Ryo Okumoto (奥本亮) is a rock keyboardist born in Osaka, Japan, and well known as a member of Spock's Beard, a progressive rock band he joined in 1997 after releasing several solo albums in Japan. Ryo began playing classical music on the piano at the age of 3 and continued through 13. He became a professional musician at the age of 15 performing at the Live House in Osaka for a year. Because of his great desire to learn more about different styles of music and his strong independence, he moved to Tokyo at the age of 16. Ryo performed in nightclubs and discos for the next 5 years. Ryo's first real break started in 1978 when he was 19. He toured with a well-known group called Creation and recorded on their album "Best of Creation." The next year Ryo toured with the legendary, Kitaro and recorded on Kitaro's album, "Live in Parco." In February 1980, Ryo's first solo album, "Solid Gold" with Canyon Records was released. He recorded this album at Air Studio in London with well-known musicians: Richard Baily (drummer for Jeff Beck), Kuma Takeda (bass), Katsutoshi Morizono (guitar) and Delandro Winston (guitarist for Elton John). Two month later in April, Ryo released his second solo album, "Makin' Rock" with Canyon Records. This record was recorded at Sound Labs Studios in Hollywood. He once again had the best musicians recording behind him: David Foster (keyboard), Jay Graydon (guitar), Steve Lukather (guitar), Jeff Porcaro (drums) and Neil Stubenhaus (bass). Ryo's third album was released in June that same year with Canyon Records. This was called "Synthesizer" and recorded at Sound Design Studio in Tokyo. The next year, Ryo decided to move to Los Angeles in March. Tokyo seemed stagnate to him now and he yearned to learn more about the different styles of music that LA had to offer. Ryo studied at Dick Grove School of Music for the next 4 years. Upon graduation his talent and creativity were welcomed by the American music scene, and he has been involved in a numerous projects worldwide ever since. He has recorded five solo albums ranging from progressive rock masterpieces to lilting solo piano, yet has barely begun to scratch the surface of his artistic range. Best known for his wildly energetic and imaginative contributions to progressive rock through the band Spock’s Beard, Ryo is working with the band to release their 11th studio album, “Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep”. Spock’s Beard is launching both a European and East/West Coast tour to support the release, with additional shows and progressive rock festival appearances around the globe and throughout the year. Ryo Okumoto is based in Los Angeles and is actively involved with numerous studio and live projects both in the U.S. and in his native Japan. The artists he has performed with include Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, Barry White, Eric Burdon, Peabo Bryson, and Roberta Flack. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.