22 Facts About Charlie Tagawa

Charlie Tagawa was a Japanese-born American musical entertainer and banjoist.

Charlie Tagawa performed regularly across the US and in Japan, where he was known professionally as "Japan's Harry Reser".

Charlie Tagawa was the international goodwill ambassador for the Peninsula Banjo Band.

Charlie Tagawa was a protege of Reser's, who advised and encouraged him in the development of his single-string technique.

Charlie Tagawa was an apt student and quickly developed a style of his own.

Charlie Tagawa joined a country-western band in Tokyo and played lead banjo on a two-year tour.

Charlie Tagawa then played as a soloist with the Dixieland Dukes for three years.

Charlie Tagawa was so impressed by Tagawa's playing and stage presence that he offered him a contract to play at his restaurant in the US After moving to the US, Tagawa adopted the Western name Charlie, and quickly established friendships with other four-string banjoist in the area.

Charlie Tagawa performed at Sakura Gardens, and its successor restaurant Imperial Gardens, for fifteen years.

Charlie Tagawa performed at other venues, including a stint at San Francisco's Red Garter, a 1920s-themed nightclub with continuous entertainment.

In 1966, Charlie Tagawa met local banjo teacher Chuck Ray, who invited him to join the Cupertino Banjo Band.

Charlie Tagawa soon became the band's music director, and continued to lead the band for all but one year.

Charlie Tagawa had hundreds of banjo students, with whom he used a modified form of the Suzuki method.

In 1967, Charlie Tagawa was elected Best Banjo Player of the Year by the New Orleans Jazz Club of Northern California.

George Barnes, writing in England's BMG magazine, said Charlie Tagawa was "one of that rare breed who is dedicated to play and teach the banjo as it should be played".

In 1978, Charlie Tagawa was invited to appear with a band from Japan, Yoshio Toyama's Dixieland Saints, at Stanford University.

Charlie Tagawa was the winner of FRETS magazine's Reader's Poll for "Best Banjoist - Tenor or Plectrum - All Styles" award in 1982 and 1983.

In September 2001, during the Peninsula Banjo Band's annual Banjo Jubilee, Charlie Tagawa was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by Banjos Unlimited, a nonprofit association dedicated to the preservation of the banjo and its music.

Charlie Tagawa was further acknowledged as the 2001 Jubilee Honoree for his contributions to the Peninsula Banjo Band.

In May 2003, Charlie Tagawa was inducted into the Four String Banjo Hall of Fame at the American Banjo Museum in Guthrie, Oklahoma, for his achievements in music education.

Charlie Tagawa was married to Masako Charlie Tagawa, a piano player and teacher; she died from cancer in the mid-1990s.

Nori and Charlie Tagawa often appeared together at jazz festivals and banjo shows.