Ryo Kawasaki
was a Japanese
jazz fusion guitarist, composer and band leader, best known as one of the first musicians to develop and popularise the fusion genre and for helping to develop the
guitar synthesizer in collaboration with
Roland Corporation and
Korg. His album ''Ryo Kawasaki and the Golden Dragon Live'' was one of the first all-digital recordings and he created the
Kawasaki Synthesizer for the
Commodore 64. During the 1960s, he played with various Japanese jazz groups and also formed his own bands. In the early 1970s, he moved to New York City, where he settled and worked with
Gil Evans,
Elvin Jones,
Chico Hamilton,
Ted Curson,
Joanne Brackeen amongst others. In the mid-1980s, Kawasaki drifted out of performing music in favour of writing music software for computers. He also produced several techno dance singles, formed his own record company called Satellites Records, and later returned to jazz-fusion in 1991.
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