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Philip Nakano began playing music at an early age. Influenced by the rich culture of both traditional and experimental music which was electrifying the San Francisco Bay Area during the 1960s and early 1970s, Philip began to play any instrument that he could get his hands on. While still under-age, he would sneak into clubs like the Matrix in Berkeley to see and hear Jazz greats like Pharaoh Sanders, Miles Davis, Chick Corea and Michael White. Or spend a night at Frenchy's in Hayward, a biker hang-out, to take in the funky horns of "East Bay Grease", served up by bands like Tower of Power. His teenage day job would fund many a weekend of late night music at Bill Graham's Winterland Ballroom, or the Fillmore West, where often the doors would be shut at 2AM (illegally) for an all night jam session that would bring up the sun! He began playing in various professional bands by his early twenties, and eagerly absorbed many diverse and eclectic musical styles, all the while sharpening his improvisational ear and composing music to express his own unique world view. |
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After moving to the Pacific Northwest in 1974, he began studying with Obo Addy, the Ghanaian drum master. The beginnings of multi-cultural "World Music" were starting to take root, as musicians from around the globe took advantage of new technologies that would allow for exposure to sounds and styles from many lands. |
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