Tsutomu Nakai is a rising star of the jazz guitar. He started his career as a guitar player at local clubs in his hometown when he was in high school. After listening to jazz legend Jim Hall, he was inspired and soon devoted the majority of his time to learning jazz guitar. He moved to New York City in 1997 and started studying under famed guitarist Gene Bertoncini. Nakai's latest release “Starry Night” features Dwayne "Cook" Broadnax, Lonnie Plaxico, and Lafayette Harris Jr.