Nobuhiko Ogino

Thanks to the kindness of Mr. Shimizu, the extremely knowledgeable owner of Kyoto's very own country music shop, Cherokee, I have been lucky enough to meet this small, modest and unassuming guitar genius. Ogino-san and his devoted wife live and work in Osaka where he holds down a full time job in the Hankyu Hotel. He took up the guitar at age 10 and modeled his playing on Grady Martin, the legendary guitarist for Marty Robbins who played the unforgettable solo on "El Paso" and "Devil Woman." Ogino-san himself owns an extraordinary selection of guitars. Ogino-san's subtle playing can match almost anything in Nashville and I would go as far as to compare him with Brent Mason, the brilliant and ever-in-demand Nashville session guitarist. (See the sleeve of just about every major Nashville artist for his work). Mr. Ogino later gave serious consideration to becoming a professional player and did do some radio work. In the end, however, he resigned himself to amateur status. That I am not alone in considering him an extraordinary talent is evidenced by the fact that one of the most famous steel guitar session players in Nashville-Weldon Myrick, who recently toured Japan and played with Ogino, suggested that he consider giving up his hotel job in Osaka to try to make it Nashville. Tribute indeed, but at 44, he seems reluctantly resigned to being what he is-namely Japan's best country guitarist. At a recent concert Mr. Ogino surprised some in the audience who were trying to figure out where the honky tonk piano sound was coming from. There was after all no piano on stage. It turned out that the master guitarist was playing piano on his guitar using a synthesizer. Later on he played a very mean banjo solo on his axe and all this seamlessly blended into the overall group sound. One of the great thrills of my recent life in Japan was getting to sing the George Strait song, "One Step At a Time" with the Cowboy Dreamers. Mr. Ogino and his dedicated wife, who helps out with the technical side and who made his homepage, represent a superb example of the Japanese ability to take a culturally very distant aspect of western culture and to thoroughly master it. Thank you Nobuhiko!