Noted by The New York Times as a "virtuosic, deeply expressive shakuhachi player and composer," Kojiro Umezaki (梅崎康二郎) performs regularly with the Grammy Award winning Silkroad Ensemble with whom he appears on multiple recordings including Sing Me Home, A Playlist Without Borders, Off the Map, and the Grammy-nominated 2015 documentary film, The Music of Strangers, directed by Morgan Neville. In a Circle Records released (Cycles), an album of original work, in 2014. Other notable recordings as performer, composer, and/or producer include Brooklyn Rider's Dominant Curve, Yo-Yo Ma's Appassionato, Nicole Mitchell's Mandorla Awakening II, Kei Akagi's Aqua Puzzle, The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan (Smithsonian Folkways), and Huun Huur Tu's Ancestors Call. Born to a Japanese father and Danish mother, Umezaki grew up in Tokyo, and continues to explore hybrid forms of global practices in music.