Koh OKABE was born on March 22, 1957, in Tokyo, Japan. He started taking photographs when he was fourteen years old, and at twenty he published his first photographic book, "Fluid," about a professional folk music duo of the era. He made his professional debut in 1979, when he was twenty-two.
From then on, Koh OKABE never stopped taking photographs. He photographed the most famous Japanese and international Rock & Roll bands and artists for most of the major media in Japan. He was one of the founding members of the Music Photographers' Association of Japan (MPA), and organized several group exhibitions as well as his own.
From 1985, he became increasingly devoted to World Music, where, for 15 years, he intensively photographed the most important and historical artists of the world, like Astor Piazzolla, Juliette Greco, Michel Legrand, Ravi Shankar, Carmen Linares, Samulnori, Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn, Luky Dube, Youssou N'dour, Kakraba Lobi, Elizeth Cardoso, Tito Puente, Amalia Rodrigues, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, et cetera.
His work reflects not only portraits of the artists in concert, but also their sound and sentiment; it is therefore highly esteemed as a rare and ideal combination of artistic and journalistic-or-commercial value.
Official Photographer of WOMEX (World Music Expo) 2005
Expositions realized in Tokyo, Osaka, Okinawa (Japan), Portugal, U.K, Czech Republic, Mexico et cetera.