Among the first to successfully combine the folk music of Japan and the rock and roll of the United States and Europe, Takio Ito has continued to explore a cross-pollination of musical influences. In December 1997, Ito joined with Colombian opera singer Gloria Patricia Londono A. and Chilean actress Elsa Poblete Bustamante to perform an original folk musical, #Agua Dulce Rejuvenecimiento, in Tokyo and South America. Ito's earliest recognition came when he won a folk singing contest in Hokkaido, Japan in 1963. Although initially influenced by min'yo, a traditional, centuries-old, style of singing often accompanied on the banjo-like shamisen, Ito increasingly combined traditional Japanese and western instrumetnation. In 1989, he performed, with his band, Tryin' Times, on a popular Japanese music television show, #NHK Red And White Singing Tournament, in 1989. Two years later, they performed a stirring set at the WOMAD Festival. Throughout his career, Ito has spent much time collecting folk songs in Japan. Many of these were featured in a book, -Kita No Umi No Michi (The Northern Sea Road). ~ Craig Harris, Rovi