Akikazu Nakamura studied composition and jazz at the Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory, as well as being a graduate student from the NHK school of traditional music in Japan. As a composer, he wrote many commissioned works, including works for the Jean Sibelius Quartet, Munch Trio, and many others. He also developed the circular breathing technique applied to the shakuhachi. Nakamura plays in a broad spectrum of genres including rock, jazz, contemporary music, improvisation, and varied collaborations, as well as traditional shakuhachi Japanese music. Commissioned by the Foreign Ministry of Japan and the Japan Foundation, he has toured in more than thirty countries throughout the world. He is currently working in collaboration with the world-renowned guitarist John McLauglin. He has so far produced six CDs. With the group FOREST, he released the album Neutral Point which reached the number eight slot in U.S. FM radio station's WKNC charts. He was awarded the stage-performing-art-creation prize by the Agency of Cultural Affairs in Japan and the prize by the Matsuo Entertainment Developement Foundation. He is a member of the Japan Society for Contemporary Music. ~ Bruno Deschenes, All Music Guide