Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

Hi everybody!

I just felt that I needed to praise the shakuhachi forum! What an incredible place it is!

I have got a gig I shouldn't really have gotten: I am to play 2 x 30 minutes (not the same music unfortunately) with koto player Keiko Kitamura at a Toyota Lexus Gala Dinner in Oman next month. I have only performed ONE piece in public with koto before in my life (Haru no umi). I only got this gig because a British agent absolutely wanted two Japanese women to play koto and shakuhachi, dressed in kimono. Now - I am not really Japanese but I can pretend.... if someone dress me in the kimono! Anyway, the reason for I got the gig was that not that many women play shakuhachi at that level in UK.

But what then happened that made me write this praise to the forum was: I needed music scores and recordings. I was practicing Yamamoto Hozan's Ame and remembered axolotl posting he was practicing this a long time ago. I emailed him to ask if he had the recording... and voila 5 minutes later I have it on my computer. I tell him I can't find the score for Haru no Umi. He tells Jim and without me lifting a finger... Jim sends it to me. Wow!

I then ask Bruce for easy pieces that shakuhachi and koto can play and he lists a loooong row of pieces....

WOW ! ! ! I am overwhelmed ! ! !

This forum and the people in it... most of the time - really most of the time - it is an amazing community we have created!

Christopher Baasner comes for a week to take lessons.... lots of new info, nice new shakuhachi friends.... all this because of the forum!

Thank you all! And in particularly thank you Ken and Brian ! ! ! You two get my vote as the shakuhachi people of the decade!