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Top Drawer Shakuhachi

RICK RIEKERT | 01/09/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This remarkable disc was issued in 1994 by Japan Victor Corporation as "Japan- Music of the Shakuhachi". The performers, unacknowledged on this budget re-release, are 4 of Japan's greatest shakuhachi masters- the late Yamaguchi Goro, Yokoyama Katsuya, Aoki Reibo II, and Yamamoto Hozan. Each plays the bamboo flute with an artistic depth and intensity that is truly impressive.



The first of 4 pieces, Sokaku Reibo (mislabeled here Aokaku Reibo) or "The Nesting Crane", is a traditional 20 minute tour de force played with consummate skill by Yamaguchi Goro on the standard 1.8 instrument. San'an, a wild improvisational modern arrangement of a classical honkyoku, is performed by Yokoyama Katsuya on a longer, lower pitched shakuhachi. Kogarashi (The Chill Winter Wind), played on a 1.8 shakuhachi by Yamamoto Hozan, is a 20th century composition that reveals Western influence. The final piece is the famous duet Shika no Tone in a brilliant performance by Yokoyama and Aoki Reibo II that will make your toes curl.



Despite the absence of any information about the pieces or the players,because this well recorded disc contains some of the finest shakuhachi performances you will ever hear in a variety of styles I strongly recommend it.

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