利用者:Londonbase2014/Kuma Harada

Biography

Born in Sapporo (Hokkaido) Japan, 1951.

Kuma started playing the guitar at the age of 10. When he was 14 years old, the band he formed with some school friends entered one of the biggest amateur-band competitions and they won the regional heat. Unfortunately the school didn’t allow them to go to Tokyo for the final; their reason was that it would be a bad influence on the other students.( Bad influence ! Kuma?)

1968 Entered International Travelling High School. (Music performance based school)

All American tour with Sing Out Asia for 3 months. (Sing out Asia had a cast of 100 singers and a 27 piece band from 7 Asian countries.)

1969 Toured Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines with Sing Out Asia.

1969 Joined the band Sing Out. The first single was called Namida o koete and it went to the Japanese chart. (Today this song is used for Junior high school's text books.) The band also won the Grand Prix at the Nemu No Sato Music Festival which later became the Tokyo Song Festival.

1970 Appeared on NHKTV show called “Stage 101”. The show was broadcasted on Saturday at 8pm, so primetime. Kuma was a regular member for 1 year.

1971 Headed for Munich via the Trans Siberian Express. Joined the musical Hair as musical director and bass player. Toured through Germany.

1972 Moved to Amsterdam in January to enjoy the last bit of the real Hippy life.

1972 Moved to London. Joined Heavy Heart. The guitar player was Snowy White and this is the beginning of a long friendship with him.

1974 Joined Jonathan Kelly’s Outside. Around this this time he also started to do studio work.

1976 Joined Gonzales.

1977 Gonzalez had a world wide hit with the song “ Haven’t Stop Dancing Yet”

1978 Left Gonzales and started freelance studio work.

1980 Formed the Breakfast Band with Richard Bailey and Winston Delandro. Produced the band's album Dolphin Ride. Around this time he seriously started to work as a producer.

1982 Toured with Penguin Cafe Orchestra in Japan.

1983 Produced Snowy White's album and the big hit “Bird of paradise”.Toured With Snowy White

1985 Toured with Julie Kenji Sawada in Japan

1986 Toured with Chris Rea

1988 Formed Snowy White Blues Agency with Snowy.ich

1989 Started the Barefoot Studio in Hoxton, London.

1992 Joined Mick Taylor’s band.

1993 Started the first British Football Academy with the Crown and Manor Boys Club. The goal of this academy was to give British and Japanese students an opportunity to develop their football skills, study at an academic level and to have the opportunity to experience different culture.

1996 Recording Miki Imai’s Pride

1997 Toured with Miki Imai in Japan.

1998 Because of his contribution to the Anglo-Japanese relationship he was invited by Tony Blair to a lunch-reception with the Japanese Emperor and Empress at 10 Downing street.

This year also Kuma and Michael Spencer took their education workshop to Japan for the first time. They worked together with members of the London Symphony Orchestra and Kuma’s good friends, who are the top studio musicians in Japan. This workshop showed a completely new method of teaching, using music as an education tool.

1999 Toured With Miki Imai in Japan.

2000 Facilitated education workshops together with Michael Spencer

by invitation of the Japanese Council of Cultural Affairs and the Orchestra Association of Japan.

Throughout the years over 1,000 students and more than 24 Orchestras have attended this workshop. Because of its great success Kuma and Michael still travel to Japan every year to do this workshop.

2001 Education workshop called the Kabuki Project together with the Japanese Embassy and the British Museum.

2002 Started a program for Japanese contemporary music students

in partnership with Tech Music School.

2003 Toured With Maki Takamiya in Japan.

2004 Elected to be a Crown Council member of the Crown and Manor Boys Club.

2005 Became the headmaster of the Hokkaido Art High School.Toured With Miki Imai.

2008 Rejoined Mick Taylor’s band

Kuma is still very actively playing bass and producing music. (see next page)

Recordings

Van Morrison. Billy Ocean. Kate Bush. Nick Kershaw. Ginger Baker. Snowy White. Peter Green. Mick Taylor. Linda Lewis. Ronnie Wood. Rodney Franklin. Chaz Jankel. Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Ian Dury. Gary Moore. Rabbit. David Knopfler. Poly Styrene. Desmond Dekker. Gonzalez. Miriam Makeba. Annette Peacock. Paul Carrack. Chris Rea. Johnny Nash. Morissey-Mullen. Dick Morissey. Bob Weston. Sue Shattock. Michael Moorcock. Raphael Ravencroft. Shusha. Joan Armatrading. Max Middleton. Alvin Stardust. Chris Farlowe. Adam Faith. Max Middleton and Robert Ahwai. Dean Dyson. Dread Flimstone. Kevin Rowland. Mary Mac. Frank Raya. Jonathan Kelly. Jean Patrick Capdeville. Breakfast Band. Richard Bailey. Jade Warrior. Tim Hinkley. Michael Storey. Tommy Snyder. Miki Imai. Tomoyasu Hotei. Maki Takamiya. Shione Yukawa. Keiko Kobayashi. Pythagoras Party. Masaki Matsubara. Tsuyoshi Kon. Mari Iijima. And many more.

http://www.discogs.com/artist/275088-Kuma-Harada

Live Work

Chris Rea. Snowy White. Mick Taylor. Buddy Guy. Shusha. Annette Peacock. David Knopfler. Linda Lewis. Tim Hinkley. Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Morissey-Mullen. Michael Storey. Gonzalez. Breakfast Band. Shusha. Jonathan Kelly.　Heavy Heart. Frank Raya. Miki Imai. Maki Takamiya. Shione Yukawa. Keiko Kobayashi. Masaki Matsubara.

Producing

Snowy White. Lenny Zakatek. Breakfast Band. Marie Claire. Mary Mac. Maki Takamiya. Shione Yukawa. Keiko Kobayashi. Pythagoras Party. Yukio Sasaki. O-Do-Bozu. Garapagos. Hiroyuki Hanada. HArumi Natsuki