Most concerts of traditional Japanese music is attended by old men and women with no teeth

The post title was taken from the liner notes of this album, and something you'd imagine John Zorn would write -- he also produced it. While I don't fully agree, Gagaku probably wasn't very known outside Japan by the 80's at all, so going to NY was a smart move for the young and ambitious Shamisen player Michihiro Sato. In fact, there wasn't a better place for him to be, since he was starting to trail the free improv path -- a trail with no shape, that is. The stellar cast -- Tom Cora, Bill Frisell, Fred Frith, to name a few -- indicates how auspicious this meeting came to be.


pw: spooked