Katsuya Yokoyama is one of the foremost Japanese Shakuhachi masters. He was born in a family of traditional musicians. When he was still very young, he studied the Shakuhachi with his grandfather and his father. Later on, he studied with Watazumi-Do of the Fuke School, who was impregnating the spirituality of Zen Buddhism into his music. Yokoyama's music is filled with this deep spirituality, the roots of which comes from the great Japanese musical tradition. He is also one of the foremost masters of modern Shakuhachi playing, resulting from the unavoidable influence of Western music on Japanese music. Yokoyama has been the first Shakuhachi player to play for Japanese movie soundtracks, in particular the music of Toru Takemitsu. In 1967, he performed the world premiere of "November Steps" by Takemitsu with a Western symphony orchestra. Yokoyama is known the world over as one of the greatest Shakuhachi masters, having recorded in France and Germany, as well as Japan. ~ Bruno Deschênes