Search - Explorer Series: East Asia/Japan :: Koto Classics

A Classic Performance of Classical Koto

Dr. Debra Jan Bibel | Oakland, CA USA | 07/12/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Shinichi Yuize, the musician of this reissue (originally released in 1966), is best known for his collaboration with jazz clarinetist Tony Scott in the extraordinary and wildly popular "Music for Zen Meditation and Other Joys." As in that recording, Yuize here plays koto brilliantly, strong and assured. The pieces are indeed classics, and Midare and Chidori are to be found on nearly all koto collections. Zangetsu, however, is less often heard, as it is complex with three sections, an interlude, and a vocal conclusion, in which the baritone of Yuize floats over the koto, sensitive and introspective. Fuki is noteworthy by requiring the koto player to improvise a vocal melody to a poem. With the digital remastering, the album of koto and voice is as impressionable as I recall over 40 years ago. It was a long wait, and although sound technology has vastly improved over the decades, this performance is a true classic."