Satoh

With Sun/Moon, Somei Satoh speaks with the ancient, distinct voice of Buddha, with enough melodramatic romanticism to stir the emotions of even the most Western ears. Perhaps less cinematic than his previous album, Toward the Night, but no less passionate in tone, with gorgeous, rich dialogue between shakuhachi and koto that circulates between whispers, cries, gasps, and deep contemplation. The opening piece, "Kougetsu," is the sound of a rock garden minding its own business, a dragonfly dreaming restlessly amongst the bamboo. "Sanyou" follows in much the same way, in an expression of (as the composer puts it) "the purity of the early morning air." Shin Miyashita plucks his 17-string koto with patience, reverence, and in perfect symbiosis with Akikazu Nakamura, a stoic virtuoso on the shakuhachi.

This new release features French baroque lute music played by lutenist Toyohiko Satoh on an original instrument from 1611. On this album, Toyohiko Satoh explores the musical connection between the French Style Brise and the Japanese aesthetics of Iki, creating a unique new interpretation of the French lute repertoire. The Japanese lutenist Toyohiko Satoh (????) is one of the most influential lute players of the last century. Born in 1943, he is now looking back on a career of over 40 years of lute playing, including 35 years teaching as a professor for lute at the Royal Conservatory of Den Haag, the Netherlands. Besides being a performer, he is also composing music for chamber ensembles and solo lute, as well as researching and writing about music.

Masahiko Satoh - Transformation '69-'71 (2011) {Think! Japan DTHK-002, Paper Sleeve rel 2011}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 284 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 129 Mb | Full Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 1969-71, 2011 Express / Think! Records / EMI Music Japan DTHK-002
Jazz / Post Bop / Piano

Almost all of Japanese pianist Masahiko Sato's albums were released solely in Japan which means they are not easily accessible in the Western world. For those interested in the best Japanese jazz, his name is probably heard, but the problem is where to start with his prolific discography. Being one of the very best Japanese jazz pianists of the last half-a-century (the other equal name is Yosuke Yamashita), Sato released plenty of albums, and they all are quite different stylistically. He was one of the leading stars of the early Japanese avant-garde jazz scene, switched towards fusion later, returned back to freer forms, collaborated with more modern electronics wizards, etc, etc.

Here is a different aspect of Masahiko Sato. He contributed to a phenomenal number of albums in the early 1970s, as a musical director and playing acoustic or electric keyboards.

Sômei Satoh is often classified as an ambient composer because of his penchant for writing slow, meditative works that evoke the mystical timelessness of Asian sacred music. However, Satoh's tonal harmonies and unblurred orchestration follow western conventions, and his soft, static works are only superficially like ambient music, insofar as very little happens. The drawn-out chord progressions in Kisetsu resemble the uninteresting bits of late Romantic slow movements, patched together and stretched into an empty, featureless adagio.

Limited ediition box set of maestro Hozan Yamamoto's extraordinary jazz output.Hozan Yamamoto caused a sensation when he made these albums. The ten jazz albums in this box set were released between 1967-1986 and include some live recordings such as 'Hakone Hachiri' 'Midare' and 'So Tired' from the 1967 Newport Jazz Festival. The box set also presents a bonus disc featuring an unreleased performance from November 4th, 1975.