Brett Larner/Shoko Hikage/Philip Gelb

Brett Larner/Shoko Hikage/Philip Gelb: Indistancing

by AAJ Staff
May 1, 1999

In the blending of cultures that modern technology has made possible, traditional Japanese instruments like the koto and shakuhachi are now harnessed for free improvisation. In addition to the idiomatic cultural references these instruments bring, they also lend a distinctive tonality to the music. The koto, a stringed instrument, occupies the treble zone with a harsh attack and limited sustain. The shakuhachi, a flute-like instrument, also floats high with a thin treble sound and rich overtones.

On Indistancing, three masters ...