In which an American masters a traditional Japanese instrument; American singer-songwriters keep doing the same old thing, but really well; and Whisperado, the self-proclaimed Greatest Band in the World, sends an emissary to the wonderful wilds of upstate New York.
Elizabeth Reian Bennett, Song of the True Hand
Song of the True Hand is the first CD from the first woman to be certified a Grand Master of the shakuhachi. Elizabeth Reian Bennett's mastery of the traditional Japanese bamboo flute is evident in every moment of this fascinating hour of music. No recording can replace the experience of sitting in a room (living room, concert hall, cockroach-infested basement, it doesn't matter) listening to a live shakuhachi performance, but Bennett's haunting, sliding tones and seemingly infinite variations in attack, volume, and breathiness are quite capable of taking the listener on a deep sonic and spiritual journey even through a pair of stereo speakers.
It's no accident that this hoary instrument (it may date as far back as ancient Egypt) has been a substitute for Buddhist chanting as sui zen ("blowing zen"). Shakuhachi music can be both meditative and emotional, somatic and abstract, and Bennett makes her selections from several traditions, playing compositions and arrangements from modern times as well as centuries past. She includes a "modernistic" work that bends western melodies to the purposes of the shakuhachi, and ends with an improvisation rooted in her 25 years of immersion in the ancient monk pieces. The patent-pending Indie Roundup cost-benefit music index indicates zero downside to buying this CD, and, especially if you've never heard a shakuhachi, you're in for a treat.
Article comments
1 - DJRadiohead
Good luck with the tour, Jon. These first two recordings sounds really fantastic. I might have to scrape together a few bucks and try them.
2 - Duke De Mondo
Good luck on the tour Jon! will there be stories? i surely hope so!