Kenta Nagai

Kenta Nagai is a guitarist, audio-visual artist and performer, originally from Niigata, Japan. After BA degree at Berklee College of Music (1993–1997), Nagai moved to New York where he stayed permanently. He began his NY-career with a fretless guitar at clubs and all kinds of stages, including subway stations and pavements. Later he became a highly distinguishable voice on the New York City scene, playing with Zeena Parkins, Tatsuya Nakatani, Miya Masaoka, David Watson, Eugene Chadbourne, Laura Andel. In 1999-2002 he was a resident composer at The Cave Gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. As a performer on the shamisen, a traditional Japanese string instrument, Nagai has appeared in numerous concerts at venues including Sculpture Center in Long Island City and Carnegie Hall.

In addition to his work as a guitarist and shamisen player, Nagai is also involved in creating multimedia interactive performances and installations and has collaborated with artists from various fields. These projects include a long-standing collaborative relationship with choreographer Boaz Barkan. Other dance artists he worked with include Daria Fain, DD Dorvillier, Bob Eisen, Zack Fuller. More recently, Nagai worked with the photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto – composing and performing score for the silent film "The Water Magician" (1933, directed by Kenji Mizoguchi) at Japan Society, NYC and Hirshhorn Museum at Carnegie Hall. In 2005 and 2006, Nagai performed in "Flight of Mind" with choreographer Jennifer Monson. He continues his collaboration with Monson in 2007 through a multi-season project set in the Highland Park Reservoir in NYC. Nagai has also appeared in numerous concerts at venues including Roulette, New York, NY, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center Outdoor Stage, Carnegie Hall, Carnegie Hall.