Tomo Fujita possesses all the elements of great musicianship: astounding technical ability, flawless rhythm skills, and a total command of his instrument. But if asked, Tomo would tell you that music is not just about playing. It’s about feeling. He has a remarkable ability to inject emotion into every phrase he plays, whether the style is blues, jazz, funk or rock.
Tomo earned a degree at Berklee College of Music and has been a faculty member at Berklee since 1993. Perhaps the most famous of his former Berklee students are Soulive guitarist Eric Krasno (Kraz) and John Mayer. Tomo is also affiliated with the major music schools in his native Japan. His articles have been published in the Japanese magazines Jazz Life and Jazz Guitar, and he is a regular contributor to the Japanese edition of Guitar Magazine. His instructional materials are very popular in Japan, where guitar players have bought more than 90,000 copies of his videos and books.
Tomo has shared the stage with Phil Collins (and backstage after that show, the late Ahmet Ertegun told Tomo, “You knock me out!”), bassist Darryl Jones (Miles Davis, Sting, Rolling Stones), Paul Jackson (Herbie Hancock, Headhunters), James Genus (Saturday Night Live), Will Lee (David Letterman), Kenwood Dennard (Jaco Pastorious, Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Smith), Ronnie Earl, Mighty Sam McClain, Roomful of Blues and Susan Tedeschi. He also enjoyed a guitar playing stint in a Boston production of the award-winning (Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize) musical Rent.
Influences: B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Pass, Larry Carlton, Ray Charles, James Brown, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and many others.
Gear/Endorsements: Suhr Guitars, Eminence Speakers, Fuchs Amplifiers, Xotic Effects, Bob Burt Custom Cabinets, Hao Rumble Mod Pedals, D'Addario Strings and signature series Pickboy picks.
USA Instructional Materials: Accelerate Your Guitar Playing (DVD with Booklet, Berklee Press/Hal Leonard); Instant Guitar (Book and CD, Berklee Press/Hal Leonard).
CD’s: Put On Your Funk Face (1996); Untitled (2001); Right Place, Right Time (2007).
Read more...