Masayuki Koga studied Kinko shakuhachi with his father, Kiichi Koga, and Tozan school with Kazan Sakai in Tokyo. In 1967, he became the youngest member of the award-winning Ensemble Nipponia, and continued to work with them for the following four years. In 1973, he moved to the United States. He founded the Japanese Music Institute of America in 1981. He has taught in the San Francisco Bay Area, at the Naropa Institute and at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. In 1998, he collaborated with Taiko artist Kenny Endo in the Deai project, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. He has been selected for the 1998-2000 Touring Artists Directory by the California Arts Council.
A collection of duets, bringing the natural beauty and vibrant richness of the Japanese bamboo flute to compositions originally written for Western instruments. Koga's clear-voiced shakuhachi is complemented here by the sensitive guitar of Douglas Hensley.
Original compositions for the solo bamboo flute played by shakuhachi master Masayuki Koga. This haunting, poignant music creates a bridge between East and West, accessible to Western ears while remaining true to its meditative Japanese origins.
Drawing on the tradition of Japanese folk songs as well as that of the original shakuhachi music, Masayuki Koga here creates a rich collection of improvisational pieces. He paints the tonal landscape with the elements natural to this bamboo flute and give us a recording which is familiar yet new each time we listen.
This recording of solo shakuhachi music represents a dimension of improvisation, not only for shakuhachi but for all flute music as well. While the sound and essence of the music dwell within the traditional realm of shakuhachi music, string currents of other music contribute to from the whole : the hopeful contentment of the Japanese folksong, the elegant clarity and balance of Classical music embraced by rhythms both familiar and new. All of these diverse elements combine gracefully to form a truly new shakuhachi sound.
A collection of five pieces spanning two centuries from T. Sunazaki accompanied by Michiyo Koga and Masayuki Koga. Included are one classical ensemble, three modern pieces form Michio Miyagi and one contemporary piece.
Seoto = Sound of the rapids / Michio Miyagi (4:58) --
Sanka = A poem of praise (9:37) / Tadao Sawai --
Knono yorokobi = A delight of the day / Michio Miyagi (5:55) --
Sarashifu tegoto = Instrumental music of Sarashi / Michio Miyagi (7:25) --
Sueno chigiri = Unfilled devotion / Kengyo Matsuura (12:34).
