Tatsuya is quickly becoming a prominent musician within the music industry.His natural talent as a guitarist is soon gaining attention, especially on the New York music scene.
Born and raised in Yamanashi, Japan, he studied piano at the age of three. At the age of eleven, he studied guitar on his own. Four years later, he started going to guitar school where he studied Jazz. A popular local guitar instructor, Shuichi Nagasawa, noticed Mr. Sakuraiʼs talent early on, and soon afterwards Tatsuya began his studies with renowned guitarist, Takayuki Kato. Then Tatsuya studied at Senzoku Gakuen Callege of Music (Kanagawa, Japan). There he studied guitar, ear training, jazz harmony, improvisation, composition, arrangement, ensemble and jazz history. During this time, he participated in Gibson Jazz Guitar Contest in 2004. Next
year he participated in the contest again and he came in second. Also he often performed at jazz clubs and bars.
In 2006, Tatsuya transfered to Berklee College of Music. At Berklee, Tatsuya Sakurai studied jazz and contemporary music. He met many great musician and began studying with some of the most influential professors in Boston and highly acclaimed musicians such as Mick Goodrick, Hal Crook, Tim Miller and Jon Damian.
During his time at Berklee, Mr. Sakuraiʼs guitar technique was highly valued by his colleagues. He was often invited to their bands and performed there. Besides, Tatsuya participated in several recording sessions. He collaborated with a vocalist on a CD(Four Leaf Sound 29). He played the electric, acoustic and classic guitars and performed several forms of music such as bossa nova there.
After graduating with high honors from Berklee College of Music, Mr. Sakurai moved to New York City to continue his career as a professional musician. At present, he plays at several venues on a weekly basis. He is a very versatile performer who plays a variety of music raging from boss nova to contemporary jazz. Besides, he takes part in recording sessions at Singing Serpent Music and other places.