BandGalleryContactJapaneseMySpace

George AzumaiGt.)


5X lead guitarist George Azuma was born in 1951 in Ichigaya-ward of Tokyo.
At the age of 12, George picked up the guitar and by 16 was gigging with friends from the American School in Tokyo.

Songs covered in those formative years included classic tunes from Velvet Underground,
Paul Revere and the Raiders, Jefferson Airplane, The Doors, Michael Bloomfield and others.
Following this, a 19-year-old George Azuma would move to San Francisco, staying there until 1976.

His first professional recording experience was with Keiko Kobayashi for King Records in the summer of 1972,
with Yukihiro Takahashi on drums and bassist Ray Ohara. George also backed up Yumi Arai (AKA Yumin) as a sideman,
after which he returned to the United States.

Immigrating back to Japan, George promptly formed a rock band, Midnight Cruiser,
With ex-pat Americans in Japan.
Two years later, hefd come to the attention of prominent Japanese rock/blues singer Carmen Maki,
with whom he formed LAFF and 5X.

If that didnft keep him busy enough,
George came to worldwide prominence not only as a writer for Burrn! and Player magazines, but beginning in 1984,
as a producer for Japanese heavy metal bands such as Loudness and Anthem.
His production, supervision and management duties for these and other bands have continued uninterrupted to the present day.

In addition to the reformed 5X,
George performs with legendary Loudness guitarist Akira Takasaki in a side project, Jasmine Sky. George, himself a highly renowned guitarist and very distinguished figure in the Japanese music scene,
is also president of Killer Guitars Co., Ltd., having founded the guitar company in 1986.


@

Back

@

©2004-2024 George Azuma With 5X. All rights reserved.