Mitsuhashi Kifu
Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd. - COCF-12217
1994

Track	Title	Kanji	Length	Artist
1	Cacique De Pandido	ボスの名はパンディード	07'57	Shakuhachi: Mitsuhashi Kifu
	This song is a tribute to Pandido, the boss of seven dogs for 17 years at my home. He was a small dog, a Chihuahua, but he fought three large stray dogs and knocked them over. He was very brave and truly a hero. He died on 20th June 1993 at the age of 100 in human years. Rest in peace.
2	Noche Caliente	暑い夜	04'08	Shakuhachi: Mitsuhashi Kifu
	Salsa means 'sauce' in Spanish. Over the shakuhachi refrain is a female vocal which I think provides the salsa flavour. I have already experimented with it in "Lady L" and Christmas carols, but I am still impressed by how well the shakuhachi and female voice go together. The summer of '94 was one of the hottest in my long life. During the recording of this album (in August) there were many nights when it was too hot to sleep well. I'd like to Bamboo-Na that made this summer so hot.
3	Theme	バンボーナのテーマ	04'35	Shakuhachi: Mitsuhashi Kifu
	The structure of this music is guajira, a typical kind of Latin music, to which I've added the shakuhachi sound. It is the bass line that decides the rhythm, so the music has a special tempo to it. The adlib solo in the middle is the special point so be sure to take a listen. This song was our first original number when Mitsuhashi Kifu and myself formed the group which was later to become Bamboo-Na. This musical experiment was the motivation for us to take it further.
4	Blue Train	ブルー・トレイン	03'52	Shakuhachi: Mitsuhashi Kifu
	This blues masterpiece, which was John Coltrane's forte, is arranged for the shakuhachi ensemble in the lilting Montuno style, Bamboo-Na's specialty. The song reminds us of blue train whose passengers are dreaming as it runs through a wild field.
5	Summer Time		05'22	Shakuhachi: Mitsuhashi Kifu
	This was George Gershwin's masterpiece of all time and is one of the most frequently played pieces on the jazz scene even now, 50 years later. With Bamboo-Na, I have tried to emphasize how wonderful the melody is by leaving it as it is, but changing the image drastically.
6	Celos	嫉妬	04'22	Shakuhachi: Mitsuhashi Kifu
	Celos (Jealousy) The thing people need least but which sometimes causes very difficult problems is jealousy. Yet although difficult to handle, it can appear here and there as a small tool for adding color to life. Human breath passing through the shakuhachi gives substance to a gamut of human emotions joy, anger, humour and pathos.
7	Off Side	オフサイド	05'34	Shakuhachi: Mitsuhashi Kifu
	Maybe because of the title someone in the group always makes a mistake when we play this live. I can't help feeling the song is ill-fated, but strangely enough, during the recording no one made a mistake. It's an omen. Let me introduce the members who had this strange experience one by one in the order their solos are played : Kifu Mitsuhashi, Yukihiro Tokuda, Yoko Iwamura, Yasuyuki Watanabe, Toshiya Mizukawa, Takeshi Uenishi, Shigeru Mizuno, Masaru Okuyama, and Jun-ichi Yasaka.
8	Bomba De Tiempo	時限爆弾	04'00	Shakuhachi: Mitsuhashi Kifu
	This is a dangerous title. Bamboo-Na has thrown the switch, starting the countdown to blast the idea that the shakuhachi is just for traditional Japanese music and to launch it into a wider world. When you are ready to break out of yourself, use this song as a switch, and then my purpose will have been achieved.
9	Baile Del Viento	風は踊るよ	06'08	Shakuhachi: Mitsuhashi Kifu
	Many of Bamboo-Na's titles include the word ‘wind’. In this case it means shakuhachi. In the latter part of the piece the instruments and the voice in the Montuno chorus alternate with each other. Please image the way the wind dances.
10	Red Shoes	レッド・シューズ	05'18	Shakuhachi: Mitsuhashi Kifu
	The blind genius Stevie Wonder is among those who praise Duke Ellington, calling him "Sir Duke". Playing the piano himself, Duke Ellington with his band attracted many fans over a long period. Also, after Duke Ellington passed away the band remained, proof that it stood at the top of the Big Bands. The band left many hit songs, but this one, Red Shoes, is a standard number whose melody brings out the attraction of the Shakuhachi so much so that it seems to have been written for the instrument. It is arranged, of course, Bamboo- Na style.
11	Danzando	踊りに夢中	04'16	Shakuhachi: Mitsuhashi Kifu
	This song has lyrics that a Cuban lady wrote for Bamboo-Na. You will hear Danzando with a vocal in the future and currently we are looking for a suitable singer. (To tell the truth, I hope we don't find one because I am looking forward to the day when I can sing this myself.)
12	Perdon	ペルドン	05'06	Shakuhachi: Mitsuhashi Kifu
	This is a classic bolero masterpiece by Pedro Flores, a great Puerto Rican composer. It's an excellent love song: "Please forgive me for loving you. If I've done something to hurt you please forgive me in the name of love" - love couldn't be sung this emotionally if it weren't bolero. Written by Yasuyuki Watanabe (English by Jean Wilson)