for the Commodore 64. During the 1960s, he played with various Japanese jazz groups and also formed his own bands. In the early 1970s, he moved to New York City, where he settled and worked with Gil Evans, Elvin Jones, Chico Hamilton, Ted Curson, Joanne Brackeen amongst others. In the mid-1980s, Kawasaki drifted out of performing music in favour of writing music software for computers.

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