| Short Bio | Detailed Bio | Interests | Musical Influences |
Kiwamura, a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, has been in the music and post-production industry for many decades as a composer, performer, producer, and pro-audio/recording engineer. Classically trained since the age of eight, Kiwamura’s music and production work have appeared in international productions, national radio and television broadcast, computer games, and educational resources for a variety of clients and world-class corporations.
Along with his unique musical style, Kiwamura also plays every instrument in his recordings.
After taking a ten year medical hiatus, Kiwamura, whose name translates to “Spirit of the Village Stone” has returned to his original love: writing and performing original music that touches the soul, renews the spirit, and moves the hearts of his listeners.
Kiwamura was classically trained as a trumpet player since the age of eight. His experiences then moved into big band and jazz. During this time, he attended the San Francisco Symphony Workshops and performed in the San Francisco All-City Band for several years. His teachers included Johnny Coppola (Maynard Ferguson Band), John Handy (jazz saxophonist), Chuck Rainey (jazz trombonist), and various “studio cats” in the Bay Area.
He went on to study the keyboard for composing and arranging but unexpectedly found himself becoming a rock multi-keyboardist for several bands. As his love of other instruments continued, Kiwamura found the bass to be a very natural instrument and performing with it became one of his great loves. He then spent several decades as a live bassist and as a studio session player.
With his compositional experience, he began to write original material and arrangements for solo artists as well as television and radio broadcast commercials and corporate trade shows such as Semicon (international), Comdex, and more. With corporate giants like IBM, NEC, Lam Research and many more as his clients, Kiwamura opened a production studio writing and recording music and producing commercials in addition to developing sound effects (foley) and performing voice talent recordings for companies such as The Learning Company, Softkey, and Broderbund to name only a few (see credits page for more details).
During this time, Kiwamura also began to suffer from severe and crippling health issues that came from a variety of causes both environmental and congenital. He then ceased all of his professional endeavors to renew his health.
During his medical hiatus, Kiwamura began to play Native American and Ecuadorian flutes as a peaceful past time. He soon discovered them to be a very natural instrument for him and, since he was not a singer, the flutes gave him a spiritually expressive voice that he had not had previously. With his training on trumpet, he already had the breath control and lung capacity which made the flutes very comfortable to play.
Kiwamura began to play in small private circles for personal enjoyment in the Benicia/Vallejo areas. At the request of his listeners, he then recorded his first meditation and flute CDs. They became so enormously popular that it caused Kiwamura to blossom into what is now seven CDs in just a two year period. He is now highly sought after for live performances and frequently plays in various venues on First Street in Benicia.
An even greater joy for Kiwamura is to donate his time back to the community. He has taught Japanese calligraphy at Robert Semple School in Benicia and demonstrates native flutes as well as sharing traditional Native American stories, history, and culture at Loma Vista Farm in Vallejo. This led to a front page article in the Times Herald – Vallejo which, in turn, has made Kiwamura highly sought after by other school systems and private academies.
Interests
Attending the Cirque Du Soleil with my daughter, traditional Native American storytelling, ancestral drumming, Native American beading/art/leatherwork/crafts/flintknapping, backpacking, hiking, camping, fishing in the High Sierras, horsemanship, animals, gardening, swimming, caretaking Gaia, picking up litter everywhere I go, Seishin Aikido, Wing Chun Kung Fu, Japanese swordsmanship, archery, North American medicinal plants and herbs, reading, meditation, world/cultural history, theology, physics, astronomy, dancing (tribal and modern), and gourmet cooking (yes, and gourmet EATING too...).
Jazz, Alternative, Smooth Jazz, Fusion
Jaco Pastorius, Stanley Clarke, Weather Report, Maynard Ferguson, Brian Bromberg, Keiko Matsui, Kazuo Matsui, Dave Brubeck, Horace Silver, Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, Harry James, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Sting, Annie Lennox, Al DiMeola, Marc Antoine, Nora Jones, Jeff Beck, Michael Manring.
International/Ethnic
Loreena McKennit, Yoshida Brothers (Yoshida Kyodai), R. Carlos Nakai, Laughing Crow, Douglas Spotted Eagle, Robert Mirabal, Tomita, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Kodo (taiko drummers of Japan).
Progressive/Progressive Rock
Dream Theater, Yes (all eras), Emerson Lake and Palmer, Spock’s Beard, Ozzric Tentacle, Kansas, Jethro Tull, Moody Blues, Journey (early), Ronnie Montrose/Gamma, Mike Oldfield, David Bowie, Brian Eno, STS9.
Alternative, Hard, and Mainstream
Lynkyn Park, Tool, POD, Green Day, Evanescence, Smash Mouth, Nickelback, Criss Angel(the "Mind Freak" illusionist), Third Day, Five for Fighting, Kurt Cobain, Pearl Jam, Van Halen, Deep Purple, Journey, Led Zepplin, Santana, Sammy Hagar, Queen, Tom Petty, Thin Lizzy, Stone Temple Pilots, Type O Negative, Allman Brothers, Melissa Ethridge, Sarah McLaughlin, David Matthews.
R and B
Ray Charles, Billie Holiday, Sonny Terry, Corky Seagle, B.B. King, Temptations, Smokey Robinson.
Electronica
Prodigy, Kraftwerk, Philip Glass (early), Uberzone, Tangerine Dream, Tomita.
Meditation
Jonathan Goldman, various Zen Shakuhachi players.
Assorted Composers
Jean-Francois Cote (Cirque Du Soleil - "Kooza!"), Rene Duprere - Cirque Du Soleil - "Alegria"), Violaine Corradi (Cirque Du Soleil - "Dralion" and "Varekai"), Beethoven, Vivaldi, Gustav Holtz, Michael Hedges, Bach, John Williams (modern composer), Yanni (modern composer), Hans Zimmer (modern composer), Rimski Korsokoff, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn.
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