In 1968, at the age of 13, Akikazu Nakamura began playing electric guitar. A few years later, he discovered that one of his favorite bands, King Crimson, counted contemporary classical music among their influences. Intrigued, Nakamura pursued this thread and soon discovered "November Steps" by the composer Toru Takemitsu, an album that features the shakuhachi in a modern context. Nakamura was so blown away by this instrument that he kissed his electric guitar goodbye and embraced the shakuhachi in its place.
"That was a big turning point," Nakamura recalls gleefully at his office in Tokyo while giving me a shakuhachi demonstration. "I thought 'Oh, this instrument has much more possibility than the electric guitar. It's noisier. It has more overtones,' " says Nakamura, a compact, smiling bundle of energy.
Nakamura may have swapped instruments and mastered traditional Japanese shakuhachi music, but he has yet to sell his rock 'n' roll soul. In fact, one of his projects, a trio called Kokoo that includes two female koto players, released "Super Nova" in 2000, a CD of rearranged rock tunes by Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa and Jimi Hendrix, among others. Added to this, Nakamura often uses tone-altering effects common to the electric guitar.