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YOSHIKAZU IWAMOTO is a shakuhachi teacher, living in England, who studied with masters Baisen Onishi and Katsuya Yokoyama in Japan. |
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Played by Yoshikazu Iwamoto Historic recording of four pieces for solo shakuhachi and percussion by the brillian composer Frank Denyer, performed by the virtuoso shakuhachi player Yoshikazu Iwamoto. Including the first recording of the immense solo piece "Unnamed". Jo Kondo has written the "Denyer has made music of such remarkable personality that the shakuhachi now emits just Denyer sounds." 1. On, on - it must be so (1977-78) |
CD | $19.00 |
This record is all about a friendship between Frank Denyer, for many years a teacher at Dartington College Of Arts in Devon, and shakuhachi master Yoshikazu Iwamoto, who also taught at Dartington in the 1980s. The two first met on an ethnomusicology course at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, where they played Japanese music together. Already interested in flute-making and microtonal tunings, Denyer wrote a series of demanding compositions for Iwamoto over the next twenty years.
“On, On – It Must Be So” (1977), as the title suggests, is driven and dynamic. The shakuhachi’s agile gymnastics are egged on by castanets and bass drum. The music sounds tough to play, and there’s a lurking sense of the performer leaping through hoops. By contrast, “Quite White” is a solo built from serene, swooping glissandos. “Wheat” is a suite of six short pieces: Iwamoto’s shifting tone colours and ambiguous pitches are nicely complemented by delicate tapping on stones, bamboo slit drums and an artillery shell. These three compositions were previously heard on a 1984 LP titled Wheat, but the reason the present album has been keenly awaited is the 45 minute monster “Unnamed”, which Iwamoto recorded in 1999 and has never been released. “Unnamed” has legendary status among shakuhachi players, and full credit to Simon Reynell’s new label, Another Timbre, for finally putting it out.
Iwamoto retired from playing after a serious illness several years ago, so we are lucky he recorded this when he did. “Unnamed” may be a pianissimo epic, but it’s strongly structured and sustains interest well. Broadly we are in the territory of Morton Feldman’s Second String Quartet, but Denyer patiently explores an extraordinary range of timbral colours, from quavering in-breaths to gasps of sobbing notes. Iwamoto plays with quite magical delicacy. Many of these notes are so spectral that a hypnotic aura of sonic mystery descends like a veil, only to shoved aside by vocal cries or monk-like growls.
Always keen to build from scratch on uncharted land, Denyer has constructed an unusual soundworld here – though some improvisers have also ventured into this territory recently via a different door. Iwamoto dedicated himself wholeheartedly to realising Denyer’s challenges, and this record is a crucial part of his testament.
- CLIVE BELL
(This review was originally written for The Wire magazine: http://www.thewire.co.uk/ )
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YOKO GATES (1944-1989) was born in Hamamatsu, Japan and began studying koto at the age of five. She graduated from the Tokyo University of Arts and received the Japan National Broadcasting Co. (NHK) Young Artists award for the performance of traditional music. In 1969, she married Allen Gates and moved to the United States, where she lived the rest of her life until her untimely death in 1989. She gave her debut recital in Carnegie Hall (NYC) in 1984 and performed again in 1986. Yoko Ito Gates performed widely throughout the U.S. and Canada and taught at the University of Washington, San Francisco State Uninversity, San Diego State University, Lewis & Clark College, The Center for World Music and the American Society for Eastern Arts. She founded the Japanese Music group Rei In Kai (Zero Sound) in Berkeley, CA to promote the study and performance of Japanese music. |
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Yoko Ito Gates was a great performer, and for those who knew her closely, a wonderful teacher. This 2-CD memorial collection of her recordings includes live performances from the 1970's and 1980's. Showing the range of her interests and abilities, it features Yoko playing koto, shamisen and singing. The earliest koto music on this CD is represented by Yatsuhashi Kengyo's Hachidan. Classical sankyoku pieces are accompanied by two of the greatest shakuhachi players of the post-WWII era. Araki Kodo V performs on Zangetsu and Living National Treasure Aoki Reibo on Konkai. Akikaze no kyoku is from the late classical period telling the story of an ancient Chinese emperor's fateful love for the beautiful Yang Kwei Fei. Kobai (composed ca. 1700) is a short song from the Taisho period. The remaining four pieces show Yoko's interest in contemporary music. One koto solo, one recent piece for koto and violin, another koto solo commissioned by Yoko from the modern composer Thomas Svoboda, and finally a haunting duet, Kazuko, with Pharoah Sanders on saxophone. Disk 1 Disk 2 Produced by Robin Hartshorne,
co-director of Rei in Kai. |
Double Album |
$30.00 |
