Kojiro Umezaki was born in Tokyo. He did his graduate studies in the U.S. and has now settled in Los Angeles. His primary instrument is the Japanese shakuhachi, but he works, teaches, and performs in the field of computer music technology. As a computer scientist who specialized in electro-acoustic music, he has done research on audio technology and software design, among other things. On the music side, his continuing work primarily includes merging the shakuhachi with real-time audio and video processing and mixed media. He also works with interactive music systems, and has collaborated with visual artists. He has released two CDs, Extraditional in 2000 and (Cycles) in 2014, and he's been involved with film music as well (as a composer, music director, and sound designer). He gives instrumental and live interactive performances on a regular basis in the U.S., Canada, China, Cuba, Brazil, Russia, Iceland, and Japan. ~ Bruno Deschenes