<Acousphere's Profile> In 1995, two guitarists Toshi Shimizu and Shige Okuzawa met at Berklee College of Music in Boston, at their age of 23. After the graduation, they came back to Japan and formed the instrumental guitar duo called "Acousphere" in '99. Toshi plays melodies and improvisations with many expressions like vocalists do. This is called "Real-Vocal Guitar" style. Shige plays all kinds of rhythm sections in the band simultaneously. This style is called "One-Man Rhythm Section". They have made a brand-new style of guitar music, and are recognized as a great guitar duo by Tuck&Patti. They had a recording session with Tuck&Patti in '03, which was the first recording for Tuck&Patti with Japanese musicians. They made a debut from the Japanese major record company "avex" in '04. In '05, they played concert with Hawaiian famous ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro. On January, '06, they played with Tuck&Patti at their concert as guest musicians. That was the moment which their big dream came true! In '07, they released the album called "Cafe at home" from the Japanese record company "Della" which has mainly released instrumental musics like Jazz, Bossa Nova or healing music. It has been sold many copies in domestic market and become their first big hit album. It will also be sold from iTunes Store in the near future. They have a guitar school called "Acousphere Guitar School" in Tokyo. They have many students, from beginners to professionals. They made their own guitar method called "New Guitar Method" for their students and other guitar teachers. They are working with Yahoo! Japan and have a corner in the site "Guitar Labo". Click for their movies! >>> movie "Ai No Corrida" movie "Happy Moment" movie " Go! Go! Girl" movie "Europe" <The history of Acousphere> <Playing with Tuck&Patti @Motion Blue Yokohama> On Jan. 9th, 2006, Acousphere played at Tuck&Patti's concert as guest musicians. They played seven songs in two stages. They were praised for the great performance which totally combined with Tuck&Patti. <Recording with Tuck&Patti> Acousphere had a recording session with Tuck&Patti on May, 2004, during Tuck&Patti's concert tour in Japan. They recorded "I Want You Back", "You Can't Hurry Love" and "Go! Go! Girl" for Acousphere's CD "LOVE GUITAR". It is on sale from a-vex. And also you can download them from Apple iTunes Store. <Live performances in Japan> Acousphere has had many live performances in Japan, mainly around Tokyo. They use Motion Blue Yokohama, which is the branch of Blue Note Tokyo, and some of other venues. And sometimes they play in other cities like Osaka, Kobe and Nagoya. They also play at small cafes or restaurants. <Playing with Jake Shimabukuro @Hibiya-Yaon> On September, 2005, Acousphere played with the famous ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro in his concert tour in Japan. <Gibson Concert&Clinic at Apple Store Ginza> On January, 2005, Acousphere showed up in "Gibson Show Case" at Apple Store Ginza. They talked about how to use recording systems and guitars, and how to collaborate guitar playing and Mac. They also played at Apple Store Shibuya, Osaka and Nagoya. <Guitar Lessons and others> Acousphere has their own guitar school "Acousphere Guitar School" in Tokyo. They have private lessons for beginners and for the young musicians to make their skills develop to higher level. They also do producing and recording of other artists. They use Mac and Cubase to make recordings and masterings. ＜Shigeyuki Okuzawa＞ birth: Oct.16, 1971 Gibson L-5 ('71) Gibson L-5 ('90) Larrivee C-10 custom('90) Macbook Air Logic Pro ＜Toshitaka Shimizu＞ birth: Oct. 31, 1971 Taku Sakashta OPERA ('00) Gibson ES-335 ('67) Wechter Pathmaker('01) Macbook Pro 13inch Logic Pro In 1991, when he was in a college in Tokyo, he picked up a guitar in a garbage can and started playing it by himself. He studied Japanese folk song style and played on the street. The acoustic guitars' sound fascinated him so much. So he started to make a guitar study, and listen to Pat Metheny and John Mclaughlin. After graduation of the college, he decided to study guitars more. In 1995, he studied abroad to the Berklee College of Music in Boston as a scholarship student, where he met Toshi Shimizu. After going back to Japan in 1996, he made a contract with Japanese biggest studio musicians' office "Half Tone Music", and started to work as a studio musician. He played in many recording and supporting sessions with many of singers. His remarkable techniques and arrangements were admired. In 1998, he met Tuck&Patti at their concert, and started to have a friendship. He has devoted to the deep studies of Tuck Andress from the moment. In 1999, he made the guitar duo "Acousphere" with his friend Toshi Shimizu, and started to play as an artist. In 2001, he quitted Half Tone Music and studio jobs to concentrate on Acousphere. In 2004, Acousphere made a contract with Japanese major record company "a-vex" and released a CD "Love Guitar". In 2005, they released a CD "Go! Go! Girl", which they recorded with Tuck&Patti. In 2006, they played with Tuck&Patti at Motion Blue Yokohama and Blue Note Nagoya. In 2007, they released the CD with 15 songs called "Cafe at Home" from the Japanese record company called Della. In 2008, Acousphere had the concert at Motion Blue Yokohama again, which is the third concert there for them. He played classical instruments like cello or piano in his childhood, and started to play the guitar at the age of fifteen. He began to have interests in Jazz music when he was an university student, and he got fascinated with it. In 1995, he studied abroad to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he met Shige Okuzawa. Until the graduation in 1998, he studied jazz techniques and theories, and played in many of jam sessions. In 1999, he came to Tokyo and made the guitar duo "Acousphere" with his friend Shige Okuzawa, and started to play as an artist. At the same time, he began to work as an studio musician with many vocalists. And he met Tuck&Patti and got influenced with their music, started to have a friendship with them. He has also made deep studies of John Mclaughlin, Pat Metheny and Wolfgang Muthspiel, and taught to young guitarists. In 2004, Acopusphere made a contract with Japanese major record company "a-vex", and released a CD "Love Guitar". In 2005, they released a CD "Go! Go! Girl", which has recordings with Tuck&Patti. In 2006, they played with Tuck&Patti in Motion Blue Yokohama and Blue Note Nagoya. In 2007, they released the CD with 15 songs called "Cafe at Home" from the Japanese record company called Della. In 2008, Acousphere had the concert at Motion Blue Yokohama again, which is the third concert there for them. They have played in many cities in Japan. And they have kept challenging the new possibilities of guitars.