Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

Train

I also read somewhere that John Cage studied some with Watazumi but I don't think he wrote anything for Shakuhachi, also AACM member Douglas Ewart

May be a different sort of improv at times, but I believe David Zasloff is using a shakuhachi in some of his comedy routines, as well as other industry compositions.

http://www.davidzasloff.com
http://www.shakuhachi.com/R-Shaku-Zasloff.html

philipgelb wrote:

Yusef Lateef never played shakuhachi though he does play numerous wind instruments on a VERY high level. Sonny Rollins? I never heard of him playing any kind of flute but that would be most interesting. Cage did not study with Watasumi though he greatly admired him, apparently Watasumi did not admire Cage that much.  Cage did compose a flute solo part for his piece "Ryoanji"  that i and numerous other shakuhachi players have performed. And from what i heard from the flute player it was composed for (Bob Aitken), Cage had shakuhachi in mind for that piece but did not think anyone would perform it so he put flute on the cover page instead of shakuhachi. Apparently Cage was fine with any kind of flute playing the piece and Aitken premiered it on a wooden, side blown flute.phil

Thanks for mentioning it Phil, I love that piece. I am familiar with the version for trombone that James Fulkerson did. Do you have the flute score? I'd like a copy.

And since you mentioned Yusef Lateef, his book is amazing, if baffling at times.

I have to say, there aren't too many musicians I've heard play "other" shakuhachi music better than yourself, Brian. What I've heard from Shakuhachi Club is amazing, and I really should get that CD sometime. I do wish you'd play a little when you're out with the Femmes...the last time you were in Seattle (Woodlawn Park Zoo), I almost made a little sign saying "Hello, Tairaku", but my girlfriend made me realize, and rightly so, how silly that would be. I did manage to catch you playing Conch, which really blew everyone away; I can only imagine how it would sound if you pulled out the shakuhachi and did some Improv with it.

I do wish that Coltrane had done some recordings, but he was probably just getting into it, and I'd assume that he'd want to become a better player first. Too bad for us, though.

-E

kikuday wrote:

Brian, I will send you a copy of Ryoanji for flute. I did the piece for my thesis recital at Mills. Joelle Leandre, who did the contrabass version gave me some very good advice on it!

Kiku

Thanks Kiku,

I already got it from Sheet Music Plus online. But the advice would be welcome!

BR

Oh, man! Brian, why in NC and not in Seattle? We're cultured! I swear!

I'll just have to keep catching them every time they come, I guess. lol.

-E

Thorsten wrote:

Hi Tairaku -  I just came across an advert about the Violent Femmes playing in London, I think in the end of February or so and was wondering if you're in town long enough to do some shakuhachi gig here as well ??
And if that is not an option what are the chances you feel like playing a bit shaku for the London crowd ?Thorsten

I usually play shakuhachi on one or two songs with VF but we have a show in Ireland day before and Oslo day after so there will be no time to put together a show this time.

However I will be an instructor at the European Shakuhachi Summer Camp in London in July. There will be a faculty concert which I'll perform at, along with performances from fine European and Japanese shakuhachi people. For more information check out Kiku's post here:

http://shakuhachiforum.com/viewtopic.php?pid=363#p363

Hello shakuhachi outsiders...  I had my first experience playing the shakuhachi outside tradition (after nearly seven years of playing only Kinko ryu gaikyoku and honkyoku) with a Delta Blues influenced slide guitarist named Fujishima Koichi at a Kochi acoustic music venue called Mexico City  (recently demolished, but Utagoya No Nikai, its sister venue, still exists).  Check out Fuji's group The Fujii on the Net if you like the Delta sound; they have two CDs out on a label out of London.  Fuji now runs a coffee shop called Missy Sippee up in the mountains of Motoyama, Shikoku; a great place I highly recommend for a visit if you happen to be driving through Shikoku; Fuji busked for over a decade in various countries in Europe, the U.S., and other locations, alternately selling paintings in Japan and returning to Europe  to busk, and has great portraits of street musicians in his book of photos entitled Buskers. 

For the last nine years I've been playing off and on with an acoustic pop group which I cofounded called Bongo Friendee.  We've had several member changes but currently are a trio consisting of djembe, acoustic guitar, and shakuhachi/harmonica players.  We play mostly original tunes and have performed at Kochi's Earth Day Celebration for the last nine years and have occasional gigs at Kochi's Irish Pub Amontillado and other local venues.  We'll be doing some covers from The Beatles album Revolver this coming Earth Day at Kochi's Makino Botanical Gardens with another local group Veteran Hige, a duo on electric bass, electric guitar, and sanshin.
 
I also played the last several years with a rock group named Stop to Panic, headed by a Canadian guitarist, Jerry Marchisseau, who now lives in Naruto, Japan.  We had a British singer, Canadian and Scottish lead guitarists, an Australian rhythm guitarist, myself on shakuhachi and blues harp, and Japanese bass and drum players and played mostly originals and some covers -- sound setting was always a task;sometimes the shakuhachi was drowned out by the two electric guitars!   We had monthly or bi-monthly performances for a year and a half at a local rock club called J's.  The last gig we had was our one and only out of town performance, at a club called D-Box in Naruto City last spring.  All other foreign members have now left Kochi so the band has dissolved.   Last year I was in another short lived group, a trio called Tirititram, along with Juan David and Violene Carillos; shakuhachi, classical guitar, vocals, occasional percussion, the flute accompanying bossa nova and flamenco tunes; the two other members have since returned to Europe.  Shakuhachi outside tradition has been happening in Kochi for the last decade!
Cheers,          Daniel Ryudo

P.S. this was in answer to an old thread!  I've just started to look at the dates...

Last edited by Daniel Ryudo (2006-02-20 21:32:01)

peteross wrote:

Not to blow my own horn (shakuhachi), but I recorded Good by Pork Pie hat and a jazz version of Kojo-no-Tsuki over ten years ago.  I also can be heard sitting in with a jazz quartet at Mama Mia's in San Miguel de Allende playing such tunes as All Blues, Summertime, and Sunshine of Your Love.

Does anyone have the notation Neptune uses for Take Five?

Peter

Yes indeed Peter Ross has made some fine recordings using jazz as a basis. Go for it Peter!

I played a duet concert with Neptune a few days ago. We played "Take Five" but used that elusive and disturbing notation known as "Western". I told John you were looking for shakuhachi notation of it and he shrugged and said, "I might have it somewhere...."

geni wrote:

Hi Brian,
Where did you guys performed?
Any recording of that?

Geni

I was teaching jazz/improv at the European Shakuhachi Summer School (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London) and John came in and gave a guest lecture. He was coincidentally in town for a gig. So we did an impromptu concert for the participants. When he played shakuhachi, I played bass. When I played shakuhachi, he played his bamboo drum. And we played some with two shakuhachi, including a duet in octaves (3.0 and 1.6) on Don Cherry's "Desireless". The rest was all jazz, blues, soul and gospel standards. It was a lot of fun. They filmed it, I don't know how that turned out. Neptune is an amazing musician. We made a lot of noise for two guys.

I play cajon, but what can I say I am handicapped. 

John Sparrow