KITARO
KITARO is a musician from Japan who composed music for NHK's "Silk Road" program in 1980 and later won the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album with "Thinking Of You".
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About the artist
KITARO is a musician from Japan and a multi-instrumentalist. During a 1972 tour in Germany with his band, KITARO met Tangerine Dream drummer Klaus Schulze and through him encountered synthesizers and electronic rock. After several years with the Japanese band Far East Family Band, KITARO began a solo career in 1978 and released his first album "Astral Voyage".
In 1980, KITARO composed music for the "Silk Road" program broadcast by Japan's public broadcaster NHK; his released soundtrack albums include "Silk Road" and "Silk Road Vol.2".
In 1985, KITARO signed a worldwide contract with Geffen Records. In 1987, KITARO collaborated with Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart on "The Light Of The Spirit", which received a Grammy Award nomination. In 1988, "The Field" received a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Age Performance.
"Kojiki" was nominated at the 34th Grammy Awards. In 1992, KITARO released "Dream" in collaboration with Jon Anderson of the band Yes. In 1994, KITARO won a Golden Globe Award for the soundtrack of "Heaven & Earth", made with director Oliver Stone.
In 1994, KITARO signed with Domo Records, and "Mandala" was released on August 29 of that year. Both "Mandala" and "An Enchanted Evening" received Grammy Award nominations. In 1997, KITARO composed music for the Broadway production "Cirque Ingenieux" and released a soundtrack album of the same name. In 1998, the soundtrack album "The Soong Sisters" won the award for Best Original Music at the Hong Kong Film Awards; Domo Music Group materials also note that the work received an award at the Golden Horse Film Festival; the same year, KITARO was invited to perform taiko at the closing ceremony of the Nagano Winter Olympics.
"Thinking Of You" was released on November 2, 1999, and KITARO won the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album with that work. The Grammy Awards official artist page records that KITARO has 1 Grammy Award and 16 nominations, and lists "Thinking Of You" under the 2001 Best New Age Album category.
The 2003 first volume, 2005 second volume, 2007 third volume, and 2010 fourth volume of the "Sacred Journey Of Ku-Kai" series each brought KITARO a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Age Album. In 2007, KITARO mounted the "Love And Peace World Tour" in conjunction with that series. "Impressions of the West Lake", released in 2010, brought KITARO a Grammy Award nomination. In 2011, KITARO mounted an Asian tour titled "The Silk Road - East & West".
"Symphony Live In Istanbul" was recorded live in March 2014 at the Halic Congress Center in Istanbul, Turkey, with a collaborating chamber symphony orchestra of 38 players. Domo Music Group materials record that this was KITARO's first live project with a symphony orchestra, and that KITARO received his 16th Grammy Award nomination in 2015.
Overview
- Born
- February 4, 1953age 73
- Born in
- Toyohashi · Japan
- Career start
- Debut as group member · August 25, 1975
- Active
- August 25, 1975 – present51 years
- Gender
- Male
- Aliases
- 喜多郎, Masanori Takahashi, 高橋正則
- Instruments
- Piano / Keyboard, Synthesizer
Catalogued works & releases
No catalogued works yet.